Highest court to determine anti-Mugabe pastor's fate
The case of the Zimbabwean pastor accused of prophesying the imminent death of President Robert Mugabe will now be heard before the Constitutional Court.
This follows Kariba-based Remnant Pentecostal Church leader Pastor Phillip Mugadza challenging his arrest and prosecution for claiming Mugabe will go down in October.
Mugadza claims the arrest is a violation of his fundamental rights.
Magistrate Nomsa Sabarauta of the Harare Magistrates Court has granted an application filed by the churchman for a higher court to decide his fate.
Members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police arrested Mugadza in May.
Prosecutors claimed Mugadza "insulted the Christian religion and the African tradition by uttering some words, which are a taboo to predict someone's death".
The state also charged the clergyman for causing "alarm" and "despondency" by claiming the head of state's days were numbered.
Mugabe (93) has since 1980 been president of the country he helped liberate from British colonial rule.
He is accused of presiding over an administration that has run the country's economy down and has violated the rights of his people.
Mugadza's said prophecy came at a time Zimbabweans expressed their discontent through strikes in major cities.
The veteran president has snubbed calls to quit and has been confirmed as the Zanu-PF candidate for the 2018 presidential poll.