Chamisa started addressing the crowd at Mamutse Ground in
Masvingo well after the deadline and his restless supporters blocked police
details who wanted to stop the rally.
In a statement yesterday, national police spokesperson
Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the law enforcement agents were forced
to use tear smoke to disperse the violent crowd.
“Firstly, the regulatory authority had sanctioned the CCC
rally at the stadium as duly notified by the party’s convenor, Martin Mureri,
1000 hours to 1600 hours,” he said.
“However, the CCC leadership reneged on their notification
times. Their rally actually started at 1645 hours with an address by the party
leader Nelson Chamisa.”
Nyathi said the police engaged CCC national organising
secretary Amos Chibaya and his team, who apologised for non-compliance with the
rally notification times.
“They agreed with the regulatory authority to dismiss the
crowd due to safety and security concerns over night rallies. Suddenly, the
crowd became rowdy and started throwing stones at the police officers while
threatening to set on fire two police vehicles.
“One police officer sustained injuries as a result of the
stone attack. The police had no option but to use tear smoke to disperse the
violent crowd,” Nyathi said.
He said police conducted themselves professionally, causing
no injuries or damage to property.
“The police reiterate that night rallies are a security
threat as this affects the safety of the public in general. We urge all
political party leaders to properly organise their public gathering activities
and avoid compromising the movement and security of the public by hosting
multiple rallies in a single day, with some spilling into the night,” he said.
Nyathi also appealed to political parties and their leaders
to adhere to the timelines specified in the rally notification for effective
maintenance of law and order.
The police reportedly tried to stop Chamisa from addressing
the rally, but were deterred by his security personnel and supporters who
blocked them from accessing the podium as the opposition leader addressed the
crowd.
They argued that Chamisa’s rally was supposed to end at
4pm, but it extended by an hour after the CCC leader arrived late from another
rally in Chiredzi. Newsday
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