Police officers on 30 July 2020 raided and ransacked the home of ZimLive editor Mduduzi Mathuthu in Zimbabwe’s second city of Bulawayo reportedly looking for information on subversive materials linked to the 31 July 2020 protests.
According to a warrant of search and seizure, the police said they were looking for mobile phones, cameras, computers and any subversive materials that were likely to be used in tomorrow’s planned demonstrations, which the law enforcement agents have said are illegal.
The police said they believed Mathuthu was organising and advocating for the demonstrations adding that he was using his mobile phone to encourage people to demonstrate.
Mathuthu was not at his home when the police arrived. The police have since picked up his young sister Nomagugu and detained her at the Bulawayo Central Police station. MISA Zimbabwe has since deployed lawyer Nqobani Sithole to assist both Mduduzi and his sister.
The raid on Mathuthu’s home follows a similar one at the Harare home of journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, who was arrested on 20 June 2020. Chin’ono is in custody after he was denied bail on charges of inciting public violence in terms of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
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