Protests rock Harare, again: Updates and Pictures
More protests are taking place in Harare today with hundreds marching in the central business district over the failure of President Robert Mugabe’s regime to provide the 2,2 million jobs it promised at the last election.
The marchers are also resisting the pending introduction of bond notes in Zimbabwe.
There is a heavy deployment of anti-riot police in the city centre.
Remember this protest only went ahead after the intervention of the courts following attempts by the regime to ban it.
Tajamuka/Sesjikile member, Slyvanos Mudzvova, said “You can’t pick up a bond paper and print it and put it on the same value with the US dollar. That is why I am saying on August 3, let’s meet at corner Julius Nyerere and Jason Moyo and march to the ministry of Finance and tell Patrick Chinamasa’s office that we reject his bond tissues.
“He must use them himself in the toilet. To you retailers, have you forgotten that your shops were once left empty and you had no business to do, while vendors could not buy staff to sell and commuter omnibus conductors and drivers had nothing to show for their daily works as the bearer cheques we were using had become worthless?
“That is why we are saying no to all this,” Mudzvova said in a video.
There are also reports and pictures confirming how the police assaulted a journalist and tried to smash his camera in what was seen as an attempt to stop the broadcast of videos exposing police brutality during the protests.
What started off as a peaceful demonstration by unemployed graduates and other disgruntled citizens was later disrupted by the police who were armed with teargas, water cannons, baton sticks and guns. The police were determined to block the protestors from advancing to Parliament building.
Tajamuka/Sesjikile spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi said: “We want to demonstrate as citizens to put a stop to the bond notes nonsense that the Zanu PF government wants to impose on the people. The people have long rejected the bond notes and the government should comply with what the people say,” he said. Nehanda Radio
