Zimbabwean police utilised batons to disperse a demonstration by opposition supporters at a courthouse in Harare, protesting the prolonged detention of numerous activists arrested in mid-June for gathering without official police authorization.
The opposition Citizens Coalition for Change backers congregated at the magistrates’ court, singing protest songs and demanding the release of 78 activists who were denied bail by a magistrate.
Tensions escalated as police, present in large numbers, pushed a lawyer addressing journalists outside the courthouse, leading to clashes with opposition supporters.
The detained activists, including Jameson Timba, an interim leader of a faction of the divided opposition party, have been in custody since their arrest on June 16 at Timba’s Harare residence.
The activists were allegedly gathered for a barbecue to commemorate the Day of the African Child, an African Union event, but now face charges of disorderly conduct and inciting violence, with a potential penalty of up to five years in prison if found guilty.
Amnesty International condemned the arrests and detentions as part of a broader crackdown on peaceful assembly and expression, calling for an investigation into reports of torture by some activists while in police custody.
The clampdown on opposition members, students, and labour unionists underscores ongoing repression in Zimbabwe, despite President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s pledges of democratic reforms following the ousting of Robert Mugabe in 2017.
Mnangagwa refutes the accusations of repression but has cautioned the opposition against provoking violence on multiple occasions.
