The two’s lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, could not comment as she said she was at the police station attending to her clients.
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Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association (ZNLWVA) secretary for information and publicity Douglas Mahiya was yesterday freed on $300 bail.
In response, Mugabe said that the previously loyal veterans who had criticized him would face severe punishment: “The punishment will be hard”, he said at a rally on Wednesday.
The pair (and other veterans of the 1970s war for independence in Zimbabwe) are being pursued by the authorities due to their links to a statement from the former freedom fighters that was highly critical of Mugabe.
Police in anti-riot gear stood guard at the court entrance while war veterans sang songs protesting against Mahiya and Matemadanda’s arrest.
Zimbabwe War Veterans Secretary General Victor Matemadanda reacts as he is escorted by Zimbabwean Policemen to a court hearing on August 1, 2016 in Harare after being arrested.
Mahiya is facing charges of undermining the authority of, or insulting the President.
A new non-partisan opposition movement known as #ThisFlag has also galvanised anti-government sentiment in Zimbabwe, where security forces have crushed signs of dissent for decades.
Although state prosecutors tried to block the war veteran leader from gaining his freedom, the presiding magistrate turned back their efforts.
Separately, the Zimbabwean Lawyers for Human Rights association said the war veterans’ political commissar, Francis Nhando, was also arrested outside the court on Monday. The magistrate ordered the state to investigate the claim, and said he would hear Mahiya’s bail application on Saturday.
Earlier this month, a one-day strike shut down offices, shops, schools and government departments as people protested over the economic crisis.
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Mugabe has ruled Zimbabwe for 36 years and some, including those in his own ruling ZANU PF, accuse him of being responsible for the economic collapse that has caused so much suffering for ordinary people.
