By Nobleman Runyanga
Despite the High Court ruling this morning, which effectively upheld the prohibition order which the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) issued late yesterday on the opposition party’s demonstration which it intended to stage today, some MDC members have proceeded to gather in Harare’s city centre confirming the police’s fear that the event would turn rowdy.
After High Court Judge Joseph Musakwa dissmissed the MDC application as procedurally deficient, the MDC lawyer and vice chairman, Tendai Biti told his party’s members to stay at home pending the fate of its applications in other cities on Monday but some youths gathered illegally at the Africa Unity Square in Harare in defiance of the court ruling. This drew widespread condemnation from the majority of Zimbabweans who the Harare Post spoke with.
“The sad event where some MDC youths gathered in Harare CBD to march despite a police prohibition order and a High Court ruling, vindicates the police’s decision to bar the protests. The police knows that the MDC leadership has no control over its rowdy youths. They provoked the police so that the latter would react with force in order to raise their usual mantra – human rights issues,” said Peter Hwenjere of Mufakose.
“I am not surprised by this unbecoming behaviour on the part of the MDC. They refused to provide the police the details of their (protest) marshalls. How do you have a demonstration in which no one can be held accountable if things get out of hand like they always do when MDC is involved?” queried Princess Chikanda of Ashdown Park.
“If the MDC was sure that its members would be peaceful it would have no problems in supplying the police with the names of its marshalls. The MDC leadership knows that in past demonstrations it has failed to control it members resulting in violence and destruction but insisted that its protestors would be peaceful. The party therefore approached the police with dirty hands and in bad faith. The police was therefore right to prohibit the demonstration,” Chikanda said.
Some people noted that the MDC leadership just used the party’s members for their own benefit with no gain for the former.
“I have been following the illegal demonstration since morning using the social media and except for the brief appearance at the High Court by Biti, the MDC deputy secretary for information, Luke Tamborinyoka and secretary general, Chalton Hwende, the MDC leadership is conspicuous by its absence from the streets lending credence to the observation that the party’s leadership uses its youth for its own benefit. Where was (the MDC leader, Nelson) Chamisa in all this? Is he not the one who proclaimed the date?” said Charles Maramba, a youth from Chitungwiza.
Some of the youths who participated in the demonstration complained about the same issue.
“We were expecting our leaders to be with us at the Africa Unity Square and address us but they did not. I used my own funds to travel from Epworth and am very disappointed that instead of leading from the front, they are doing so from the comfort and safety of their offices and homes,” complained a very bitter Clever Faranisi.
The attempt by the MDC to defy the police and the High Court however fell flat on its face as only about 100 people gathered while the rest chose to follow the proceeding on the social media from the safety of their homes.
