#ZimShutDown2016 leaves streets and malls deserted
(CNN)Most
shops and banks closed and the streets of Harare were deserted
Wednesday as Zimbabweans staged a national protest against the
government.
Zimbabweans largely stayed indoors in a national "stay-away" day known as Shutdown Zimbabwe 2016.
Activists called for citizens to stay away from work, hoping to force the government to address the nation's economic meltdown.
The shutdown comes as teachers, doctors and nurses strike to protest unpaid June salaries.
President Robert Mugabe, 92, has ruled the country since it gained independence in 1980.
The
nation's economy collapsed in February 2009 and the currency became
virtually worthless. Soon after, the country adopted a multicurrency
system dominated by the U.S. dollar.
On
Wednesday, the empty streets created a sense of unease. "We stayed home
because we feared that if [we] walk to town, we might find it difficult
walking back or get stranded there given that on Monday it turned
violent," said Silas Nharo, who lives about 30 kilometers southeast of
Harare, the nation's capital.
At most schools, pupils could be seen playing unattended, because teachers declined to report for duty.
"Our patience has been
strained. Our members are hungry and angry. Government cannot say it is
broke given its high level [of] opulence, while our members are
suffering," said Raymond Majongwe, secretary general of the Progressive
Teachers Union of Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe
police said Wednesday that about 50 people had been arrested in
connection with the protests. That included an Australian national,
police said.
There were reports of
sporadic violence, with teargas and some looting in Harare on Monday. On
Friday, a warehouse was burned down on Zimbabwe's border with South
Africa in protest of recent import restrictions on basic goods.
Zimbabwe, once a breadbasket of southern Africa, now depends mainly on
imports.
We are not abusing social media, we are using it to get rid of those abusing us! #ZimShutDown2016
The man behind the current
wave of protests is believed to be Evan Mawarire, who a few weeks ago
started the #ThisFlag movement.
He
told local radio that he started the #ThisFlag movement to get
Zimbabweans to unite against "rampant and runaway corruption by
government and government ministers."
"We
have called for a complete shutdown of the country today in protest of
the government that has completely failed to look after its citizenry‚
and failed to listen to the demands of its citizenry‚" he said of
Wednesday's protest.
The protests appeared to be
organized via the messaging app WhatsApp. Some on social media
complained that the messaging app was blocked for a few hours Wednesday
morning. The Media Institute of Southern Africa in Zimbabwe later said
it was "gravely concerned with the apparent disabling of the WhatsApp
platform."
"MISA-Zimbabwe condemns this
brazen violation of citizens' right to freely express themselves and
access information through communication platforms of their choice as
guaranteed in the constitution," it added.
[Photo] Police patrolling on horseback in Bulawayo #ZimShutDown2016
Ahead of Wednesday's protest,
Information, Communication and Technology Minister Supa Mandiwanzira
warned citizens against sending inflammatory messages on social media.
"It's
important for everybody to understand that anything you post on social
media or over the top services can be traced back to who started them,"
said Mandiwanzira in the state-owned Daily Chronicle.
"Therefore
we warn people to be responsible and ensure that the messages that they
send out will not find them afoul of the law. We expect that people
must be responsible when using social media. It must not be used to
threaten other people or to send subversive messages."
He
added: "We don't want the few who abuse it to send revenge porn, child
pornography, hate and violent messages to spoil the use of social media
for the majority who use it positively."
Late Wednesday, Minister of Home Affairs Ignatious Chombo appeared on
national television saying "a third force" was behind the recent
protests.
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