Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T party, incensed by disruptions of its rallies in Matebeleland over the weekend, says it will petition Sadc, the guarantors of the power-sharing agreement that led to the formation of the inclusive government, as well as the African Union over police defiance of court orders.
On Sunday, police in Victoria Falls cordoned off Chinotimba Stadium, effectively blocking Tsvangirai’s campaign rally in defiance of a High Court order sanctioning that the rally to proceed uninterrupted. The previous week, police stopped another rally in Nkayi, prompting the MDC-T to seek High Court intervention.
In an interview on the sidelines of a Copac drafting workshop on Monday MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora said his party would take President Robert Mugabe to task over the blockades.
“We will be taking President Mugabe to task over the disruptions. We will raise the issue in Parliament and we are taking the issue to Sadc and if need be, to the African Union and other appropriate bodies. The disruptions of our rallies by the police are a clear demonstration of the timidity of the junta at the numerical strength of our party and the growing popularity of the Prime Minister. It is important to note that the police went beyond disrupting an MDC-T rally, but stopped the PM from visiting institutions like hospitals as part of his supervision of government’s work in progress.
“The junta does not want the PM to practically do his work,” said Mwonzora.
