HARARE – Celebrated playwright Daves Guzha was arrested on Sunday, authorities said for publicly showing a film not approved by government censors.
Lawyers said Guzha was arrested with three others and later released after signing a warned and cautioned statement. They were told to return to a police station on Monday, when they are likely to be presented in court.
The film, Lord of Kush, was shown at the Theatre in The Park on Friday evening.
Government spokesman Ndavaningi Mangwana said the film, which is set in Pakistan and tackles religious fundamentalism, had “security implications for a foreign power” and had not been approved by the Censorship and Entertainment Board.
“My understanding is that this is a play that had not been cleared by the Censorship and Entertainment Board. I’m informed the play has security implications for a foreign power and the censors did not approve it. They proceeded to feature the play in the Harare Gardens regardless,” Mangwana said on Monday.
“Artists are quite free to express themselves through their art or theatre. But it’s not a lawless jungle. I don’t believe in the USA you can have a play that venerates Al Qaeda or such terrorists. That’s an example of a caveat to the freedom of expression.”
Guzha, the director of Rooftop Promotions, was arrested with his manager Peter Churu, the film’s producer and co-director Tendai Maduwa and Kuda Bryan Bwititi.
Guzha said: “We remain bemused with this provocative and uncalled for assault on our freedom of expression and thought as well as on cultural and creative bonafide individuals and institutions which are trying to do their bit in giving hope in sustaining an already stressed sector.”
Maduwa, speaking early this month, said the film was inspired by true events.
“I was in Pakistan years ago and there was a school (Peshawar) that was bombed by terrorists leading to the death of innocent children,” he said. “This incident motivated me to pen this film. The movie tackles issues to do with peace, tolerance and just living together as a people regardless of religious, political, racial or tribal differences.”
In the movie, a retired professor imposes Christianity on Islamic kids triggering reactions that led to the bombings and other events that later unfolded.
