adminRazemba Harare Bureau
HARARE police are holding a “Madzibaba” who posted pictures of himself wearing police uniform on Facebook. The man, identified only as Madzibaba Chacha, a tailor in Westlea, was trying to make fun of an incident in Budiriro last week in which members of an apostolic sect violently assaulted police officers and journalists.
The uniform he wore had been left by a police officer who had asked him to do some alterations.
After he wore the uniform, Madzibaba Chacha allowed several people to take pictures of him using their mobile phones.
The pictures were then uploaded on various social networks under different headings.
On Facebook, the picture was headlined: “If you can beat them, join them too”, while another picture on the same social network claimed that the man was Ishmael Mufani, leader of the Budiriro sect who is on the run and has a bounty of $3,000 on his head.
Madzibaba Chacha was yesterday still being questioned by the police and it was not clear whether he was going to be charged.
Last Friday, seven police officers in riot gear, journalists and members of the ACCZ were seriously injured when the Johanne Masowe eChishanu apostolic sect members attacked them with knobkerries, sticks and stones.
This was after ACCZ president Archbishop Johannes Ndanga announced that the sect had been banned from operating in Zimbabwe because it violated national and Christian laws. There are allegations of widespread abuse of women in the sect, and children are not allowed to attend conventional schools.
Madzibaba Ishmael is believed to be hiding among his followers in Harare.
derick.khumalo