President Mugabe’s government was routinely criticised following its heavy handed response to opposition protests over the past weekend.
Zimbabwe’s National Electoral Reform Agenda(NERA) organised cross party nationwide peaceful protests in Zimbabwe’s towns and cities on Saturday, 17th September.
They were not prepared for the police brutality they met(as shown here by these photos).
With so many arrests, beatings and even the use of deadly live ammunition(as reported in some sections of the press, though denied by police), September 17th could have marked the return of BAD OLD DAYS that many Zimbabweans wish to forget.
To show the direction things are going, this week an international news agency, ITV spoke to one Silvanos Mudzvova, a protester who claimed he was beaten, threatened with AK-47s and attached to electric shockers after being snatched by government forces during last weekend’s demonstrations.
Many Zimbabweans protesting against the rule of long-term President Mugabe would want to believe that this is untrue or just a one off incident.
They may be in for a big shock as recent development show a change in police tactics and attitude.
Gruesome pictures have imaged showing two Harare women with severely lacerated backsides, after they were allegedly whipped with police rubber truncheons by male police officers.
The protesters’ lawyers Jeremiah Bamu and Moses Nkomo reportedly confirmed that the pictures were authentic.
“Yes, the pictures are very authentic. They were taken in the courtroom on Monday, 19th of September.
At the time of writing, some victims of Saturday beatings are now waiting for surgery to speed up recovery and healing on their wounds.
As Zimbabwe heads towards 2018 elections, a broke government is now asking more from desperately poor people.
People are also asking more from an equally challenged government.
And all this is happening at a very critical time…A new government is rumoured to be waiting in the shadows to take over from Mugabe.
Any time from now!
