By News24.com

Heavily armed Zimbabwe police arrested opposition activists and blocked a planned demonstration in Harare against a constitutional amendment bill to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s rule.

Last month, Zimbabwe’s Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Mudenda, who is also the ruling Zanu-PF secretary for administration, gazetted a constitutional amendment bill that will allow Mnangagwa to extend his rule by two years.

The opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), had planned a street demonstration against the bill in the capital, Harare, on Friday.

Heavily armed police blocked it and arrested seven MDC members.

The police officers, armed with guns and on horseback, were patrolling the streets of Harare CBD and cordoned off the venue of the protests.

They arrested seven members of our party and banned our protests. Our members who were also distributing the flyers were abducted and tortured by spy state agents.

“As you know, we are opposed to [constitutional] amendment number three, among other things, because it removes the right for Zimbabweans to vote for [the] office of president and also extends his rule by two years, which is illegal,” said MDC leader Douglas Mwonzora.

Mwonzora believed this was an intimidation tactic by Zanu-PF.

“In contradiction, you will notice that the Zanu-PF party is allowed to promote their campaigns on this bill. Since Mnangagwa took over power, he has not allowed demonstrations by the opposition in Zimbabwe, and he has also not allowed Zimbabweans to speak freely against his policies.”

The arrested MDC members were immediately dragged to court, where they appeared before Harare Magistrate Ruth Moyo on charges of inciting public violence.

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“My clients are in great pain, and they have serious complaints against the police. They were severely beaten up while in police custody,” lawyer Webster Jiti told the court.

Moyo told the State prosecutors to investigate the police assault issue and make sure the arrested opposition activists receive treatment.

The bail ruling was postponed to 28 April.

The deployed police officers were also chasing people out of the Harare CBD on Friday evening and telling them to go home early.

Martha Chada, a Harare street vendor, said:

Police details who are patrolling the streets with dogs chased me from Africa Unity Square in Harare CBD this evening, ordering me to go home early.

Victor Chakanza, a cigarette vendor from Chitungwiza, outside Harare, told News24 that “police officers ordered him to stop loitering in the street of Harare and head home immediately”.