By Tatenda Dewa | Harare Bureau |
Police in Harare on Wednesday moved in swiftly and crushed an opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) demonstration against brutality by the law enforcement agency and the current economic crisis.
The demonstration, #MyZimbabwe, was organised by the MDC-T youth wing which says it is angered by increasing heavy-handedness of the police when dealing with protesters.
In July, police went on the rampage, beating up, arresting and torturing civil activists who demanded President Robert Mugabe’s departure, an end to corruption and the reversal of an import ban that cut short thousands of jobless Zimbabweans’ source of income.
The #MyZimbabwe campaign was launched following a special meeting by the MDC-T national youth assembly executive which expressed concern over worsening human rights abuses and economic woes.
The MDC-T youths gathered at the Harvest House party headquarters in central Harare but heavily armed police descended on the protesters, beating them and forcing them to dispel. Some of the youths threw stones at the police in retaliation.
In his #MyZimbabwe campaign speech, MDC-T youth assembly chairperson, Lovemore Chinoputsa, said Zimbabwe had been ruined by “poor leadership, pure selfishness and old leadership worried about power rather than prosperity”.
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“Today, we witness three decades of what should have been an era of prosperity, liberty and freedom anchored on respect, dignity and human rights.
“The dream of independence has been squandered though greed and corruption. The nation is sick, troubled and (confused),” said Chinoputsa.
He bemoaned the loss of jobs and failure by employers to pay workers, saying the prevailing crisis had dehumanised citizens.
He rapped government extravagance and tyranny of the ruling elite. Nehanda Radio
