WOZA coordinator Jenni Williams who took part in the Harare demonstration said: “Men, women and babies as usual were there and it was just the most incredible 5th anniversary of WOZA that we saw today.”

The pressure group hoped to catch the police by surprise by holding the protest marches a day ahead of Valentine’s Day.

But Williams said riot police used teargas to disperse the crowd, resulting in about 8 people being arrested in Harare, while 274 men, women and 20 babies are reported to be in police custody in Bulawayo. Although police in Harare would not give the lawyers access to their clients one of the activists in the cells was able to signal the number of arrested members to a lawyer visiting the police station.

The Bulawayo protesters were arrested together with real-life effigies of the country’s three main political leaders Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara. The protestors had planned to present the ‘images’ with copies of the People’s Charter in a ceremony outside the state-owned Chronicle.

The People’s Charter calls for free and fair elections under a new constitution and the repealing of repressive laws, as well as provision for basic necessities for Zimbabweans.

WOZA reports that their lawyers in Bulawayo, who were threatened with assault, are being denied access to their clients. It’s reported that several people in custody are in urgent need of medical assistance following the beating they received during the arrests. They are being denied treatment.

In Bulawayo it is estimated that over 1,000 people marched three blocks through Bulawayo handing out Valentine’s cards, red roses and copies of the People’s Charter to passersby.

In Harare, a similar number of protestors handed a letter to representatives of the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA) asking them to assist Zimbabweans in getting political leaders to deliver the People’s Charter. Also in Harare the WOZA activists attached the three effigies of Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara to the wall outside Takura House.

Copies of the People’s Charter were then figuratively ‘handed over’ to the Presidents - symbolizing the need for responsible leaders to deliver social justice.

Williams said the protestors who were in a jovial mood, then moved on to Parliament where they were confronted by riot police who threw teargas canisters. In defiance the women and men of WOZA threw the tear gas canisters back at the police.

Several prominent civic leaders were present at the demonstrations, including Dr Lovemore Madhuku of the National Constitutional Assembly.