POLICE in Bulawayo yesterday blocked a cleared Mthwakazi Republic Party ordination meeting which was supposed to be held at Large City Hall amid instruction from Harare that the meeting should be suspended.
In a police clearance letter dated 18 July 2018, Chief Superintendent M Manzini-Moyo gave MRP permission to conduct the meeting.
MRP wanted to introduce its parliamentarian candidates to the electorate.
MRP Secretary for Information and Publicity Mbonisi Gumbo expressed dismay of ZRP’s behaviour.
Members of the party who had pooled into the large city hall all flocked outside in the midst of the chaotic proceedings and joined fellow members who had been denied entry in protest. They chanted Mthwakazi slogans inciting violence from the police.
One of the agitated supporters cited this ploy by the police as a silencing tool used similarly to what happened during the Gukurahundi era.
The raging crowd was calmed by Chief Ndiweni who promised to rectify the issue with the police. At the arrival of the chief, the members knelt and sang praises to him, bringing the protest to a halt.
In an interview, MRP aspiring MP for Beitbridge West Brighton Sibanda alleged the incident is a ploy by ZANU-PF to inhibit MRP from addressing its people.
“I’m very saddened by this incident. It’s a deliberate move by ZANU-PF. Mthwakazi has been oppressed since independence. The only people to be independent in Zimbabwe are those from Mashonaland. They are even coming to Bulawayo to take our jobs from us,” said Sibanda.
