Updated

A lawyer for a youth leader in the Zimbabwe prime minister's party says he is in jail for referring to the nation's longtime ruler as "a limping donkey" at an election campaign rally.

Attorney Charles Kwaramba said Friday the youth wing head  is charged with  insulting President Robert Mugabe, 89, under sweeping security laws.

In the local Shona language the phrase "dhongi rinokamina" is used to depict a lame draught animal that is no longer of any use and must be put out to pasture.

Youth leader Solomon Madzore faces a penalty of a fine or several months of imprisonment.

Legal charges for insulting Mugabe are common in Zimbabwe.

The prime minister's party says the arrest is to stifle its campaigning for younger voters in elections scheduled this year.