A Zimbabwean pastor at the centre of a protest movement against President Robert Mugabe was charged on Thursday with plotting to overthrow the government and insulting the national flag after he called for demonstrations last year. His lawyer Harrison Nkomo said the 39-year-old pastor, who faces a 20-year jail term if convicted, was also slapped with a lesser serious charge of insulting Zimbabwe's flag. The charge emanated from an online video that he posted last year where he was draped in national colours lamenting the country's economic and social decay. Mawarire, whose #ThisFlag movement last year helped organise one of the biggest anti-government protests in the last decade, is expected to appear in court on Friday, said Nkomo. He routinely accuses opponents of being funded by Western powers to remove him from office.

Source: The Star February 02, 2017 17:15 UTC