Four people have appeared in court in Zimbabwe on charges of
undermining the authority of President Robert Mugabe after his wife was
heckled while addressing a
rally, a state-owned newspaper reported
Friday.
The Herald said the four were arrested after attending a ruling
ZANU-PF party rally in the country’s southwestern city of Bulawayo where
Grace Mugabe was jeered during a speech on Saturday.
Prosecutor Jerry Mutsindikwa told a magistrate court that “the
quartet, with others allegedly sang the song ‘into oyenzayo
siyayizonda'” — whose lyrics in Ndebele mean “we hate what you are
doing” — while Grace addressed the rally.
They are “facing a charge of undermining the authority of the president,” he said.
The incident angered Mugabe who spoke at the same rally shortly after
his wife, accusing his deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa of organising and
sponsoring the hecklers.
He vowed to fire Mnangagwa, which he did two days later, in a
dramatic move that appeared to open the way for his wife Grace to
succeed him in office.
Grace Mugabe could be appointed as one of the country’s two vice presidents at the party congress next month.
Mnangagwa who had been touted as an obvious successor to Mugabe, fled into exile this week. His whereabouts are unknown.
The arrest of the four ZANU-PF activists came as the Zimbabwe high
court Thursday granted bail to Martha O’Donovan, a 25-year-old American
journalist charged with charged with insulting Mugabe and attempting to
subvert the regime on account of an alleged tweet that described the
ageing leader as “selfish and sick”.
AFP
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