{"id":320309,"date":"2011-03-18T14:13:23","date_gmt":"2011-03-18T14:13:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/18\/zimbabwe-police-ban-tsvangirai-partys-rallies\/"},"modified":"2011-03-18T14:13:23","modified_gmt":"2011-03-18T14:13:23","slug":"zimbabwe-police-ban-tsvangirai-partys-rallies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/18\/zimbabwe-police-ban-tsvangirai-partys-rallies\/","title":{"rendered":"Zimbabwe: Police Ban Tsvangirai Party’s Rallies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\"Zimbabwe<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Bernard Mpofu<\/p>\n

17 March 2011<\/p>\n

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POLICE in Harare have banned MDC-T rallies scheduled for this weekend, saying Zanu PF had either booked the venues or was holding its own rallies in close proximity to where the MDC-T wanted to assemble.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Officer commanding Harare Central District, Chief Superintendent Garikai Gwangwava, advised MDC-T secretary-general Tendai Biti that his party’s “Peace Rally” set for Glamis Arena at the Harare Show Grounds could not be sanctioned because it coincided with a Zanu PF rally at the open space between the Rainbow Towers and Interpol offices less than 500m from the Glamis Arena.<\/p>\n

“My office regrets to advise you that your intended place of rally’s proximity and timings coincide with that of Zanu PF which is also holding a rally on the same date at the open space between the Rainbow Towers and Interpol Offices, which is less than 500 metres from your intended venue. Please also take note that the roads that lead to your intended venue are the same that lead to Zanu PF’s venue and there is a likelihood of clashes between supporters which might lead to violence,” Gwangwava wrote to Biti.<\/p>\n

The other rally banned by the police for the same reason was to be held at the Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

However, Biti dismissed the police stance, vowing that his party would go ahead with the weekend rallies. He said they would challenge the bans in the courts.<\/p>\n

“Pursuant to my letter dated the 14th of March 2011, I wish to confirm that we are proceeding with our Peace Rally on Saturday the 19th of March 2011,” Biti wrote in response to Gwangwava.<\/p>\n

Letters in the possession of the Zimbabwe Independent show that the latest ban is the third this month.<\/p>\n

Last Saturday, the officer commanding Harare South District, Chief Superintendent TA Chagwedera, banned a planned MDC rally set for Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield saying the venue had been booked by “some other players for the 19th and 20th of March 2011”.<\/p>\n

Another planned rally at the open space between Harare’s Exhibition Park and Rotten Row Magistrates Courts was again banned after police said an unnamed organisation would be using the venue.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“My office regrets to advise you that your intended place of rally and timings coincide with that of another organisation, which my office has since sanctioned,” wrote Gwangwava in another letter to Biti, dated March 14.The MDC-T said recent bans on the party’s gatherings were meant to deny the party the right to associate with its constituencies.<\/p>\n

The party said police had no power to outlaw political gatherings.<\/p>\n

The Public Order and Security Act, a controversial piece of legislation regulating gatherings, merely stipulates that organisations should inform police before holding an event.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

“We refer to our letter dated 9th of March 2011, in respect of which we gave notice to hold a rally at Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield on the 13th of March 2011, a notification which you unlawfully turned down on the basis that Zanu PF had booked the venue for the year,” Biti wrote.<\/p>\n

“We, by copy of this letter, wish to place it on record that we have serious reservations on your actions which are clearly meant to deny us our right to associate and also to indicate that as a party, we reserve our right to freedom of association in Zimbabwe within the confines of the law.”<\/p>\n

Morgan Tsvangirai told business leaders in Harare last week that police bans ahead of an elective congress in May were part of Zanu PF’s ploy to weaken his party ahead of its congress. He described the confusion on who had imposed the ban as a “circus” in the coalition after President Robert Mugabe professed ignorance on the action.<\/p>\n

He said the co-Home Affairs ministers had limited control over the police.<\/p>\n

“Your co-ministers of Home Affairs have no power and control over the Commissioner-General. If they want to give an instruction to the Commissioner-General, they have to do it in writing, but the Commissioner-General reports directly to the president and the president can give instructions to the Commissioner-General verbally,” said Tsvangirai.<\/p>\n

“Even if you give your written instructions, they may be overturned by a verbal instruction. That is the complexity of the arrangement.”<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Go here to read the rest:
\nZimbabwe: Police Ban Tsvangirai Party’s Rallies<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bernard Mpofu 17 March 2011 POLICE in Harare have banned MDC-T rallies scheduled for this weekend, saying Zanu PF had either booked the venues or was holding its own rallies in close proximity to where the MDC-T wanted to assemble. Officer commanding Harare Central District, Chief Superintendent Garikai Gwangwava, advised MDC-T secretary-general Tendai Biti that his party’s “Peace Rally” set for Glamis Arena at the Harare Show Grounds could not be sanctioned because it coincided with a Zanu PF rally at the open space between the Rainbow Towers and Interpol offices less than 500m from the Glamis Arena. “My office regrets to advise you that your intended place of rally’s proximity and timings coincide with that of Zanu PF which is also holding a rally on the same date at the open space between the Rainbow Towers and Interpol Offices, which is less than 500 metres from your intended venue. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-320309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nZimbabwe: Police Ban Tsvangirai Party's Rallies - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/18\/zimbabwe-police-ban-tsvangirai-partys-rallies\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Zimbabwe: Police Ban Tsvangirai Party's Rallies - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Bernard Mpofu 17 March 2011 POLICE in Harare have banned MDC-T rallies scheduled for this weekend, saying Zanu PF had either booked the venues or was holding its own rallies in close proximity to where the MDC-T wanted to assemble. Officer commanding Harare Central District, Chief Superintendent Garikai Gwangwava, advised MDC-T secretary-general Tendai Biti that his party's "Peace Rally" set for Glamis Arena at the Harare Show Grounds could not be sanctioned because it coincided with a Zanu PF rally at the open space between the Rainbow Towers and Interpol offices less than 500m from the Glamis Arena. 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