Mugabe defamation case revived

A senior MDC Alliance member faces criminal charges for allegedly insulting former President Robert Mugabe 19 years ago. Court papers claim Godfrey Chimombe, who was the MDC's Mashonaland Central chairperson at the time, ‘insulted or undermined Mugabe in February 2000’. A TimesLIVE report notes that the prosecution state says that during a rally in Mount Darwin, Chimombe accused Mugabe of orchestrating several killings during the Gukurahundi period of 1982-87. He is also accused of making unsubstantiated claims about Mugabe's health. Section 96 of the Criminal Code, colloquially known as the ‘Mugabe insult law’, was used by the police to arrest Mugabe's opponents and critics. The lawmaker will be defended by Tinomuda Shoko, from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights.