Brave defiance in Zimbabwe

The National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) mounted snatched surprise protests yesterday. The Standard reports that the “lethargic police were caught unawares” and only made half-hearted efforts to arrest the demonstrators as they were dispersing. According to Lovemore Madhuku, the NCA is trying to lead by example:

“We had enough people who have been able to brave the reprisals that could be visited upon them by the police to show the way for the rest of society,” Madhuku said.

He added: “There are enough people who do not care about (President Robert) Mugabe and if we all concentrate on mobilising people for street protests, we will get what we want to get.”

Yesterday’s protests saw 18 people arrested by the police . They will all face charges of breaching the Public Order and Security Act (POSA). In Zimbabwe, it is illegal for people to gather in groups of three or more to discuss politics or hold public demonstrations without first seeking police permission.

The police seem to be more prepared for tomorrow’s planned protests by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) who have announced that more than 300 000 of its members will stage demonstrations across the country. ZimOnline reports that there is a heightened police presence on the streets of Zimbabwe’s five major cities: “Police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena would not disclose the reasons for increased armed police patrols in Harare saying he could not discuss security matters with the Press”.

Our thoughts, and our thanks, go to those who were arrested for demonstrating on behalf of everyone in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe, Police, Protest, Activism

This entry was posted by Noktula on Monday, November 7th, 2005 at 5:39 pm. You can follow any comments on this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.