Priscilla Chigumba, a High Court judge, has thrown out the charges against a charismatic pastor who was accused of attempting to overthrow Robert Mugabe's government.
Dismissing the charges, the judge said,
''Pastor Mawarire had called for peaceful protests over the economic crisis, not the violent removal of government.''
Evan Mawarire's offence was that he encouraged Zimbabweans to hold peaceful protests and strikes. He was briefly forced into exile in South Africa.
The pastor said that the decision to prosecute him for doing ''what your constitution allows you to do'' had been ''absurd.''
Hear the man of God:
''I do hope that the new administration that is coming in with the new president is going to be more aware that the citizens of our nation are not enemies to our government, but they are allies in building a better Zimbabwe, that they need to be listened to.
''Our president and his administration are here to serve us, the citizens, and not the other way round. They are here to respect our constitution which is our will, and it is not for them to exercise their will over what we want.''
Mawarire was one of those prosecuted after Mugabe's government made it a criminal offence to insult the president.
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