After the police wrote late yesterday gave flimsy reasons why the peaceful march could not proceed, the law-abiding political leaders, had no option but to approach the courts. Some have taken positions at the headquarters of the main opposition MDC-T party. Other police have mounted roadblocks on routes leading into the city.
Advertisement
Mutasa said NERA would approach the Courts to complain about the police conduct and to be granted another opportunity to march and petition the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) for reforms that will allow free and fair elections in 2018.
Things went to a head when the police used brute force to disperse the crowd by indiscriminately firing tear smoke and water cannons.
“Today’s brutal suppression of the people will not stop them from exercising their rights”. Initially, the protesters fled, but regrouped and fought back, virtually closing down the upper parts of the capital. The protesters grew in numbers and police tried to chase them away.
ZANU-PF youths hurled stones at the opposition activists but were overpowered and their stalls were set alight. The group had also defaced street signs at Freedom Square, which were put up just before the Zanu PF congress in December 2014.
1357: Vending stalls at Copacabana Bus Terminus have been burnt.
Zimbabwe police fire tear gas, beat anti-Mugabe marchers was posted in World of TheNews International – https://www.thenews.com.pk on August 27, 2016 and was last updated on August 27, 2016.
He said Nera was not accountable for the chaos that happened as it had occurred outside of their routes after the police indiscriminately started beating up people. Several people were reported injured in what was some of the worst unrest in the country since food riots in 1998.
“We are going to ensure that anyone who commits acts of any form of politically motivated violence would face the full wrath of the law”, Chombo told dpa.
1232: Meanwhile, Douglas Mwonzora and Nelson Chamisa have arrived. They actually meant to say they would quash any legal gathering, as they have done today by suppressing a sanctioned march. We hereby end our live updates.
“I am shocked”, Didymus Mutasa, a former member of Mugabe’s Zanu-PF government, said.
The Canadian embassy also said it was “increasingly concerned with reports of violence and human rights violations in response to public protest”, and called for calm. “I am personally one of the people who actually think President Mugabe must be impeached and so I am going to walk the talk”, said Maridadi. This regime that is now in its sunset hour should stand warned that citizens are like a spring, the more they are suppressed, the greater the rebound!
Advertisement
“We can’t blame them for that and they have been whispering their anger and nobody has been giving an ear for that and this is what we are witnessing”.
