Zimbabwe President Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s spokesman said on state
television that there was no order issued by the
army to clear central Harare and termed such
reports as “fake news”.

“My message today to all Zimbabweans is that
today is a normal working day. They must go
about their business as always,” George
Charamba said.
Some Zimbabwean shopkeepers said they had
been ordered by soldiers to close and leave the
centre of the capital on Thursday, the day after
three people were killed by troops sent in to
disperse crowds of opposition supporters.
Earlier on Thursday, troops reportedly ordered
shops to close and told people to leave the
centre of Zimbabwe’s capital, one day after
three people were killed by soldiers sent in to
break up demonstrators claiming this week’s
presidential election was rigged.
The crackdown by the army has punctured the
euphoria that followed its removal of long-time
strongman Robert Mugabe eight months ago,
and fuelled suspicions that the generals who
launched the coup remain Zimbabwe’s de facto
rulers.
In Harare, the contrast could not be stronger
with November, when hundreds of thousands
filled the streets, hugging soldiers and
celebrating their role in ousting 94-year-old
Mugabe, the only leader Zimbabwe had known
since independence in 1980.
“They are showing their true colours now. We
thought they were our saviour in November but
they fooled us,” said newspaper vendor Farai
Dzengera, admitting that the brief dream of an
end to decades of repression was over.
“Now they tell us to leave town. What can we
do? We will go. They run this country.”
Nearly all shops in downtown Harare were
shuttered and the normally bustling pavements
eerily quiet. Several streets remained littered
with the rubble and embers from Wednesday’s
clashes between protesters and soldiers-
Reuters