Denford Magora's Latest Zimbabwe News Blog

It was at this ground that a vendor was killed on Monday by Harare Municipal Police, who are said to have tripped in and then kicked him in the groin as he fell. These vendors, whom I photographed earlier today, worked with Tonde, the deceased vendor and they pointed to a spot directly behind them, in an open space where children play football, as the spot where the vendor was killed. They are all back in business, saying they have not stolen anything from anyone. They blame "big politicians" for setting the police on them. Harare, Zimbabwe, 12 November 2009 Harare City Council has stopped all raids on "unlicensed" and "Illegal" operators (vendors) in the Zimbabwean capital after 19 more of its Municipal Police were arrested by the Zimbabwe Republic Police yesterday. The City Council had vowed that it would not stop its operation to "clean up the city", saying to me last week that this week they would be going after the illegal foreign currency d...

Harare Municipal Police, who instigated the riot in Mbare yesterday, are seen here no Friday raiding Fourth Street Bus Terminus in the City Centre. Yesterday, they were in Mbare, where one vendor at the open ground opposite Mupedzanhamo Market died while fleeing from them. This prompted one of the worst riots ever seen in Zimbabwe, with residents fighting running battles with riot police for hours despite having teargas thrown at them Harare, Zimbabwe, 10 November 2009 The crackdown by the overzealous and under-qualified Harare Municipal Police has now claimed the life of a vendor in Mbare. Godfrey Tonde, who was 25 years old, fell down while fleeing Municipal police, who fell upon him soon afterwards. It is not clear whether he was dead before they fell upon him or he died as a result of their physical action. All the same, residents in Mbare, a teeming high-density area of the capital of Zimbabwe, took up arms immediately after word spread that Tonde had died.  The residents blocked ...