Paida Mukono
CHIREDZI – There was furore at Tshovani Stadium on Saturday after armed Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers disrupted an MDC-T demo which was billed to take place from the stadium to the town.
The opposition party members were stunned after they were met with armed police who told them that their demo had not been cleared hence they could not proceed with the demo.
MDC-T Masvingo provincial spokesperson, Dust Zivave expressed dissatisfaction with how the police handled the issue saying they were only told about the clearance failure at the eleventh hour.
“We have been stopped from doing our demo due to the fact that our police clearance was not approved but we applied for it a long time back and it was approved. We are now surprised to be told that it was not approved,” said Zivave.
Some party supporters, however, went to Tshovani where they marched for free and fair elections in 2018, timely payment of salaries and the repeal of all repressive laws.
The police had to spend the whole day in Tshovani to thwart the demo.
Some of the disappointed activists tried to regroup in town while others went to Zava shopping centre and staged mini demos but they were quickly chased away by the police.
“We have managed to send out the message despite the fact that the police engaged in running battles against us. We have managed to go as far as Tshovani town and most parts of the suburb,” said MDC-T former ward 5 Councilor Munyaradzi Hatinahama.
Police in Zvishavane also refused to sanction a similar march that had been organised by the National Electoral Reforms Agenda (NERA).news
