8 CCC Members Arrested As Police Ban Opposition Campaign Rally

The Citizens Coalition for Change said on Thursday that police arrested eight of its supporters after banning a campaign rally, in a move the party denounced as part of an escalating crackdown ahead of the harmonized elections scheduled for August 23, 2023.

The Southern African country, where the ruling Zanu-PF party has been in power since independence in 1980, is bracing for what is expected to be a tightly contested vote.

On Wednesday, police fired teargas and clashed with supporters of the main opposition in the lowveld town of Chiredzi, after the party was prevented from holding a campaign event.

The ZRP claimed that it had no manpower to provide security and maintain order as it had dedicated it’s resources to another event where the Provincial Affairs Minister Ezera Chadzamira was reportedly officiating at a Clinic opening ceremony.

CCC spokesperson Advocate Fadzayi Mahere told reporters that at least eight of the party’s members were held.

“ZANU-PF can never win a free and fair election which is why they’re resorting to rally bans and abusing the police service to try and stop our campaign activity,” she said.

80-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who replaced his mentor and longtime ruler, the late Robert Mugabe in 2017 after a military-led coup, is seeking re-election in the August vote.

Mnangagwa faces a disaffected population that is battling hyperinflation, poverty and a high unemployment rate.

His main challenger is CCC leader Advocate Nelson Chamisa, a charismatic 45-year-old lawyer and pastor.

Hundreds of CCC supporters showed up in any case and scuffled with the police details.

The Main opposition CCC has long complained about harassment and intimidation by the authorities, with its gatherings allegedly disrupted and members detained on what critics say is politically motivated persecution.

In June, five activists were held after an alleged altercation at a voter registration centre.

Another 25 were arrested in January after police raided the house of an MP for allegedly holding an unlawful political meeting.

Some CCC rallies were also violently dispersed in the run-up to the March 2022 by-elections, most notably in Kwekwe at Mbizo Stadium where Zanu Pf activists attacked opposition supporters gathered for an address by Chamisa. The violence resulted in the death of CCC member Mbonisi Ncube.

Noone has yet been prosecuted in the case, even though the Police had initially arrested suspected Zanu Pf activists in connection with the death.