Owen Maseko is a Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...

an visual artist and installation art

Installation art

Installation art describes an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior interventions are often called Land art; however, the boundaries between...

ist, described as "one of Zimbabwe's most prominent artists".

In March 2010, he was arrested "less than 24 hours after his new exhibition opened" at the National Gallery

National Gallery of Zimbabwe

The National Gallery of Zimbabwe is a gallery in Harare, Zimbabwe, dedicated to the presentation and conservation of Zimbabwe’s contemporary art and visual heritage...

 in Bulawayo

Bulawayo

Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...

. His works referred to the massacres of Ndebele

Ndebele

- Ethnic groups :*South Ndebele people, located in the South Africa*Northern Ndebele people, located in Zimbabwe, and Botswana- Languages :*Southern Ndebele language, the language of the South Ndebele...

 civilians during the Gukurahundi

Gukurahundi

The Gukurahundi refers to the suppression by Zimbabwe's 5th Brigade in the predominantly Ndebele regions of Zimbabwe most of whom were supporters of Joshua Nkomo. A few hundred disgruntled former ZIPRA combatants waged armed banditry against the civilians in Matabeleland, and destroyed government...

 in the 1980s, carried out by forces loyal to Robert Mugabe

Robert Mugabe

Robert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...

. The exhbition, called "Sibathontisele" ("Let's Drip On Them"), consisted in "three installations and twelve paintings". Maseko was charged, under the Public Order and Security Act, with "undermining the authority" of President Robert Mugabe. He was also charged with "causing offence to persons of a particular race or religion". The charges carried a possible twenty year prison sentence.

He was granted bail

Bail

Traditionally, bail is some form of property deposited or pledged to a court to persuade it to release a suspect from jail, on the understanding that the suspect will return for trial or forfeit the bail...

. In September, his trial was postponed pending consideration by the Supreme Court

Supreme Court of Zimbabwe

The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe is the highest court of order and the final court of appeal in Zimbabwe.The judiciary is headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who, like the other justices, is appointed by the President on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission. The court consists of...

 as to "whether criminalising creative arts infringes on the freedom of expression and freedom of conscience", as guaranteed by the Constitution

Constitution of Zimbabwe

The Constitution of Zimbabwe is officially the supreme law of Zimbabwe. Practically, the 2008 power-sharing deal provides the structure for much of the government. The current constitution is a result of the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement and is sometimes called the Lancaster Constitution...

. A magistrate granted an application to the Supreme Court on constitutional grounds, and on the grounds that Maseko's art depicted events which had unquestionably happened.

Maseko was second runner up for the Freedom to Create Prize in 2010, for his exhbition on the Gukurahundi killings.