Zimbabwe shuts down in peaceful protest against corruption

Reuters in Harare | Wednesday 6 July 2016 | The Guardian

Stay-away day fronted by #ThisFlag sees foreign banks and stores close doors in Harare to protest against injustice

Zimprotest3100 — A money transfer agency remains closed in Harare, Zimbabwe. Photograph: Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters

Zimbabweans have stayed at home and foreign banks and most businesses in the capital, Harare, have shut down operations in one of the biggest – and most peaceful – stay-away actions in nearly a decade. The national stay-away day in Zimbabwe on Wednesday, fronted by the social media movement ‪#ThisFlag, came after violent clashes between taxi drivers and police on Monday that led to the arrest of 95 people. It coincides with a strike by doctors, teachers and nurses over delayed salaries.

The campaign has attracted thousands of followers who have been speaking out against government excesses. The stay-away day was organised via Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp.

Mawarire told Reuters: “We have got to a point now where everyone is saying enough is enough. The response has been outstanding … this is what we all needed, something that we can all do together.”.

The state telecoms regulator Potraz said in a statement it would arrest people sending “subversive” messages that cause unrest.

In the volatile township of Mufakose, west of Harare, hundreds of youths barricaded roads to stop people from going to work, witnesses said. The police arrested a dozen people.

Local branches of Barclays and Standard Chartered shut their doors in central Harare, while clothing retailers Edgars Stores and Truworths also closed stores.

Siyaso, one of the biggest and oldest informal markets in Mbare township near central Harare, was also closed and there were few vehicles on Harare’s roads. Government departments were open, while supermarkets including Pick ’n’ Pay, OK Zimbabwe and Choppies reported low business.

A superviser at an OK Zimbabwe store in the central business district said: “As you can see there are very few customers here. It is not usual for a Wednesday to have these small volumes.”

Local private media said Zimbabweans in other major cities had also stayed at home, with most businesses closed. Zimbabwe last witnessed a stay-away in April 2007.

Mugabe attended a scheduled meeting with his senior Zanu-PF executive during the stay-away on Wednesday. The party spokesman, Simon Khaya Moyo, declined to say whether Zanu-PF would discuss the recent protests.