200805081231 | Lawyer held for Mugabe insult

Lawyer held for Mugabe insult

Harare - Police in Zimbabwe on Wednesday arrested a leading lawyer over allegations that he insulted veteran President Robert Mugabe, the attorney's colleague said.

Harrison Nkomo was detained by police after he was said to have remarked to a senior prosecutor whose surname is Mugabe to tell his "father" to step down as the country was suffering under his rule.

"They said he uttered words that are insulting to the president," Beatrice Mtetwa, Nkomo's colleague in a Harare law firm, told AFP.

"They said those words undermined the authority of the president and were insulting Mugabe," said Mtetwa.

Nkomo allegedly made the remarks last Friday while waiting for a judge at the high court where he sought bail for a freelance journalist, Frank Chikowore, who was arrested during an opposition general strike last month.

The lawyer has defended a number of high profile clients in recent weeks, including a New York Times correspondent who was arrested for covering the recent general election without accreditation.

There are regular reports of people arrested for slandering Zimbabwe's long-time president and breaching the strict Public Order and Security Act which make it an offence to insult a head of state.

Usually those found guilty receive light jail sentences, fines or are ordered to do community service.

Mugabe came second in a presidential election on March 29 and faces a run-off against opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on a date yet to be decided.