Zimbabweans stage demonstration in London

By Tichaona Sibanda
21 January 2008

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On Saturday a large cross section of Zimbabweans from all walks of life in the United Kingdom gathered outside Zimbabwe House in central London for nearly four hours, to protest about Robert Mugabe’s tyrannical regime.

The demonstration was organized by the MDC-UK and has been described as the biggest public protest ever held by Zimbabweans in the UK. It was characterised by the typical London weather, which was grey and damp.

Jameson Mashakada from Southend who is the MDC-UK youth leader said: ‘We have all come together to try and make Zimbabwe a better place, but without Mugabe obviously. It’s horrible that some people suffer just because they happen to live in a broken country torn to pieces by one man.’

‘Zimbabweans want free and fair elections in 2008,’ proclaimed one huge banner among the many other placards calling for an end to the regime’s madness. MDC activist Henry Maurayi of Kettering said the huge crowd was very encouraging and urged the party to organise more protests to keep the ‘Zimbabwe issue’ on the world agenda.

The mood was festive, with cheerleaders belting out anti-Mugabe slogans while members of the Zimbabwe Vigil kept the passionate crowd on its feet by singing and drum beating.
A spokesperson for the MDC, Jaison Matewu, said that they organised the event to show the public the true state of affairs in Zimbabwe under the Zanu-PF government.

‘We came here to tell the world of the crisis in Zimbabwe. We are saying we need free and fair elections in the country because another disputed election will take us further down the drain,’ he said.

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