"MDC Didn't Comply With POSA" As Police Block MDC Demos Again
Police have blocked yet other demonstrations by the opposition MDC arguing that their application failed to comply with provisions of the Public Order and Security Act (POSA).
MDC had notified the police on Saturday that the party would like to have demonstrations in Bulawayo and other provinces on Thursday and Friday.
Speaking to the Chronicle, police national spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi yesterday said:
For Bulawayo province, where the MDC Alliance notified the provincial regulating authority, I would like to advise members of the public that the party did not comply with provisions of section 25 of POSA, chapter 11:17.
He also said that the MDC should make another application which complies with the regulation.
The development comes at a time when the State had blocked a series of MDC demonstrations that were slated to begin on the 16th of August in Harare.
Police argued that they had gathered concrete evidence to support the idea that the protests were to be violent.
Meanwhile, the process to repeal POSA with the Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill (MOPO) is already underway with legal experts arguing that the MOPO was a true replica of the former.
POSA has been described in some quarters of society as a draconian law that infringed citizens of their constitutional rights and freedoms.
More: The Chronicle
