Evan Mawarire – who launched the #ThisFlag protest campaign on social media – was found not guilty by High Court judge Priscilla Chigumba after state prosecutors failed to prove their case.
He appealed to the country’s new leadership to drop other prosecutions of people who demonstrated against former president Robert Mugabe.
The ruling came as Zimbabweans wait to see whether new President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former deputy of Mr Mugabe, follows through on pledges of democracy after years of violations of basic freedoms.
There are still some Zimbabweans “in prison for political reasons, in terms of having stood up against the regime” of Mr Mugabe, Mr Mawarire said outside the courthouse in Harare, the capital.
“Many are still appearing in court over the next few weeks and I want to urge this new government and administration to drop those charges and let those people go, because they did not commit any crime at all.”
Mr Mawarire, who stood in the dock with a Zimbabwean flag, said he was “absolutely elated” at his acquittal but claimed it was too soon to tell whether it reflected a trend towards more independence in the judiciary, which was often subject to political pressure during the Mugabe era.
“It could be evidence of a freer Zimbabwe but I think also this case had no legs from the beginning,” Mr Mawarire said.
“I think that a lot more needs to be seen for us to determine whether this is a free judiciary going forward.”
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