Students, NCA & MDC protestors clash with police in Harare

By Violet Gonda
16 February 2007

On Friday Harare witnessed a spate of spontaneous demonstrations by supporters of the Tsvangirai MDC, members of the Zimbabwe National Students Union and activists from the National Constitutional Assembly. In an unprecedented move the protestors defended themselves against the brutal police and ZANU PF youths. It’s reported a police officer was injured during the clashes. Several people were also arrested but we were not able to confirm the figures.

Freelance journalist Itai Dzamara said scores of protestors carrying placards denouncing Robert Mugabe sang revolutionary songs as they marched. But a group of police officers emerged at Angwa Street and started attacking them. One of the people beaten up was Kambuzuma MP Willas Madzimure.

One of the demonstrators said: “What happened was as we were approaching XIMEX Mall near the main Post Office, the police pounced on MP Madzimure and then as we were trying to rescue him the police tried to resist and we had no option but to inflict a bit of pain so that they would release him.”

He elaborated; “What they had done to the MP is exactly what we did to them. Unfortunately, maybe they felt more pain than our MP.”

This is the second time this week that angry protestors have retaliated against police brutality. On Tuesday the pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) staged mass protests in Harare and Bulawayo marking their 5 th Valentines Day and distributing the People’ Charter. WOZA coordinator Jenni Williams, who was with the protestors in Harare said they were confronted by riot police who fired teargas canisters at them but the activists threw the tear gas canisters back in defiance.

Dzamara, who witnessed the latest incident, said after that the activists proceeded to the First Street Mall where they smashed a police vehicle as they marched through the city centre singing and chanting slogans calling for Robert Mugabe to go.

It’s reported that the activists kept regrouping in different parts of the town catching the police unaware. But this resulted in the police going around town and harassing and beating people suspected of being part of the demonstrations. Our correspondent Simon Muchemwa is one of the people who was caught in the crossfire. He said he was assaulted by the police at the old Warren Park bus terminus along Chinhoyi Street . Muchemwa was standing with a group of other people at a telephone call box when they were violently dispersed by police. He said there was a heavy presence of riot police with dogs from Chinhoyi Street to Fourth Street .

It is reported that the Harare demonstrations were led by the Tsvangirai MDC ahead of their star rally in Harare this Sunday. The police ordered the MDC to cancel the rally but Tendai Biti, the party’s secretary general, has filed an urgent application in the High Court. The court hearing is set for Saturday morning. Morgan Tsvangirai plans to launch his party’s 2008 presidential election campaign at the rally, despite Mugabe’s plan to move the elections to 2010.

Meanwhile, the Mutambara MDC reports that police raided their Bulawayo offices and confiscated party materials saying they had subversive statements. In his defiance campaign Arthur Mutambara said: “It is defiance or death” and “we choose to defy or to confront.” He is supposed to kick-start his ‘defiance campaign’ in Bulawayo on Saturday. A party official told us the police have also banned this public meeting. The official said Victor Nyoni, the regional office administrator was arrested and released on Friday.

Both opposition parties say as far as they are concerned their rallies are going ahead this weekend.

Sources say more spontaneous demonstrations are planned.