Man trashes Mugabe pic, jailed
10/03/2008 12:04  - (SA)  

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Harare - A Zimbabwean was jailed for a month for destroying an election campaign poster with a picture of President Robert Mugabe, the state-run Herald newspaper reported on Monday.

Tichaona Sande, from the shantytown of Epworth east of the capital, Harare, pleaded guilty on Friday to breaching a section of the electoral law, which prohibited destroying or defacing campaign materials.

Sande, whose age was not given, was with several other men in a local shop when an argument broke out, The Herald reported.

"Unexpectedly, Sande reached for a Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) poster with the face of President Mugabe and pulled it before tearing it to pieces," the newspaper said.

"He left the pieces on the floor and went home." He was arrested after witnesses reported him to the police.

Passing sentence, Harare magistrate Lazarus Murendo reportedly said Sande's behaviour could incite political violence and that jailing him until after the country's March 29 general elections would help maintain political stability.

In power since independence in 1980, Mugabe was seeking a sixth term this month in a four-way campaign, which included his former finance minister Simba Makoni and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

There were regular reports of people being arrested for slandering Zimbabwe's long-time president and breaching the strict Public Order and Security Act.

Usually those found guilty receive light jail sentences, fines or are ordered to do community service.

- AFP

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