COPS FIRE SHOTS AT MTHWAKAZI PROTESTORS

POLICE have fired shots in the air to disperse members of the radical Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) who staged a flash demo at the city’s central police station yesterday over the alleged harassment of their leader.

The rowdy secessionist group members accused suspected security agents of leading  an onslaught on their leader, Mqondisi Moyo, whom they said had his home raided on Tuesday evening.

Moyo was, however, said not to have been present when the alleged home raid took place. This comes as Moyo and his party members were  involved in a violent confrontation with a man they evicted from a Ntabazinduna farm early this week.

 Yesterday, the MRP supporters caught the police off guard when they marched straight to the front of Bulawayo Central in a spontaneous demo — before barricading the road — and creating a traffic logjam in the process.

 Some of the MRP members lit tyres in front the police station while others hurled stones at  bemused police officers.

 The police officers were visibly perplexed by the spontaneous demonstration and how quickly temperatures rose during the disturbances which lasted for close to 30 minutes.

 Police finally reacted by firing warning shots to disperse the marauding crowd.  However, speaking after the incident, Moyo claimed that one of his members had been shot.

  “Khethani Ndlovu has been shot on the left leg with live bullets. So far 10 of our members have been arrested,” the MRP president said.

 Acting Bulawayo provincial police spokesperson, Nomalanga Msebele, confirmed the arrests and said investigations into the protest were ongoing.

 “We are aware of the case and I can confirm that there were arrests but investigations are still in progress,” Msebele told the Daily News.

Meanwhile, nine Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) members who were arrested yesterday have since been remanded in custody to 16 March 2021, where their Lawyers will make a bail application. They are at Grey Remand Prison pending bail application. Meanwhile the police arrested another Party member around Tredgold Court today afternoon.

The nine Cdes, Sibongile Banda, Tinos Nkomo, Livson Ncube, Maxwell Nkosi, Mongameli Mlotshwa, Welcome Moyo, Nkosilathi Ncube, Ackim Ndebele, and Busi Moyo are charged with public violence. This is despite the fact that none  of all those arrested is inclined to public violence. Again,  none of them was part of those that were outside when the police officers started firing bullets to people who were outside.

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