Evan Mawarire, the Zimbabwean pastor who was arrested on Tuesday (12 July) charged with inciting violence and disturbing the peace, has been released after thousands of Christians staged a ‘prayer protest’ outside the court in which he was being held.
Using social media platforms, Mawarire, 39, started the #ThisFlag campaign earlier this year, calling on Zimbabweans to rally around the national flag and speak out against the country’s worsening economic crisis. The campaign went viral and turned into the biggest protest against President Mugabe’s rule in nearly a decade.
Mugabe has led the former British colony since independence in 1980. A series of controversial measures over the last 20 years – such as stripping white farmers of land more than a decade ago – have caused massive economic disruption.
Speaking to Channel 4 News shortly before his arrest, Mawarire said: “To our president the message is simple: Sir, the people demand you to inspire them. They demand you to motivate them and they demand you to reassure them. And the promise that this flag holds when this nation was delivered into your hands in 1980 is a promise that can be delivered again… a new generation now needs to be able to take this country forward into the future that it deserves.”
#ThisFlag was trending on Wednesday soon after the pastor’s arrest. According to a Bloomberg report, Judge Vakai Chikwekwe, who heard the case, said: “It is my finding that the National Prosecuting Authority cannot charge the accused. I hereby refuse to put him on remand”.
Those inside the court witnessed nearly 100 Zimbabwean lawyers raise their hands when the judge asked who was representing the pastor.
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