ZRP in Bulawayo pulled a typical demo prohibition card by telling Mthwakazi they couldn’t hold a rally in Tsabalala because there is a coronavirus outbreak in Emnganwini which is close to Tshabalala, New Zimbabwe reports.
This was revealed by the party’s national organising secretary, Partone Xaba who said:
When we finally met the regulatory authority yesterday (Thursday), he told us that we cannot proceed with our rally because there is an outbreak of coronavirus in Emganwini suburb which is close to Tshabalala.
We were shocked by this response because as far as we know, there is only one case of suspected coronavirus in the country which was reported in Harare. We view this just as a silly excuse to deny us our constitutional right to freedom of association and assembly.
However, Mthwakazi vowed to hold the rally despite the ban:
We are going ahead with our rally as planned. If there is coronavirus outbreak in Bulawayo as police claim, why is it that schools and church gatherings have not been banned?
There are no coronavirus positive cases in Zimbabwe so far.
More: New Zimbabwe