A senior manager with Fresh-Pro has been arrested for allegedly circulating an e-mail ‘insulting the person and office of the President.’
The e-mail allegedly also showed pictures of a mansion that John Norman Alfred Rusthon (65) claimed belonged to Mugabe without proof.
Rushton has since appeared in court charged with undermining the authority or insulting the President as defined in Section 33(2)-(a) (I) (ii) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act Chapter 9:23.
He was not asked to plead when he appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Gloria Takundwa last week. She remanded him out of custody to March 12 this year on US$200 bail.
The State alleges that Rushton, who is employed as an operations manager of Fresh-Pro, received an e-mail on his address [email protected] from one Adrian Albertyn.
The e-mail allegedly contained photographs showing the interior and exterior of a mansion with the subject “Who lives in a house like this?” and purporting that the house belonged to Mugabe without verifying the authenticity of the photographs and message.
It is further alleged that Rushton forwarded the message to other employees at Fresh-Pro while indicating that whoever received that message had to e-mail it to everyone so that the whole world could know how Mugabe was living “like an American billionaire or Saudi Prince”.
The State alleges that in doing this, Rushton had the knowledge or he realised that there was a possibility or real risk that the statement was false and that it could engender feelings of hostility towards Mugabe.
It is further alleged that the e-mail could also cause hatred, contempt or ridicule of the President, whether in person or in respect of the President’s office to any other person who would received it. The Herald
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