Bulawayo man arrested over facebook post
Robert Mugabe’s regime desperate to suppress any popular revolt organised on the internet has arrested a 39 year old Bulawayo man Vikas Mavhudzi over a message he posted on the social networking site Facebook.
Police in Bulawayo arrested Mavhudzi and charged him with “subverting a constitutional government” after he posted a message on the facebook wall of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on the 13th February at around 2pm. Tsvangirai’s facebook profile has nearly 60 000 followers.
Mavhudzi is alleged to have posted “I am overwhelmed, I don’t want to say Mr. or PM what happened in Egypt is sending shockwaves to dictators around the world. No weapon but unity of purpose worth emulating, hey.”
Mavhudzi from Old Magwegwe briefly appeared before a Bulawayo magistrate on Thursday and was remanded in custody to March 9 after the state opposed bail. Prosecutors claim he was “advocating or attempting to take-over government by unconstitutional means”.
Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have proved crucial in organising protests in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen and other Middle Eastern countries. Mugabe’s regime is aware of this and trying to intimidate users in Zimbabwe.
