POLICE have banned MDC president Nelson Chamisa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) that the opposition leader had planned for this Wednesday saying the event would disrupt the opening of schools for 2020.
Schools opened Tuesday after the festive season holiday.
An angry opposition deputy national spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka questioned police’s role in schools opening in a media address at Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House Tuesday.
“The police have today proscribed Agenda 2020, a key event for the party that was scheduled for tomorrow in Mbare, Harare, citing flimsy excuses that the event cannot proceed because the police are busy with the schools that are opening this week, as if the police have anything to do with opening of schools,” said Tamborinyoka.
“We are noting a disturbing trend where the police are routinely proscribing MDC events and treating the party as a banned organisation in the country.
“We continue to be treated like a banned or a terrorist organisation when we are a legitimate political party that is in Parliament and that controls 28 out of 32 urban local authorities.
“For fear of our (supporters) lives against this brutal dictatorship, and given what this regime has done before, we have decided to postpone the Agenda 2020 event to next week on Tuesday at a venue to be announced.
“We have postponed the event because the regime was budgeting for a clash, for blood and for violence and as a party we will not sacrifice the lives of innocent Zimbabweans.”
The event had been set for Mbuya Musodzi Hall in Mbare and Chamisa was expected to give an outline of his party’s plan for 2020.
This is not the first time this year MDC has had its event banned.
Last year, most of the main opposition’s public activities were either banned or disrupted by the police. – Newzim