Czech tourist's arrest highlights Zimbabwe's ongoing crisis
The Zimbabwe police arrested and brought to court a Czech tourist who, in a self-recorded video, complained about issues with water and electricity supply in the country he visited for vacation.
Czech Lucas Slavik was staying in Masvingo, near the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, one of the country's major tourist attractions.
Complained online, now has a problem
He posted a video online in which he showed a group of people whose relative had just been hit by a car. At the same time, he shared his opinions about Zimbabwe. He revealed that the country experiences continuous water and electricity shortages and that prices are incredibly high due to the difficult economic situation. He spoke in English, and since there were local police officers loudly discussing the accident in the group, he was out of luck. They immediately handcuffed the Czech and accused him of spreading lies. The man ended up in court.
The lawyer defending the Czech argued in court that the law under which his client was judged had long been considered obsolete and did not even appear in the official law journal. Interestingly, the courthouse lost power during the trial because the city was out of electricity. "Would it be a lie if someone now said that there is no electricity in the courthouse?" the Czech's lawyer, Knowledge Mabvure, immediately asked the judge.
He added that the facility where his client stayed lacked water and electricity for several days.
According to local media reports, "the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Zimbabwe is making frantic efforts to free its citizen" before the second hearing, which was postponed to this week.
Zimbabwe has been struggling with electricity shortages for years. Still, in recent months, the country has faced an almost complete power cut, as its primary source, the dam shared with Zambia on Lake Kariba, has nearly dried up. In Harare, power outages last up to 20 hours.
They don't want Zimbabwe to host an important event
Zimbabwe will host the 44th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit from August 17. President Emmerson Mnangagwa will take over as chairman of this organization in conjunction with the event. The government has asked ZESA, the electricity supplier, to ensure that a few selected buildings have power during the summit. However, it is uncertain whether the summit will take place in the country at all.
Due to the Zimbabwean government's frequent human rights violations, the Democratic Alliance co-ruling in South Africa has called on SADC member states to revoke Zimbabwe's chairmanship and move the summit to another country.
