Zimbabwean minister cheekily tells US ‘to go hang on a banana tree’
A Zimbabwean minister was unfazed by a statement issued by the US embassy that it was concerned with human rights violation in the country.
Zimbabweans and South Africans march to the Zimbabwe embassy during #ThisFlag protest on July 14, 2016 in Pretoria, South Africa. Protests were held in Cape Town and Pretoria after #ThisFlag leader Evan Mawarire was arrested and later released. (Photo by Gallo Images / Alet Pretorius)
Following the arrest of human rights activist Pastor Evan Mawarire in Zimbabwe at the beginning of February, US ambassador Harry Thomas said the situation was concerning.
Shortly after releasing an official statement on Monday, Secretary for Information‚ Media and Broadcasting Services George Charamba fired back.
“He thinks he can boss over us. They can go and hang on a banana tree,” he told state owned newspaper, The Herald.
Mawarire has spent six months in self-imposed exile in the United States after charges of treason were brought against him last year. Though the charges did not stand, Mawarire feared for his life and left Zimbabwe mid 2016.
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According to CNN, Human rights group Amnesty International Thursday called for his immediate release.
“The authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Pastor Evan Mawarire, as he is a prisoner of conscience imprisoned solely for the peaceful exercise of his rights.
“It is designed to make him stop his human rights activism and to punish him for speaking out about the declining human rights situation in Zimbabwe,” Amnesty deputy regional director for South Africa Muleya Mwananyanda said in a statement.
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