NO BAN ON PUBLIC GATHERINGS
Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba This blogpost demystifies the claim of a legal ban on all public gatherings in Zimbabwe. It concludes that the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) is reverting to its time-honoured practice of exercising authority outside the scope of law. On 11 September 2018, Zimbabwe’s Health Minister was quoted saying a state of emergency was being declared in Harare to contain the outbreaks of cholera and typhoid. The reaction from the ZRP was swift. It issued a press statement claiming that the state of emergency meant the cholera outbreak was also “a threat to human security” and on that basis, they would not allow any public gatherings. This was interpreted in many quarters as a ban on all public gatherings. On this ostensible basis, the ZRP banned the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)’s plans to ‘inaugurate’ their presidential candidate, though the MDC obliged and opted for a postponement. Further, the ZRP ref...