Zimbabwean Pastor who challenged Mugabe granted bail
A Zimbabwean Court on Wednesday granted bail to a prominent pastor who gained international attention after launching a social media protest against President Robert Mugabe.
Pastor Evan Mawarire, who had been charged with trying to topple the government, was arrested a week ago at Harare airport on returning from the United States.
He was denied bail on Friday, but the court now said he could be released on a bail of 300 dollars.
Judge Clement Phiri also ordered him to report to police twice a week and to surrender his passport.
“It is unlikely that he will be released today, given the paperwork at the court and the prison,’’ Mawarire’s lawyer Harrison Nkomo said.
“But I am happy that I was right from the beginning that he would get bail, he has not committed an offence,’’ he added.
The pastor fled Zimbabwe first to South Africa and then to the U.S. six months ago, shortly after being arrested and charged with attempting to overthrow the government.
He was later released on a technicality.
Mawarire, who does not belong to a political party, started the ThisFlag social media movement last May.
With the national flag wrapped around his neck, the pastor complained in video messages on Facebook and Twitter about the country’s politics, economic demise and corruption.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, the Constitutional Court dismissed a judicial application filed by anti-government activist Promise Mkwananzi challenging the capacity of 92-year-old Mugabe to govern.
Mkwananzi’s lawyer Kudzai Kadzere said his client intended to file a new application. (dpa/NAN)
