Zimbabwe police on Wednesday barricaded the headquarters of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in central Harare and chased away hundreds of supporters who had gathered to hear an address by the party’s leader.
Hundreds of riot police officers formed a barricade around Morgan Tsvangirai House in Harare’s central business district and ordered the MDC activists outside the building to disperse.
In what has become a familiar occurrence in Zimbabwe in recent years, the police fired tear gas and charged at the MDC supporters when they refused to disperse, seriously injuring several of the opposition activists.
One of the injured activists had a deep wound on the head while several others had bruised.
MDC leader Nelson Chamisa says he will go ahead with his public address today but changed the venue to the party headquarters after police blocked the planned Africa Unity Square meeting.
The police had earlier this week refused to grant MDC leader Nelson Chamisa permission to hold a public gathering in the nearby Africa Unity Square where he wanted to present his “Hope of the Nation Address”, a play on the State of the Nation Address delivered by President Emmerson Mnangagwa last month.
The ban forced the opposition leader to move the address to the party’s headquarters.
The law enforcement agents justified the ban on the gathering on the ground that they feared that the programme could be hijacked by rogue elements and turn violent.
Critics accuse Mnangagwa of failing to turn around the fortunes of the country despite promises made when he came to power via a military coup two years ago.
The MDC condemned the police action, saying this showed that the Harare administration was not ready to create a level playing field for all political parties despite claims to the contrary.
JN/APA