Police Ban Tsvangirai’s “Crossover” Rally

By Professor Matodzi

Harare, July 27, 2013-Zimbabwe’s partisan police has banned an MDC-T final election rally dubbed “Crossover” in which party leader Morgan Tsvangirai intended to drum up support for his party ahead of Wednesday’s watershed elections.

The MDC-T through its party’s National Organising and Party Building Department had notified the ZRP through a letter dated July 19, 2013 that it would hold its star rally on Monday at the open grounds opposite Rainbow Towers in Harare.

The former opposition party said the rally would be addressed by Tsvangirai and some of his lieutenants and would be open to the general public.

But Chief Superintendent Titus Chagwedera, the Officer Commanding ZRP Harare Central District turned down the notification on the grounds that they do not have enough police personnel to cover the rally after deploying them to polling stations around the country to secure election material.

“Be advised that we have already deployed all our personnel to polling stations where they are securing election and government materials,” reads part of Chagwedera’s letter dated July 26, 2013

Chagwedera said the ZRP had no extra personnel to cover Tsvangirai’s last election rally and hence feared that the rally could “culminate in political violence.”

Zimbabweans will vote on Wednesday to elect a new government that will take over from the coalition government of President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai formed almost five years ago to stem the country’s political and economic crisis.