Charismatic “activist pastor” Evan Mawarire was arrested during a church service in Zimbabwe on Sunday after he posted a video of himself bemoaning the country’s worsening economic conditions.
In a video streamed live on Facebook, Mawarire can be seen interrupting a service to tell the church he is about to be arrested, before being led away by authorities to an unmarked car.
His lawyer, Harrison Nkomo confirmed the arrest, saying “he has been charged with subverting a constitutional government”.
“He is detained at Harare central police station and we are preparing for his appearance in court,” Nkomo told AFP.
Mawarire, who has in the past used social media as an effective means of getting his political messages across, is no stranger to coming head-to-head with Zimbabwe’s national laws.
In July 2016, the pastor co-organised a “crippling” strike which shut down major cities and paralysed public transport. The government had no choice but to ban all public protests, and arrest Mawarire – who when released, fled to South Africa and then the United States.
Zimbabwe’s “buckling” economy
On Saturday, Mawarire posted a video on social media showing long queues at fuel stations with petrol and diesel supplies scarce across Zimbabwe as the economy buckles under a foreign currency shortage.
Zimbabwe adopted the US dollar and other foreign currencies to stem galloping inflation which peaked at 231 million percent officially, and resorted to introducing bond notes — a surrogate currency — last year as banks ran short of foreign currency.
But the bond notes have not eased the country’s currency woes.
Multiple charges
Mawarire is due in court later today on a charge of “trying to remove the government”.
Alongside this, he is currently facing charges of misconduct and inciting violence after he addressed university students striking over fee hikes in February – and is being charged with offences stemming from last July’s major protests.
