The July 31 protests were successful, says Tajamuka

Protest movement #Tajamuka/Sesjikile leader Promise Mkwananzi has bizzarely claimed that the objectives of the foiled July 31 street protests were achieved, saying what the activists wanted to achieve was ‘a total lockdown’, made possible by the massive deployment of state security forces in virtually all cities and major towns across the country.

In an interview with one online publication, Mkwananzi said the public dissent against the excesses of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s Zimbabwe Government were ‘fluid’ and would ‘take any form’.

“The country is in total shutdown and that is what we expected, these are fluid protests. They are going to take any form in order to disable the brutality and the repression of the State,” Mkwananzi said.

He also defended organisers of last Friday’s anti-corruption street protests, saying the activists decided to go in hiding in the pursuit of not detailing their growing fight against the Mnangagwa administration and rampant graft bedevilling the corridors of his government.

Mkwananzi was named in a police wanted list of activists who include MDC Alliance leaders Job Sikhala and Stephen ‘Sarkozy’ Chuma, together with labour activist, Peter Mutasa.

The other activists on the radar of the police include student leader Allan Moyo, MDC youth assembly leaders Obey Sithole, Godfrey Kurauone, Ostallos Siziba, Denford Ngadziore, Makomborero Haruzivishe, and Stephen Chuma, Rural Teachers Union (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure, his secretary-general Robson Chere and former Zanu PF youth leaders Jim Kunaka and Godfrey Tsenengamu.

Meanwhile, Chuma who is also national spokesperson for the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC Alliance youth assembly, warned that the ‘hunter will soon become the hunted’ saying that it ‘is very clear that we do not have a government to talk about but a gang of looters that is feasting while the majority of us are on command fasting’.

“Instead of firing corrupt government officials, the regime chose to set fire on its very own citizens for speaking against corruption. When we expected them to lock up criminals like Obadiah Moyo who stole Covid-19 funds, Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime locked up a journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono who highly exposed corrupt officials,” Chuma said.

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Additional Reporting: Zwnews