MTHWAKAZI Republic Party (MRP) national youth treasurer Lwazi Khanye was on Tuesday this week reportedly arrested in connection with the party’s recent raids of apostolic sect shrines in Bulawayo.
The raids began on April 24 and have been ongoing since then, the party said yesterday.
In a statement yesterday, the MRP information department said Khanye was picked up at his workplace on Tuesday by officers from Bulawayo Central Police Station, adding that he was released.
“Bulawayo Central Police picked up Khanye at his workplace and they were questioning him about the clean-up campaigns MRP has been doing in Bulawayo in the past weeks,” the opposition party said.
“Khanye was detained at Bulawayo Central Police Station from 8am and was released after a docket was opened. He was given orders to visit the State the next day with the lawyer for a statement.”
MRP president Mqondisi Moyo yesterday said Khanye was charged with contravening the Cyber Security Act.
“The person who opened a case against Khanye claims that he saw a video on social media where he was filmed around the Nkulumane Complex areas carrying a huge knife and claims that people who shot that video were seen entering Khanye’s car,” Moyo said.
“It is yet to be proven if the said accusation has anything to do with Khanye and his car. A case related to cybercrime was opened.”
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Khanye reportedly spent the whole day at the police station and the MRP had to provide transport as officers at Nkulumane Police Station claimed that they did not have transport to take him to town.
Moyo said Khanye, who is being represented by Nqobani Sithole of Abammeli Lawyers for Human Rights, was released around 5pm.
However, Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson Inspector Abednico Ncube said he had not yet received a report with regards to Khanye’s arrest.
The MRP activists recently launched an operation to raid apostolic sect shrines around Bulawayo’s bushy areas to cleanse the environment of activities they claimed are alien to Matabeleland culture and tradition.
The party ordered the sect members to remove their ritual cloths and flags flying at the shrines amid concerns these were violating local cultural norms and values.
The raids started in a bush between Barbourfields and Entumbane suburbs, where most of the shrines are located before they spread to all suburbs in an operation that runs every Wednesday.
The MRP team also destroyed the shrines, flags and any cloths found in the bushes after some sect members failed to heed calls to remove their paraphernalia.
