Zimbabwe 🇿🇼 police charge US woman over 'anti-Mugabe tweet'

Police in Zimbabwe charged an American woman over a tweet that appeared to insult President Robert Mugabe, her lawyer has said.

Martha O'Donovan, 25, was accused of referring to Mr Mugabe as "selfish man and sick man", a charge she denies.

She faces charges of insulting the president and plotting to overthrow the government, her lawyer told US media. Her arrest appears to be the first of its kind since the country's cyber ministry was created last month.

Ms O'Donovan, who reportedly manages Magamba TV, an online-based satirical video outlet, was "arrested during a dawn raid at her Harare residence," the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) said in a Facebook post.

Police accuse her of tweeting: "We are being led by a selfish and sick man," from the Twitter handle matigary, said Obey Shava, a lawyer with ZLHR who is representing her.

"This arrest marks the start of a sinister new chapter in the Zimbabwean government's clampdown on freedom of speech, and the new battleground is social media," said Amnesty International's deputy regional director, Muleya Mwananyanda.

UCJ, UNILORIN.