Zimbabwean Pastor Evan Mawarire Arrested For Criticizing Mugabe

Zimbabwean police have arrested Evan Mawarire, a pastor who also doubles as an activist, for attempting to subvert the government.

Mawarire of the #ThisFlag movement was on Sunday arrested as he stepped down from his pulpit for a video posted on Saturday lambasting the government over its economic policies.

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According to his lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, Mawarire is accused of subversion for the series of social media posts that accuse President Robert Mugabe of wrecking the economy.

He previously led a stay-at-home demonstration in 2016, the biggest protest in a decade, via a social media campaign that urged citizens to speak out against economic problems and government failure to pay workers.

This is Evan Mawarire’s third arrest with the charge carrying a maximum term of life imprisonment.

The clergyman appeared at the High Court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to two charges of subverting the government and two charges of inciting public violence. The latter carries a penalty of up to 10 years in jail.

The latter carries a penalty of up to 10 years in jail.

State prosecutor Chris Mtungadura said social media posts by Mawarire last year were meant to incite the population to overthrow the government. The state has lined up eight witnesses.

His lawyer, however, countered the prosecutor saying the pastor was only exercising his constitutional rights.

“He was exercising his constitutional rights of challenging the policies of the government. This…was done in a lawful maer,” defense lawyer Harrison Nkomo told the court.

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Over the last few days, Zimbabwe has experienced shortages of fuel and other basic goods, resulting in panic buying by consumers.

Shortages of cash, which started last year, have worsened, with some banks not being able to give any money to customers. Prices of imported products are going up, which businesses blame on shortages of foreign exchange.

The United States embassy in Harare has said it will be monitoring the pastor’s trial as it called for an end to arbitrary arrests and intimidation for political purposes.