Bulawayo police have charged local journalist and Editor of ZimLive, Mduduzi Mathuthu with contravening Section 33 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act which deals with undermining the authority of the President or insulting the President.
Mathuthu handed himself over to Bulawayo Central Police Station law and order department Monday morning in the company of his lawyer Nqobani Sithole.
Speaking to the media, Sithole said the charge stems from a Tweet posted by Mathuthu on his Twitter account relating to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s address when he suspended lending by banks to both private companies and government departments.
“Our client has handed himself in to the police’s law and order section at Bulawayo Central Police Station. They took a warned and cautioned statement from him. He is facing charges of allegeldy undermining authority of the President or insulting the President,” Sithole said.
At the time of publishing, Mathuthu and his lawyer were still at the Police station.
“We don’t know whether or not they will detain him, but we are still talking to them about those issues. He surrendered himself to the police after some communication with them, so clearly he is not a flight risk.”
