Harare - Zimbabwe police have banned an
anti-government demonstration planned for Monday by the
country's main opposition party in the city of Bulawayo, saying
it would likely result in "public disorder".
Police banned another demonstration planned by the Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC) in Harare on Friday, when they
chased opposition supporters from the capital's streets with
tear gas and arrested dozens of people.
The MDC, which accuses President Emmerson Mnangagwa's
government of repression and mismanagement, called for the
protests over the country's worst economic crisis in a decade.
"Ordinary citizens in the country are experiencing hardships
so any call for the demonstrations might be taken advantage of
by the already agitated citizens and violence may erupt," police
said in a notice banning the demonstration.
MDC leader Nelson Chamisa said on Friday that his party
would continue to mobilise against the government but that it
wanted to avoid "blood in the streets".
Anger is mounting over triple-digit inflation, rolling power
cuts and shortages of U.S. dollars, fuel and bread, bringing
back memories of the hyperinflation a decade ago that forced
Zimbabwe to ditch its currency.
The demonstrations are viewed as a test of Mnangagwa's
willingness to tolerate dissent in a country tainted by a long
history of repression under his predecessor Robert Mugabe, who
ruled for nearly 40 years.
Zimbabweans had expected that Mugabe's ousting in 2017
would pave the way for greater freedoms, but opponents say
Mnangagwa has failed to make good on promises of political and
economic reform.
In January, more than a dozen people were killed during a
crackdown in Harare against fuel demonstrations.
In the lead up to last week's planned demonstration, rights
groups said six political activists were abducted from their
homes at night and beaten by armed men.