Zimbabwe police instructed not to ban opposition party campaign rallies

Zimbabwean police have been instructed to stop blocking opposition campaign rallies, according to a leaked internal memorandum.

The directive came after police banned five Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) rallies last week claiming the venues were already booked by the ruling Zanu-PF party or citing public safety concerns.

The internal memo, dated July 8, advised police officers and commanders to allow opposition parties to hold rallies. It said to ensure the elections are “free, fair, peaceful and credible, police actions should not discredit the electoral processes”.

“The president has on numerous occasions also preached the gospel of peace and tolerance ahead of the impending elections. It is against this background that commanders are urged to ensure that all the processes relating to elections are done peacefully and in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act and Maintenance of Peace and Order Act (MOPA),” it said.

“Of late, social media has been awash with incidents where some political parties claim to have been denied the right to hold their rallies by the police resulting in skirmishes.

“These skirmishes are discrediting the electoral processes, as such, commanders are requested to ensure that political parties are allowed to hold rallies unless there are very valid reasons to warrant such rejections. Under such circumstances, Regulating Authorities are urged to thoroughly consult before coming up with decisions to deny any political player an opportunity to hold a rally or meeting.

“Commanders should note that for elections to be deemed free, fair, peaceful and credible, the playing field should be reckoned as level, hence the police actions should not discredit the electoral processes,” read the memo.

In a statement on Monday, police later confirmed the leaked memo, saying it was meant for the police not for the public.

“The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) has taken note of an internal memorandum directed to police commanders from Commander 2023 harmonised elections which was leaked to the media. The ZRP advises the public and the media that the leaked memorandum was a communication guide which was meant for police commanders not for public or media consumption. We do not condone leakage of internal memoranda by unruly elements within the system. The ZRP is now conducting investigations with the view of identifying the culprit and finding the motive behind,” read the statement.

Recently, the police banned the launch of a CCC election campaign rally in Bindura, 90km north of Harare, saying the venue was not suitable for a gathering, citing a lack of accessibility to water and toilets. The opposition party approached the courts to challenge the ban. But the court upheld the ban saying the opposition party had failed to notify the police on time.

Fadzayi Mahere, spokesperson for the CCC, said blocking rallies is unconstitutional.

“Zanu-PF continues to abuse state institutions especially the police to block our rallies unconstitutionally. Stop weaponising the law against us. Follow the constitution,” said Mahere.

CCC, formed in January 2021, said to date 92 of its gatherings have either been banned or disrupted.

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