POLICE yesterday dispersed dozens of elderly people from a Christmas party hosted by MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa in Highfield, Harare, and reportedly took away groceries meant for beneficiaries.
Chamisa was supposed to host an early Christmas party for
the elderly and people living with disabilities before a truckload of armed
police officers arrived and called off the gathering.
Senior party officials described the behaviour by the
police as unfortunate and accused them of acting like Zanu PF commissars.
MDC Alliance provincial chairperson Wellington Chikombo
confirmed the incident, and condemned the behaviour of the police which he said
was worrying.
“The president (Chamisa) was having a party as he always
does with the elderly this time of the year, donating goodies and the police
came and asked us to leave,” Chikombo said in an interview.
“They chased away people, including the elderly and the
disabled from the event and we are worried that our police continue to act like
an extension of Zanu PF political commissars.”
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul
Nyathi said he was not aware of the incident.
The MDC Alliance has complained of harassment, arbitrary
arrests and ill-treatment at the hands of the police, whom it says are no longer
in good books with the people.
Chikombo accused the police of acting in a partisan manner
to frustrate the opposition.
MDC Alliance deputy spokesperson Gift Siziba accused the
police of treating the opposition party as a banned organisation.
“As per tradition, we give back to the community and we
notified the police as per the law and protocols, but we were banned. To them,
the MDC Alliance is a banned organisation in this country and cannot exercise
its freedom to gather, freedom to assemble as per our Constitution and we
condemn this unequivocally and we have taken action to address that,” he said.
“It is a month of giving and we need to be in solidarity
with our people.”
While the police have been stopping the MDC Alliance leader
from addressing gatherings, Zanu PF leader President Emmerson Mnangagwa has
been all over the country addressing huge gatherings which critics say are
COVID-19 super spreaders. Newsday
The MDC Alliance condemns the regime’s treatment of the movement as a banned political organization. No justification exists for why armed riot police must violently disrupt the old & the infirm from receiving Christmas gifts from President @nelsonchamisa. pic.twitter.com/mJiwxvITvP
— Fadzayi Mahere🇿🇼 (@advocatemahere) December 20, 2021
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