Scores of Zimbabwean civilians including a prominent political activist were arrested to face public order charges today as authorities moved to clamp down on dissent in response to protests against fuel price hikes.
Residents said soldiers and police were patrolling Harare townships and beating some people in their homes. Shops, banks and restaurants in the centre of the capital remained closed and there was little road traffic on the third and final day of the stay-at-home protest called by unions.
Police said on Tuesday they had arrested more than 200 people following the protests. Three people, including a police officer, died in violent demonstrations on Monday, after President Emmerson Mnangagwa increased the price of fuel by more than 150 percent.
Many Zimbabweans accuse Mnangagwa of failing to live up to pre-election pledges to kick-start economic growth and make a clean break with the strong-arm rule of Mugabe, who was forced out in November 2017 after 37 years in power.
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