Zimbabweans plot another shutdown

By Bridget Mananavire and Mugove Tafirenyika

The fervent spirit of resistance sweeping across Zimbabwe rose a notch higher yesterday when a group of protesters going by the name Tajamuka/Sesijikile not only called on President Robert Mugabe to resign immediately, but also threatened to storm State House tomorrow.

The daring pressure group played a prominent role in last Wednesday’s stay-away which shut the country down and which was widely seen as the biggest general strike to have been mounted in the history of post-independent Zimbabwe.

In a message on social media seen by the Daily News, Tajamuka/Sesijikile thanked Zimbabweans for heeding the call to shut down the country on Wednesday, and also called on “all patriots to be brave” and march to State House tomorrow — advising interested parties to meet at Africa Unity Square at 8am.

“We will be marching to State House and demanding Mugabe to leave office. We will do whatever it takes to liberate ourselves. Mugabe must go this month. This is a month to liberate ourselves from this evil regime.

“We are just doing this as angry citizens seeking solutions to our problems. We need jobs, we need a better (life),” the Tajamuka/Sesijikile message read, further urging businesses to shut down and Zimbabweans to postpone their trips.

“By 31 August 2016, President Robert Mugabe must have either made way for a transitional government or addressed the country stating when he will leave because we do not believe that in his current state he is still capable of superintending the reform agenda that we are advocating in the country.

“We believe that Mugabe is the sticking point to reform because of his long incumbency and so he has to make way for a transitional authority and if that does not happen, there are a number of actions that we will take including escalating the protests and we have a well thought-out strategy to compel him to comply.

“The time for fear is over, we need to be resolute because we believe what we are doing is not illegal. There is no going back; more stay aways and demonstrations are coming,” Tajamuka/Sesijikile spokesperson, Promise Mkwananzi, said earlier — before an even more radical statement was released later.

Mugabe, in power since 1980, is facing the biggest challenge of his political career, amid debilitating cash shortages and his broke government’s failure to pay civil servants their salaries — which has seen them embarking on a strike.

“We also demand the immediate release of our colleagues who were arrested while protesting peacefully and that any police officer caught brutalising protesters be brought to book and the imports ban imposed (on basic goods) by government should also be reversed immediately,” Mkwananzi told journalists at a media briefing yesterday.

Tajamuka/Sesijikile apparently enjoys the support of 14 opposition political parties, including former prime minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC, the Tendai Biti-led PDP and the Welshman Ncube-led smaller MDC faction.

“If these demands are not met … we are shutting down (the country) again. The ball is now in your court. Respond to us, we are ready to close down again,” Pastor Evan Mawarire, who is behind #ThisFlag campaign, chipped in.

“If we do not hear from you again next week, we shut down and this time we add another day, Wednesday and Thursday. We are not playing and we ask you to take us seriously,” he added.

Among the issues government has been tasked to deal with are endemic public sector corruption and alarming poverty levels in most parts of the country.

On Wednesday, Zimbabweans rallied to stage a mega general strike which shook Zanu PF to its core.

From Harare to Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, Masvingo, Kwekwe, Beitbridge, Bindura, Chipinge and other smaller towns, all the major urban areas resembled haunted ghost towns as Zimbabweans heeded the social media-driven call to shut down the country for the day.

Even the normally bustling Mbare marketplace in the capital had an eerie feel to it.

Many businesses, including banks and large retail shops — particularly in high density suburbs — also closed their doors for the day, with very few commuter omnibuses on the roads to ferry travellers.

And not even the suspicious shutdown of the popular multi-platform mobile phone messaging service, WhatsApp, in the early part of the day, could shake the growing spirit of resistance sweeping the country.

Police fought running battles with some irate youths in isolated incidents of violence and made 36 arrests.

Mugabe, who was meeting his colleagues at the Zanu PF politburo, blamed a ‘‘third force’’ for the strike and other recent riots.

Security chiefs have also backed the ‘‘third force’’ claims, raising fears that they may launch a savage crackdown on organisers of such protests. Daily News