By Lance Guma
Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Didymus Mutasa sought refuge behind black wheelie bins on Saturday as angry refugees and activists in South Africa disrupted a planned ZANU PF anti-sanctions rally. In the end the rally at the Hillbrow Theatre in Johannesburg never took off.
With word having got round that a ZANU PF delegation was coming to the area, a sizeable crowd made up of MDC-T, MDC-N, ZAPU and Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MLF) youths gathered at the venue. Mutasa and his entourage arrived, introduced themselves and then started chanting ZANU PF slogans.
MDC-T Information and Publicity Secretary Sibanengi Dube told us; “They were giving out flyers and these flyers turned out to be clear provocation as most people here are victims of the Gukurahundi Massacres. ZANU PF showing up in Hillbrow did not go down well with people there.” Then all hell broke loose as activists jumped onto the stage chanting anti-Mugabe slogans.
Sabelo Ngwenya from the MLF was one of those who went on stage and spoke about the Gukurahundi Massacres under Mugabe’s regime. In the ensuing chaos, some of the youths “started chasing everyone, including Didymus Mutasa, who had to take refuge behind a group of black wheelie bins,” Dube said.
It was only the swift reaction of the police who arrived in time to stop the youths from assaulting the ZANU PF delegation. Dube told us Mutasa and his delegation “had to leave the venue under heavy police presence with their tails between their legs.”
ZANU PF has been on a so-called anti-sanctions campaign, trying to collect what it says will be over 2 million signatures asking for targeted sanctions by the West to be removed. But human rights activists say until abuses by the regime end, the measures which impose travel and financial restrictions must be maintained. SW Radio Africa
