Zimbabwe burns

Zimbabwe police on Sunday denied using bullets to disperse protests against President Robert Mugabe at the weekend, as activists called for electoral reforms ahead of general elections in 2018.
“For the record no firearm or live bullets were used in the perceived protests throughout the country,” police spokesperson Paul Nyathi said in a statement.
“As police we reiterate that anyone who claims that live bullets were fired at protesters should come forward with evidence.”
A coalition of opposition parties under the banner of the National Electoral Reform Agenda (Nera) had planned country-wide demonstrations on Saturday demanding reform ahead of the 2018 election, when 92-year-old Mugabe plans to stand again.
A month-long protest ban and a massive police deployment, in Harare, however, saw the event fizzle out before it started.

Acts of disorderly conduct
But activists charged the police with intimidation, firing against small groups demonstrating in the suburbs of the capital and arresting close to 100 protesters, a number the police disputed.
“Only 21 people were arrested by the Zimbabwe Republic Police throughout the country... for engaging in acts of disorderly conduct of blocking the smooth flow of traffic and intimidating the general public to side with them and partake in illegal activities,” said the police statement.
Nyathi said the arrested activists included members of the main opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) “who were openly agitating for violence”.
Nera on Saturday said about 100 activists were arrested while others were heavily assaulted by law the enforcement agents.
Campaigners said they would challenge the protest ban through the courts, which had overturned a similar order earlier this month.
Mugabe has vowed a crackdown on dissent and blasted judges for “reckless” rulings allowing previous demonstrations. Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party won the last general elections in 2013, which were marred by electoral fraud.
Opposition to the ageing leader’s 36-year rule has grown in recent months with a surge of public demonstrations, triggered by an economic crisis that has left banks short of cash and the government struggling to pay its workers.
Mugabe has often used brutal force to silence his opponents and warned the protesters last week they were “playing a dangerous game”.
Unemployment is about 90% in Zimbabwe, which has been in the grips of a cash shortage worsened by a severe regional drought.
Nera has promised more demonstrations in the coming weeks until the government gives in to their demands.
In the meanwhile, the Zimbabwean activist Promise Mkwananzi has described as “unpleasant” his recent experience in prison, but said this would not deter him from fighting for a better country.
In an interview with News24 on Saturday, Mkwananzi said his arrest was unlawful and unconstitutional.
Mkhwanazi, one of the most prominent activists campaigning for President Robert Mugabe to step down, was arrested during a protest on August 26 and charged with public violence.
He was released on Wednesday under under stringent bail conditions, which included handing over his passport and reporting at the Harare police station every Friday.
Mkhwananzi described the country’s prisons as “filthy”, adding that they were in a “deplorable state” that could not help reform people’s behaviour.
“I was unlawfully deprived of my freedom; and our prisons are not a place to reform any person’s behaviour. I believe that our corrupt government officials should be the ones who are kept there as they have committed crimes,” said Mkwananzi.
He added that he was very fortunate not to have been tortured during his time in prison.
He said that a better Zimbabwe was possible, adding that he would continue fighting for equal opportunities for every one in the southern African country.
“I am prepared to keep on fighting despite being jailed for whatever trumped up charges they may bring. I am definitely going to be amongst the marchers tomorrow [Saturday]. We are not going to stop until the government listens to us. The ban on protests is unconstitutional and we’re going to defy it, only president Mugabe can impose a curfew, and until he does that which would clearly vindicate us that he can’t govern the country, we would continue,” said Mkwananzi.
– Additional reporting by News24