Pastor Patrick
Phillip Mugadza made headlines last December in a one-man protest
against Mugabe at the Victoria Falls resort during Zanu-PF's national
conference holding a placard that read: "Mr President, the people are
suffering. Proverbs 21:13". O
n 27 April he chained himself to a pole while holding a cross in a hand and a bible in another in the capital Harare.
'Mugabe-Must-Go' pastor
Dubbed the
'Mugabe-Must-Go' pastor, the Remnant Church leader spoke to passers-by
about "what we are supposed to do to free ourselves from the ills which
are taking place in our nation", as he protested, the African News
Agency (ANA) reported.
In a statement,
Mugadza claimed he was demonstrating against "the cowardice where the
majority of our people are silent when just but everything is going in
the wrong direction under our watch".
Referring
to the country's celebrations, he said there was "need for freedom and not only
independence
". The pastor then spoke about the arrest of Zimbabwean journalist and political activist Itai Dzamara, who
disappeared
13 months ago and whose younger brother Patson was allegedly assaulted and arrested for a few hours on Independence Day after demonstrating against the
government
at the National Sports Stadium.
"People like Itai
Dzamara are abducted for saying the truth; people are beaten when they
stand up for the truth, yet we say we are independent", Mugadza said,
adding: "Zimbabweans... need to stand and demand (their) freedom,
prosperity and jobs".
The pastor's stunt came as frustrated social media users poked fun at Zanu-PF supporters' hashtag by using their own
#1980SoFarFromGood
,
as part of a digital protest against the government's handling of the
economic crisis gripping the country. The hashtag trended in 2015, when
the country
commemorated
35 years of independence, along with #1980SoFarSoBetrayed.
In February, Zimbabwe appealed to domestic and international backers for assistance as it revealed that more than a quarter of its population was going hungry, following a declaration of a state of disaster by Mugabe.
The government blamed
perennial food shortages on the 'Godzilla El Nino' weather phenomenon
that has caused drought in southern Africa. Zimbabwe's announcement that
nearly 2.5 million of its citizens were in need of urgent food aid came
amid rising anger from the opposition over Mugabe's planned 92nd birthday bash on 21 February. In March, Mugabe flew to Japan where he was hoping to solidify his nation's Look East policy by boosting investment and economic cooperation deals with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who awarded him ¥600m (US$5m) of financial assistance.
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