Zimbabweans reacted strongly to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s austerity measures that include a sharp price rise in petrol and foodstuffs, taking to the streets on Monday to call for the government to renegotiate or for Mnangagwa to step down.
Unverified reports indicate that two people had been shot in the suburbs outside Harare, the capital, as people took to the streets. An RFI correspondent in Harare reported that some protesters blocked roads leading into the city from outlying townships.
“Commuter minibus vans were stopped and commuters, including school children, were forced to go home, and riot police were then called in,” the correspondent said, adding reports of riot police using tear gas and rubber bullets in the suburbs around Harare.
“We thought we were suffering enough and that the government was aware,” said Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) President Peter Mutasa in a video posted to social media on Sunday, calling for people to observe a three-day shutdown across the country.
He said that after speaking to workers who believe the president does not understand the magnitude of the problem, they decided to call for the shutdown.
“Workers are very clear, we can’t take it any more,” said Mutasa in the video.
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