Under Cover of COVID-19, Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa Cracks Down on Dissent

Under Cover of COVID-19, Zimbabwe’s Mnangagwa Cracks Down on Dissent
Riot police chase a nurse who was protesting at a government hospital in Harare, Zimbabwe, July, 6, 2020 (AP photo by Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, Andrew Green curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa appears to be using COVID-19 restrictions as cover for a growing crackdown on regime critics, even as his administration mismanages efforts to provide relief to people suffering under lockdown measures in response to the pandemic.

In the latest of a string of arrests of politicians and activists, security forces this week detained a prominent investigative journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono, and opposition politician Jacob Ngarivhume, who heads the small Transform Zimbabwe party. The two are accused of organizing nationwide, anti-government protests scheduled for the end of the month and have been charged with intending to “promote public violence, breaches of peace or bigotry.” Ngarivhume was denied bail Thursday by a magistrate who said that, if released, the politician would continue to encourage people to violate COVID-19 regulations.

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