Former Highfield MDC MP Munyaradzi Gwisai and 45 other activists were arrested at an undisclosed place in central Harare on Saturday for allegedly plotting to destabilise the government the independent NewsDay newspaper is reporting.
Confirming the arrests Harare provincial police spokesperson Inspector James Sabau said Gwisai and the group had organised a meeting where they played video footage of the Egypt uprising allegedly “to inspire and motivate people to demonstrate against the government”.
Sabau said the 46 were arrested on Saturday after Gwisai, an official of the International Socialist Organisation (ISO), invited people from the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), the Zimbabwe National Students’ Union (Zinasu) and other unions to attend the meeting.
“The agenda of the meeting was the revolt in Egypt and Tunisia — what lessons can be learnt for the working class in Zimbabwe and Africa. Videos of the uprising in Egypt and revolts in Tunisia were being shown to the guests who attended as a way to motivate the people to subvert a constitutionally-elected government,” Sabau said.