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Zimbabwe
President Robert Mugabe speaks at the party's annual conference on December 17,
2016 in Masvingo ©Jekesai Njikizana (AFP)
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Zimbabwe police on Monday
detained a pastor who claimed that veteran President Robert Mugabe, who turns
93 next month, would die in October, his lawyer said.
AFP
report continues:
Gift
Mtisi said Pastor Patrick Mugadza was arrested at the magistrate’s court in
Harare where he was appearing on separate charges of wearing the national flag
and charged over the prophecy made last week about Mugabe's demise.
"He
was appearing at the court on a different matter when police arrested him
during a break and charged him over the prophecy," Mtisi told AFP.
"He
was initially charged with undermining the authority of the president and the
charge was later changed to insulting people of a certain race or
religion."
Mugadza,
who is based in the northern resort town on Kariba held a press conference last
week where he announced that Mugabe would die on October 17.
Poking
fun at Mugabe or making predictions about him is a risky business in Zimbabwe,
which has a law that forbids "undermining the authority of or insulting
the president."
In
2015, Mugadza was arrested and detained for nearly a month after holding a
placard telling Mugabe his people were suffering under his rule.
On
Independence Day last year he gave a sermon while tied to a lamppost in
Harare’s main shopping mall saying the act symbolized the lack of freedom in
Zimbabwe.
Mugabe
has been in power since independence from British colonial rule in 1980. His
health has been subject of speculation as he makes frequent visits to the Far
East for medical treatment.
Mugabe
has avoided naming a successor and his ZANU-PF party has been riven by
factional fights between camps angling to succeed him.
The president faced a surge of opposition street protests last year against his authoritarian regime.
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