POLICE have blamed “rowdy” Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) supporters for the violence that erupted at Nelson Chamisa’s campaign rally in Masvingo on Sunday evening.
Chamisa started addressing the crowd at Mamutse Ground in Masvingo well after the deadline and his restless supporters blocked police details who wanted to stop the rally.
In a statement yesterday, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the law enforcement agents were forced to use tear smoke to disperse the violent crowd.
“Firstly, the regulatory authority had sanctioned the CCC rally at the stadium as duly notified by the party’s convenor, Martin Mureri, 1000 hours to 1600 hours,” he said.
“However, the CCC leadership reneged on their notification times. Their rally actually started at 1645 hours with an address by the party leader Nelson Chamisa.”
Nyathi said the police engaged CCC national organising secretary Amos Chibaya and his team, who apologised for non-compliance with the rally notification times.
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“They agreed with the regulatory authority to dismiss the crowd due to safety and security concerns over night rallies. Suddenly, the crowd became rowdy and started throwing stones at the police officers while threatening to set on fire two police vehicles.
“One police officer sustained injuries as a result of the stone attack. The police had no option but to use tear smoke to disperse the violent crowd,” Nyathi said.
He said police conducted themselves professionally, causing no injuries or damage to property.
“The police reiterate that night rallies are a security threat as this affects the safety of the public in general. We urge all political party leaders to properly organise their public gathering activities and avoid compromising the movement and security of the public by hosting multiple rallies in a single day, with some spilling into the night,” he said.
Nyathi also appealed to political parties and their leaders to adhere to the timelines specified in the rally notification for effective maintenance of law and order.
The police reportedly tried to stop Chamisa from addressing the rally, but were deterred by his security personnel and supporters who blocked them from accessing the podium as the opposition leader addressed the crowd.
They argued that Chamisa’s rally was supposed to end at 4pm, but it extended by an hour after the CCC leader arrived late from another rally in Chiredzi.