Twenty-seven members of the opposition movement for democratic change (mdc) appeared in a Zimbabwe court facing public violence charges after six people were killed in post-election protests.
Soldiers and tanks rolled into the capital Harare after protests erupted against president Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ruling Zanu-PF party’s landslide win in the house of assembly vote.
The army’s clampdown on civilians and the opposition’s allegations that the vote was rigged revealed the deep cracks in Zimbabwean society that developed during the four-decade rule of Robert Mugabe.
The 27 MDC members were arrested last Thursday at the party’s headquarters. Their lawyers said the mdc members were innocent and were delivering election results from provinces when arrested.
Prosecutors said the accused were identified by police and that witnesses would testify against them.
If found guilty, they face up to 10 years in jail.
Water cannon and more than a dozen anti-riot police were stationed outside the perimeter of the court house while others remained camped outside the mdc headquarters.
Three of the victims from Wednesday’s clashes were buried on Saturday.
Mnangagwa on Friday urged Zimbabweans to unite after he was declared the first elected president since Mugabe’s removal from power. MDC leader nelson Chamisa insisted he had won and pledged to challenge the result.
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