POLICE in Harare have cleared the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions’ (ZCTU) planned demonstration on Saturday, but warned the demonstrators against getting close to Parliament and court buildings as they would be charged with contravening the Public Order and Security Act (POSA).
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The union wants to push government to address the welfare of workers and put to an end to threats to freeze wages and push for the creation of jobs as promised during election campaigns.
In a letter dated April 7 this year, Officer Commanding Harare district, Chief Superintendent Newbert Saunyama, said ZCTU members had a right to hold peaceful demonstrations as it was clearly enshrined in the national Constitution.
“As much as we are not opposed to the application, the route you are intending to use falls foul of Section 27 A of the POSA (Chapter 11:17) in that the route passes through the Parliament and less than one-hundred metres from the court in clear contravention of the above legal provision,” Saunyama said.
“You are, therefore, advised to reconstruct the route which will be in compliance with Section 27 A of the POSA and advise this office at the earliest possible opportunity for further management,” he said.
The ZCTU, however, has vowed to press on with the demonstrations in the districts where the police refused to clear them, saying they were not seeking permission but merely notifying the law enforcement agents.
“We would like to reiterate to the public that according to the laws of this country, trade unions do not seek permission to stage demos, but simply notify the police and the police have been deliberately misinterpreting the laws for their selfish ends,” ZCTU secretary-general Japhet Moyo said in a statement yesterday.
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“The demonstrations will take place on the 11th of April 2015 in Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Mutare, Masvingo and Chinhoyi.”
The statement comes in the wake of the ban of similar demonstrations by police in Bulawayo, Mutare and Masvingo, on the grounds that the protests coincided with the Independence Day period and were likely to be hijacked by anti-government hooligans.
“The proposed date coincides with the Independence period and planned operations by the police which will consume a lot of manpower, hence cannot take charge of the event in the circumstances,” police in Bulawayo Central district said in a letter to ZCTU regional chairperson Reason Ngwenya.
