{"id":112163,"date":"2025-10-27T10:51:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T08:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ed-critic-arrested-after-us10-000-trap"},"modified":"2025-10-27T12:57:53","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T10:57:53","slug":"ed-critic-arrested-after-us10-000-trap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ed-critic-arrested-after-us10-000-trap","title":{"rendered":"ED critic arrested after US$10 000 trap"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>A CRITIC of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Malcom Masarira \u2014 popularly known as Traore \u2014 was arrested on Friday in Harare after being trapped with US$10 000.<\/p>\n

Masarira, a prominent activist, who has garnered a substantial following through his online campaign advocating for Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga\u2019s presidential bid, faces multiple charges, including inciting violence and attempting to undermine a constitutional government.<\/p>\n

Sources close to the investigation revealed that Masarira was apprehended following a well-orchestrated trap involving his close friend, Lovemore Thomson, alias \u201cShorty\u201d with US$10 000 used as bait.<\/p>\n

He is being detained at Harare Central Police Station.<\/p>\n

Thomson reportedly arranged a meeting with Masarira in Harare, leading to the latter disclosing his residential address.<\/p>\n

The move culminated in Masarira\u2019s capture after a spending spree in the capital.<\/p>\n

Thomson yesterday dismissed the allegations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am told there are people who are saying I was given US$10 000. They just want to tarnish my image, these are dogs. I am not a bogus person. I cannot defend myself now because they just want to tarnish my image,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The activist\u2019s vocal criticisms of the Mnangagwa government, particularly the allegations against Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri\u2019s daughter regarding drug supply, heightened the scrutiny of State security agencies.<\/p>\n

In an unprecedented move, Muchinguri-Kashiri publicly condemned Masarira and called for his arrest during an interview with NewsDay, signalling the government\u2019s growing intolerance for dissent.<\/p>\n

National police spokesperson Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed Masarira\u2019s arrest, but declined to provide further details.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, he has been arrested. I am out of office at the moment, I could have given you details or you can go to the courts where he is appearing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Masarira, who recently returned to Zimbabwe from South Africa, previously contested in the Zanu PF primary elections for the Chikanga constituency, He has since resorted to social media to mobilise support for his cause.<\/p>\n

His push for Chiwenga\u2019s presidency through the \u201cGeneral Chiwenga for President\u201d movement has attracted thousands of followers, complicating the State\u2019s response to his activism.<\/p>\n

The arrest has sparked concern among Masarira\u2019s supporters, many of whom fear retaliatory action from the government thus are seeking to distance themselves from the unfolding legal troubles.<\/p>\n

The ruling Zanu PF party is experiencing deep fissures over a push by Mnangagwa\u2019s loyalists for his term extension to 2030.<\/p>\n

The party recently upheld resolution No 1 for the extension of Mnangagwa\u2019s tenure at the party\u2019s national people\u2019s conference in Mutare recently.<\/p>\n

It has directed the party\u2019s legal affairs secretary and Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs minister Ziyambi Ziyambi to use government structures to implement the resolution, passed in Bulawayo last year.<\/p>\n

Mnangagwa, who has indicated that he will leave office in 2028, has reportedly faced criticism from other party structures over his continued silence over the matter.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. A CRITIC of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Malcom Masarira \u2014 popularly known as Traore \u2014 was arrested on Friday in Harare after being trapped with US$10 000. Masarira, a prominent activist, who has garnered a substantial following through his online campaign advocating for Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga\u2019s presidential bid, faces multiple charges, including inciting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":112162,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8,35,12,2715],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-112163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-homepage-english","category-policy","category-to-homepage","tag-zimbabwe"],"yoast_head":"\nED critic arrested after US$10 000 trap - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A CRITIC of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Malcom Masarira \u2014 popularly known as Traore \u2014 was arrested on Friday in Harare ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ed-critic-arrested-after-us10-000-trap\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ED critic arrested after US$10 000 trap\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A CRITIC of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Malcom Masarira \u2014 popularly known as Traore \u2014 was arrested on Friday in Harare ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ed-critic-arrested-after-us10-000-trap\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-27T08:51:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-27T10:57:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2025\/10\/sm_1761550255.292435.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"510\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ed-critic-arrested-after-us10-000-trap#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ed-critic-arrested-after-us10-000-trap\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"ED critic arrested after US$10 000 trap\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-27T08:51:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-27T10:57:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ed-critic-arrested-after-us10-000-trap\"},\"wordCount\":485,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ed-critic-arrested-after-us10-000-trap#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2025\/10\/sm_1761550255.292435.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Zimbabwe\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"homepage-english\",\"policy\",\"to-homepage\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ed-critic-arrested-after-us10-000-trap#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ed-critic-arrested-after-us10-000-trap\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/ed-critic-arrested-after-us10-000-trap\",\"name\":\"ED critic arrested after US$10 000 trap - 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