Zimbabwe MP Lynette Karenyi free over ‘Mugabe gay’ jibe
Zimbabwe’s president infamously said gays were “worse than pigs or dogs”
A Zimbabwean MP has been freed after spending Christmas in jail for allegedly saying President Robert Mugabe had had gay sex, local media say.
Lynette Karenyi, from the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), is said to have made the comments at a rally on 9 December.
Insulting the president is a criminal offence in Zimbabwe, whose leader is known for his anti-homosexual views.
The MP has denied making the comments. She was arrested on 19 December after allegedly saying Mr Mugabe had had sex with two male politicians.
Despite the state’s opposition, a magistrate granted her bail of $200 (£130).
An MDC spokesman previously said the charges against Ms Karenyi had been “trumped up”.
Zimbabwe’s president infamously said gays were “worse than pigs or dogs” and condemned British Prime Minister David Cameron for suggesting that aid would be cut off from countries which did not recognise gay rights.
The MDC joined Mr Mugabe’s Zanu-PF in a power-sharing government in 2009 in a bid to ease tensions after violence marred their election the previous year.
However, the political temperature has risen recently ahead of elections which could take place later this year.
BBc news Africa on 29 December 2011 Last updated at 16:19.
I’ve been searching anruod on progressive sites like Common Dreams and Rabble, and it’s really despairing to see Mugabe apologist perspectives so vigorously defended. There aren’t actually many of them, but the know that what they believe is right, they are relentless, and they are vocal. In some cases, I think they are simply trying to play devil’s advocate (which I think is horribly misguided in this case), but some of them, especially Marxist- Leninists and probably Trotskyites, still see Mugabe as a hero of some kind. As if “left-wing” strongmen can’t be as evil as those of the right-wing persuasion. That is, if Mugabe’s left credentials are even still in tact, which I would suggest they are not and have not been for a long time.Of course, it doesn’t help that there are some who say colonial rule should never have ended. That’s not true either, and it just eggs the Mugabe apologists on. It would be nice if we could have discussions where we focus on what Zimbabwe needs right now.