Panicking ZANU PF Claims Opposition Has Been Provided US$30k To Fund The July 31 Demo, To Intensify Lockdown.
9 July 2020
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HARARE – Planned anti-government protests on July 31 have spread panic in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government which is contemplating re-introducing a tough lockdown in Harare and Bulawayo to stop all gatherings, according to Zimlive.

A minister also bizarrely claimed on Wednesday that Mnangagwa’s rivals had devised a “mechanism of spreading coronavirus” during the protests, which involves using tear smoke cannisters similar to those used by police.

Deputy defence minister Victor Matemadanda, speaking at a news conference, accused the opposition of receiving funds from western embassies to foment chaos.

“We know they (opposition) have been given more than US$300,000 to sustain the demonstration but obviously they are being encouraged to break the law against Covid-19,” Matemadanda said.

“They think that there’s going to be firing of teargas and we are reliably informed that they also have some cannisters containing Covid-19 active material. They hope to spread Covid to Zimbabweans. We are reliably informed that they have a mechanism of spreading coronavirus which has been brought in by those who are funding this.”

He did not explain why the opposition would deliberately and indiscriminately spread the virus, with the risk of harming its own supporters.

Mnangagwa’s regime is also planning to reintroduce a hard lockdown, which would prevent opposition supporters from gathering. Government spokesman Ndavaningi Mangwana claimed, however, the lockdown would be in response to rising coronavirus infections in the two major cities.

“Harare has the vast majority of Covid-19 cases. Yesterday (Tuesday), Bulawayo recorded 30 of the 53 positive cases. If there is any scaling up of containment measures, a more surgical approach is better. It means full scale lockdown should only apply to Harare and Bulawayo,” Mangwana wrote on Twitter.

Zimbabwe first introduced a national lockdown on March 30 to contain the spread of the virus, but this has been eased and most businesses have been allowed to re-open. Cases have spiked, however. On Wednesday, the ministry of health reported 98 new coronavirus cases – the highest daily increase to date. Of that number, 47 were local transmissions. Zimbabwe now has 885 cases.

Zimbabweans have been mobilising online for the planned protests under the hashtags #ZanuPFMustGo and #July31. Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume first called for the demonstrations to mark the second anniversary of a disputed election which Mnangagwa’s rivals say he stole.

Main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa said his MDC Alliance party would support the demonstrations, but fears about that Mnangagwa will use the army and police to crush the protests as he has twice done in August 2018 and January 2019 with over two dozen people losing their lives.

Zimlive