Godfrey Kurauone, an MDC Alliance councillor in Masvingo,
is languishing at Masvingo Remand Prison awaiting trial and his alleged crime
is singing a derogatory song.
Prosecutors say Kuraone must go to jail for singing a
protest song that denounced President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The 33-year-old is also accused of blocking a road from
Gaths Mine to Chirumanzu in Masvingo province on July 31, the day soldiers and
police came out in full force to thwart a protest by citizens backed by
opposition parties.
The lawyer for the father of two, Advocate Martin Mureri
speaking to ZimRights said Kurauone was arrested on July 31, accused of
blocking a gravel road from Gaths Mine to Chirumanzu with stones and burning of
tyres.
He appeared in court on August 1 and the magistrate court
ordered him to report back to court on August 3 for the bail ruling.
But on August 3, he was arrested for the second time while
at the police station awaiting the bail ruling.
This time, together with six others, he was charged with
singing a protest song against the president.
“On this second arrest, a new charge of criminal nuisance
was added.
“He was charged with criminal nuisance as defined in
section 46 (2) (v) of the Criminal Law Act,” Mureri said.
“It is unfortunate and sad at the same time to note that
the criminal nuisance charge was as a result of him singing a song with the
following lyrics ‘Ichavanhorowondo kana tikatenderwa nababa kubvisa Mnangagwa
(it will soon be history when we are allowed by God to remove Mnangagwa).”
Mureri added: “Godfrey was then locked up at Masvingo
Remand Prison.
“On August 3, 2020, the court ruled that Godfrey was not
fit for bail for the reasons that he would commit more offences if he were to
be granted bail.”
The MDC Alliance activist joins a growing list of people
arrested for insulting Mnangagwa, who came into power through a coup in
November 2017.
He also became one of the 33 people who were arrested in
connection with the July 31 protests. The list includes investigative
journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and opposition Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob
Ngarivhume.
Chin’ono and Ngarivhume have been denied bail and have been
languishing in remand prison since July 20 when they were arrested.
Many activists and opposition members, including MDC
Alliance vice-chairman Job Sikhala, former Zanu PF youth leaders Godfrey
Tsenengamu and Jimu Kunaka, among others, have gone into hiding after the
police indicated they wanted to interview them in connection with the July 31
protests.
Kurauone’s arrest on July 31 was the second in a space of
60 days.
Prior to the current charges, Kurauone, a councillor for
seven years, had been arrested for breaking Covid-19 lockdown rules after he
mobilised and fed homeless people in Masvingo on June 15, 2020, the day
Mnangagwa called for a national day of fasting.
Mnangagwa has come under heavy international criticism for
abusing human rights in Zimbabwe. Standard
0 comments:
Post a Comment