Tear gas fired at protesters
HARARE: Zimbabwe police fired tear gas into a crowd of peaceful demonstrators in Harare yesterday, 20 minutes after the Harare High Court had declared their march was legal.
The court ordered the police to allow members of a coalition of opposition parties to march from Freedom Square in the city centre along a specified route to present a petition to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) at its offices, between noon and 4 pm.
“This is not a wedding, it’s a fight,” said Douglas Mwonzora, spokesman for the main political opposition, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), outside the court after it had delivered its judgment.
But police fired tear gas into the crowd, dispersing the demonstration of about 300. The demonstration was targeting the ZEC which opposition politicians accuse of bias in favour of Zanu-PF. – ANA