A senior official of Zimbabwe's main opposition
party has been arrested for failing to stop an outlawed protest, the party said
Friday.
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| Zimbabwean anti-riot police load civilians onto a truck as they patrol the streets of Harare on August 16, 2019, after the High Court upheld a police ban on protests and march planned by the main opposition party over worsening economic conditions in the country. PHOTO | JEKESAI NJIKIZANA | AFP |
Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) organised several protests to highlight the
collapsing economy in the southern African country, but the government has
launched a crackdown on the rallies.
The MDC's
organising secretary Amos Chibaya was arrested on Thursday and appeared in
court Friday.
He will
return to court on Monday for a bail application.
"Chibaya's
remand in custody is testimony of a brutal programme of persecution by
prosecution," the MDC tweeted.
Police
said the arrest was in connection with a protest on August 16 in Harare.
The
opposition party had planned to roll out marches to protest the ailing economic
conditions in the country, starting in the capital.
The
demonstrations were blocked after the police issued a prohibition order,
stopping the demonstrations on the eve of the Harare march, on the pretext they
would likely be violent.
But some
MDC supporters still rallied in downtown Harare. The police descended upon them
and rights groups say more than one hundred people were arrested while a dozen
were injured.
Five
marches slated for five other urban centres across the country were also
blocked by authorities.
In
another incident, nine members of a rural teachers' union were arrested for
demonstrating against poor remuneration and working conditions in downtown
Harare on Friday, along with their lawyer Doug Coltart.
Coltart
and the teachers have been charged with "criminal nuisance", lawyer
and senior MDC official Fadzayi Mahere said.
Coltart
tweeted that he was beaten by police during the arrest. He posted pictures of
the injuries sustained on his face and hands.
"I
was pushed to the ground, beaten and kicked by riot police. I was simply asking
the reason for my arrest -- which is my constitutional right," he said in
a tweet.
"I
was never informed of the reason for arrest. They put handcuffs so tight that I
lost blood to my hands."
The
arrests are part of growing repression by a government faced with a worsening
socio-economic situation characterised by shortages of fuel, bread, medicines
among many basics and skyrocketing prices when goods are available.
On taking
office, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who came to power after the 2017 ousting
of long-time ruler Robert Mugabe, promised more freedoms and a revamp to the
already ailing economy. - Africa
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