Pastor held for Mugabe forecast
HARARE: A Zimbabwe pastor who predicted that President Robert Mugabe would die on October 17 has been arrested.
Patrick Mugadza said he was arrested on Monday at the Harare Magistrate’s Court. The father of two has been arrested several times for various protests against Mugabe and the government.
“Police arrested me right at the door when I was coming out of the court. Right now I am at (Harare) central police station for the prophecy I gave that the president will die in October.
“They say I have undermined the authority of the president though they have not formally charged me. I have not seen anyone yet save for arresting officers,” Mugadza told NewZimbabwe.com
The pastor was due to be tried on Monday for wrapping the national flag around his neck in a one-man protest in central Harare last week.
His prophecy, he said, came because 2017 was a “very special year, because of the number seven and at the same time also 2017 collides with 37 years by which Zanu-PF has been ruling this beautiful nation of Zimbabwe, but something is going to be happening also, which is very critical for us to know”.
He said God spoke to him after Christmas and told him that Mugabe would die on October 17 this year.
“It is not to say that I am glad to announce this but, I am just saying it because that’s what God told me.”
So far police have not responded to questions about the pastor’s arrest. Late on Monday, social media activists in Harare said they understood the pastor was still at Harare Central.
Magadza, who leads a small congregation in Harare, had also been arrested after he travelled to Victoria Falls and staged a one-man demonstration outside the hotel where Mugabe and 6 000 delegates met for the ruling party’s annual conference. He said nothing but held up a poster on which he had written: “Mr President, the people are suffering.”
He was arrested outside the hotel and taken to the local police station where he was charged with creating a “criminal nuisance”, but could not afford to pay his bail.
He was eventually rescued by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights after 16 days in prison. – Foreign Service