Youth leader released without charge

By Henry Makiwa
8 November 2007

A student and youth rights activist who was arrested at the University of Zimbabwe where Robert Mugabe was capping graduates on Friday has been released from police cells without charge.

Wellington Mahohoma, of the Zimbabwe Youth Movement (ZYM) walked out of the Harare Central Police station free after police failed to pin down any criminal charges against him. Mahohoma was arrested for holding a camera in the presence of Robert Mugabe.

Heavily armed state security agents and soldiers nabbed Mahohoma while filming the graduation ceremony of his brother, accusing him of taking the images of Mugabe for “sinister use”. He was further charged with “trespassing” at the University of Zimbabwe where he used to study before he was expelled after leading student protests in 2001.

On Thursday, Mahohoma accused Mugabe of suffering from paranoia.

He said: “I was well shocked to see some big burly man jumping out of Mugabe’s cars, guns on the ready to arrest me. They accused me of taking pictures of Mugabe for sinister use and took me away to the police station where I was to spend an entire weekend of intense interrogations.

“After arresting me, they confiscated my Digital camera and recorder and ZYM flash disk and continuously questioned and harassed me. On opening the flash disk, they found several issues pertaining to ZYM’s political activities and thus tried to find justification to holding me.”

Mahohoma was only released after the intervention of ZYM lawyers although the police insist they need to investigate him.