Zimbabwe protest pastor freed over harsh new charges

By John Cassim

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AA) - A Zimbabwean magistrate late Wednesday night found popular protest pastor not guilty, faulting the prosecution for changing the charge from inciting public violence to a stiffer charge of subverting a constitutional government.

When the Harare preacher was taken to court on Wednesday morning, police had not informed him of their intention to alter the charge he was arrested for, and his lawyer Harrison Nkomo argued the change was unconstitutional.

Earlier the magistrate had said his hands were tied as the new charge --one step below treason -- calls for a maximum 20-year jail term, so bail could not be considered by a lower court.

But Nkomo argued that the new charge had not been formally presented against Mawarire and as such placing him on remand would violate his constitutional rights.

"Eventually the Harare magistrate had no choice but to dismiss the new charge and as such found the preacher not guilty," said Nkomo.

Meanwhile hundreds of protesters who had thronged the court building clad in the national flag vowed to hold a vigil until Mawarire was released.

Candles were lit and prayers said until the verdict was heard, throwing the protesters into songs of jubilation.

On Thursday hundreds of Zimbabweans living in South Africa are expected to hold a solidarity march with their countrymen outside their embassy in Pretoria, putting pressure on 92-year- old President Robert Mugabe to obey the rule of law and fix the ailing economy.