Protestors splash anti-Mugabe graffiti on Harare streets

By Thomas Chiripasi

HARARE — Harare residents Tuesday woke up to graffiti messages scribbled on several walls calling for protests against President Robert Mugabe’s landslide victory in the July 31 elections. 

Mr. Mugabe has urged his main rival outgoing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to accept the poll results that he is challenging in the courts.
No-one has claimed responsibility for the messages.

Several walls in Harare’s central business district and some high density suburbs such as Budiriro, Glen View and Mbare are littered with messages of protest against President Mugabe’s landslide win against Mr. Tsvangirai – leader of the mainstream Movement for Democratic Change party.

Window panes of popular shops in the city centre were not spared either. Some of the messages inscribed on the walls read, “Mugabe rigged: We want a re-run”. Other messages read “Election fraud: Arise and protect your vote”.

Some of these messages were scribbled on billboards located at main bus termini such as Market Square and Copa Cabana.

Official figures showed Mr. Mugabe garnered 61 percent of the total votes cast on July 31 while Mr. Tsvangirai got 33.9 percent.

Mr. Tsvangirai’s MDC party maintains the polls were fundamentally flawed. The Southern African Development Community, the African Union and the Common Market for East and Southern Africa endorsed the election outcome while the international community said the result did not reflect the will of the people of Zimbabwe.

Mbare resident Phillipa Chinomona said the polls were neither free nor fair.

Chinomona said Mr. Tsvangirai should do all he can to ensure that the true will of Zimbabweans who voted on July 31 is respected.
Francis Machimbidzofa of Budiriro high density suburb said Zimbabwe should hold fresh polls.

A Glen View resident, Bigboy Chambati, added that the country’s security forces should not be involved in the running of elections.

Mr. Tsvangirai has approached the courts seeking to nullify the July 31 election result.

He has asked the Constitutional Court to order fresh polls within 60 days. This is the third election result that Mr. Tsvangirai is disputing since he became the leader of the MDC in 1999.

Costantine Munodawafa of Mbare told VOA Studio 7 that any protests would be crushed by the state which he said has a record of being heavy-handed on civilians.

Meanwhile, anti-riot police has increased its presence in the streets of Harare following the disputed elections which the president maintains he won fairly with a wide margin.

As President Mugabe battles to legitimise his victory, the Southern African Development Community has reportedly put Zimbabwe on the agenda of its summit penciled for Lilongwe, Malawi, this weekend. VOA