Activists and lawyers in Zimbabwe fear that a crackdown by security forces of the ruling Zanu-PF party would continue “for the foreseeable future.”
The crackdown followed an outbreak of rioting and looting during a shutdown called by union leaders to protest a hike in fuel prices. So far 12 people have been killed, many more injured, and between 700 and 1,500 detained.
“This is not going to be over quickly. We have seen that the state have just notched up the level of oppression and that is the level they are going to be operating at for the foreseeable future,” said Doug Coltart, a human rights lawyer in Harare.
One veteran activist described the crackdown as likely to become “the new normal.”
“This is going to go on for weeks, months, however long it takes for the authorities to feel sure they have made certain that there’s no real opposition left,” said the activist, who requested anonymity.
About 20 arrests were reported on Friday and Saturday across the country, as well as scattered incidents of assault. Police appeared to be targeting poor vendors and taxi drivers.
Hundreds of opposition activists are in hiding or have fled overseas.
“They are not just trying to arrest me, they are trying to kill me,” said Ishmael Kawzani, a former independent candidate in local elections, who has fled his home in Kuwadzana, a poor neighborhood on the outskirts of Harare, which has seen repeated army dragnets in recent days.
Jacob Mafume, an spokesperson for the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said that the party’s five members of parliament, 10 councilors and more than 200 members had been detained.
At least six people have been charged with subversion and face prison sentences of up to 20 years.
They include four trade union officials, an MDC parliamentarian and a well-known social media activist.
“There is a kind of messaging here. They are saying: ‘We can go for your leaders, so we can go for anyone.’ They are saying to Zimbabweans: ‘We don’t care who you are,’” said Alec Muchadehama, a lawyer representing Peter Mutasa, a senior trade union leader charged with subversion.
There are also concerns about mass trials of up to 60 men and women accused of participating in riots and looting.
It now appears unlikely that Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who succeeded former Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe and won contested elections last year, will achieve his stated aim of ending Zimbabwe’s pariah status to unlock financial aid.
This suggests that basic commodities such as food, fuel and medicine will remain both scarce and increasingly expensive, making further protests likely.
Mnangagwa cut short a trip to Europe and Asia to return to deal with the unrest and pledged dialogue with opposition groups.
Authorities have defended the crackdown as a necessary measure to restore order.
Lawyers are also meeting to consider their strategy in the face of the crackdown, and might demonstrate during the coming days week.
“After the sheer brutality of the last two weeks, the population has been cowed into submission. Lawyers have that layer of protection that might allow them to march, though being beaten up or shot is still possible,” Coltart said.
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