Mawarire blamed President Robert Mugabe’s government for the unrest in the southern African country.
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The supporters sang and chanted slogans Wednesday in support of Mugabe, who has been in power for 36 years.
Thousands of jobless Zanu PF youths were on Wednesday morning dropped off in central Harare for a demonstration to counter recent citizen protests against corruption, an ailing economy and human rights abuses.
Mawarire was arrested on July 12 but a court threw out charges of subversion-which carry a maximum 20-year sentence-against the preacher, who is now in South Africa and has continued his vocal opposition on social media.
His calls on social media for a boycott earlier this month drew a strong response from people frustrated by Zimbabwe’s deepening economic problems.
Mugabe on Tuesday attacked the 39-year-old social media campaigner for allegedly inciting violence.
The bussed ruling party youths said they were exhausted of “ignorant people” and vowed to that “it is now time to deal with people who don’t know”. Although Mawarire posted a Facebook message on Friday seeking to allay the fears of many who say they have lost trust in him, speculation has continued growing that he is not who he is.
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In his first public comments on Mawarire, the 92-year-old Mugabe accused the pastor of urging Zimbabweans to engage in violent protests, questioning whether he was a “true preacher”. Civil servants and soldiers have not been paid on time in recent months due to a cash shortage-which the country’s finance minister blamed on Western sanctions-and the government has introduced bond notes, a cash substitute, in order to address the flight of foreign currency including USA dollars. “Love one another. So beware these men of God – not all of them are true preachers of the Bible”. “Next time these pastors do their amusing acts, stand aside and let us deal with them”.
