homeEntertainment

Zimbabwe movement #ThisFlag now divided after Pastor Mawarire leaves for USA

Jardine Malado August 21, 2016 01:35 AM EST

Followers of #ThisFlag are now unsure about the future of the movement against Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe after Pastor Evan Mawarire went to the United States. The pastor has not confirmed whether he is staying in the United States for good but some supporters criticized him and started to use the hashtag #ThisAsylum. Other supporters felt that it is better for him to lead the movement in the United States where he would be safe.

Pastor Ewan Mawarire | Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko

Mawarire dismissed his critics in a video saying, "You are so quick to tell me to come back home but you can't tell Bob (Robert Mugabe) to go away."

The pastor was detained in Zimbabwe last July for "inciting public violence" but was eventually released after public protest. After his release, he went to South Africa to meet with Zimbabweans who fled their home country. The pastor admitted that he feared for his life during an interview with EWN. "These are things that we've seen over the last few weeks, as thousands of young people that support the president marched against myself as an individual. So, it does scare me, for me and my family that a place that I call home has become the unsafest place for me to live in," he stated.

Mawarire has since recorded a video while traveling in Atlanta, Georgia to encourage supporters of the movement telling them, "She (Zimbabwe) needs your support now more than ever before. This is not the time for you and I not to give the support to Zimbabwe that she needs." He also apologized to the supporters who got upset by his past actions and encourage each Zimbabwean to unite and build the country whether he is a part of the movement or not.

The pastor started #ThisFlag by recording videos of himself draped in the Zimbabwean flag. On the 36th anniversary of Zimbabwe's independence, he recorded a video talking about the significance of the colors in the flag of Zimbabwe. President Mugabe has since labeled Mawarire as a fake pastor and accused him of being "foreign sponsored."

Latest News

Sight & Sound’s ‘David’ showcases a king's sincere heart to pursue God

LANCASTER, Pa. — Four years in the making, the production “David” opened at Sight & Sound Theatres this year and explores the journey of an unassuming shepherd boy who became a king.

Presbyterian Church in America votes to leave National Association of Evangelicals

The Presbyterian Church in America has voted to leave the National Association of Evangelicals due to the ...

Secular intolerance of Christians' views is leading to self-censorship, report warns

Secular intolerance has a “chilling effect” on Christians who are having to practice “various forms of self-censorship” as they're finding it difficult to express their faith freely in society, according to a new report detailing accounts from four countries.

Over 50 killed in 'vile and satanic' attack at Nigerian church on Pentecost Sunday

Gunmen suspected to be Islamic Fulani herdsmen barged into a Catholic Church in southwestern Nigeria, opened fire and detonated explosives while the congregation was celebrating Mass on Pentecost Sunday, killing at least 50 worshipers, including women and children. It's feared that some Christians were also abducted after the attack.

Leah Sharibu held captive over 1,500 days in Nigeria, but family advocates haven't lost hope

For more than 1,500 days, Nigerian Christian teenager Leah Sharibu has been held captive by the Boko Haram terrorist group as Christians continue to be the target of attacks in the West African nation.