Zim makes first Facebook arrest

Zimbabwean police have made the first Facebook arrest after a Bulawayo man was charged over a post he made on the social networking site, reports New Zimbabwe.

Vikas Mavhudzi posted a message deemed offensive on the wall of a Facebook account allegedly belonging to Zimbabwean prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

The Zimbabwean states the court was told that police arrested Mavhudzi in February after receiving an anonymous call claiming he sent a security threat via his mobile phone.

It was only after the arrest that police went through his phone and discovered the message in the sent folder.

Prosecutor Jeremiah Mutsindikwa accused Mavhudzi of “advocating or attempting to take over government by unconstitutional means”, says SW Radio Africa.

North African political protests against dictators appear to have rattled Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF, as any discussion of the protests is now considered a crime in Zimbabwe.