Zimbabwe police have reportedly banned an anti-government demonstration planned for Monday in the city of Bulawayo, saying it would likely result in public disorder, reported Reuters. The protest was called by the country’s main opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
“Ordinary citizens in the country are experiencing hardships so any call for the demonstrations might be taken advantage of by the already agitated citizens and violence may erupt,” police said in a notice banning the demonstration.
Last week, the police banned another demonstration planned by MDC in Harare on Friday, when they used tear gas on the protesters, chased them from the capital’s streets and arrested dozens of them.
The MDC is accusing President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government of corruption and economic mismanagement. The opponents say, Mr. Mnangagwa, who came to power in November 2017 after long-time leader Robert Mugabe was ousted in a military coup, has failed to make good on promises of political and economic reform.
The opposition called for the protests over Zimbabwe’s worst economic crisis in a decade. The country is currently reeling from high inflation and shortages of basic supplies such as fuel, power, and water. Inflation is currently at a 10-year high.
On Friday, MDC leader Nelson Chamisa said his party would continue to protest against the government but that it wanted to avoid “blood in the streets”.
“Today we didn’t want to risk people’s lives by continuing to be confrontational because if we had chosen to be confrontational there will be blood in the streets,” Chamisa told reporters. “We will continue to mobilise but what you are going to see is a mutation of our strategy because when you are facing a confrontational regime you must also use tactics that are going to be above them,”
Back in January, the nationwide demonstrations against Mnangagwa’s decision to hike fuel prices by more than 100 percent left at least 17 people dead and several injured when soldiers opened fire.
