Dangarembga holds a placard during an anti-corruption protest march
along Borrowdale road, on July 31, 2020 in Harare. ZINYANGE AUNTONY
/ AFP
Police in Zimbabwe on Friday arrested
internationally-acclaimed novelist Tsitsi Dangarembga as they
enforced a ban on protests coinciding with the anniversary of
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s election.
Dangarembga, 61, was taken away in a police truck as she
demonstrated in the upmarket Harare suburb of Borrowdale alongside
another protester, an AFP photographer saw.
Streets in the centre of the city were largely deserted as
police and soldiers set up checkpoints to prevent entry.
Opposition politician Jacob Ngarivhume, head of a small party
called Transform Zimbabwe, had called for demonstrations against
alleged state corruption and the country’s slumping economy
The protests were timed to coincide with the second anniversary
of Mnangagwa’s election, which the opposition says was a fraud.
But most people stayed at home after police on Thursday issued a
ban and warned of a tough response.
“All security arms of government are on full alert and will deal
decisively with any individuals or groups fomenting violence,” it
warned.
There were more checkpoints and roadblocks than usual on roads
leading to the centre of the capital, manned by police and
soldiers.
In the central business district, police carrying batons or riot
shields were heavily deployed, an AFP journalist saw.
Novelist arrested
In the suburbs, only a handful of people appeared to brave the
ban.
An AFP photographer saw Dangarembga and a fellow protester,
Julie Barnes, hauled into a truck full of police armed with AK-47
rifles and riot gear.
Shortly afterwards, she tweeted: “Arrested! At Borrowdale. Ope
it will be OK”. She also tweeted a photo of herself and Barnes,
sitting on the floor at a police station.
Dangarembga (C) and a colleague Julie Barnes hold placards as they
are arrested during an anti-corruption protest march along
Borrowdale road, on July 31, 2020 in Harare. ZINYANGE AUNTONY /
AFP
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She had been carrying placards calling for reforms and the
release of Hopewell Chin’ono, a prominent journalist arrested last
week under a government crackdown.
Minutes before her arrest, she told AFP: “It seems that there
has been a big reaction by the authorities to this protest.
“They declared it illegal — I’m not quite sure (why), apart from
the fact that they don’t want it…Our constitution gives Zimbabweans
the right to demonstrate peacefully and that’s what we are
doing.”
The Cambridge-educated author is the only Zimbabwean woman
writer to win the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and has often been
praised for speaking out on women’s issues.
She leapt to prominence in 1988 with “Nervous Conditions”, a
coming-of-age story about a girl’s battle to escape poverty and
gain an education. The book became an instant classic.
Her arrest came days after her latest novel, “This Mournable
Body,” entered the long list for the Booker Prize.
In a statement, police confirmed she had been arrested “for
trying to incite the public to engage in illegal demonstrations
while carrying placards written various political messages meant to
cause public disorder.”
Among several others arrested Friday was Fadzayi Mahere, a
lawyer and spokeswoman for the main opposition, the Movement for
Democratic Change-Alliance.
Mahere live-streamed via Facebook images of riot police scaling
metal barriers into a suburban eatery where she had retreated after
her protest, and arrested her.
The British ambassador in Harare, Melanie Robinson tweeted:
“Very concerned about reports of abductions, arrests and threats
targeting those exercising constitutional rights. Freedom of
expression is vital even in times of COVID19, with social
distancing observed”.
Poverty and hunger
The government had denounced the protests, calling them an
“insurrection”.
Ruling ZANU-PF spokesman Patrick Chinamasa earlier this week
claimed that US ambassador Brian Nicholls was sponsoring the
protests and called him “a thug”.
Mnangagwa wears a protective face shield and facemask as he
delivers a speech on July 31, 2020. Jekesai NJIKIZANA /
AFP
Mnangagwa took over from longtime ruler Robert Mugabe after a
coup in November 2017.
But hopes among many that he would end Mugabe’s disastrous
economic slump have been dashed, and many Zimbabweans say they are
worse off than before.
The UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) says some 8.6 million
Zimbabweans, or 60 percent of the population, will require food aid
as a result of a drought, economic crisis and the COVID-19
pandemic.
The country has recorded 3,092 virus cases including 53
deaths.
AFP
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