Citizens fret over deployment of army during protests

THE public yesterday expressed mixed views over the proposed Maintenance of Order and Peace Bill (MOPA), with the majority saying lawmakers should remove clause (18), which will allow the Home Affairs minister to request the President to deploy the army to quell protests.

Members said the army should be nowhere near demonstrators as their presence was tantamount to a declaration of war.

The views on MOPA were expressed during a live radio programme by joint sittings of Parliamentary Portfolio Committees on Defence and Home Affairs and the Parliamentary Thematic
Committee on Peace and Security in conjunction with the Southern African Parliamentary Support Trust (Sapst) and Star FM.

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