HARARE, Zimbabwe – A man and a woman hold placards during an anti-corruption protest march along Borrowdale road, on July 31, 2020 in Harare. Police in Zimbabwe arrested on July 31, 2020 internationally-aclaimed novelist Tsitsi Dangarembga as they enforced a ban on protests coinciding with the anniversary of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s election.
Facing high triple-digit inflation, a currency capitulation and corruption allegations, Zimbabwe has become fertile ground for civil unrest.
A government crackdown on peaceful protesters and the arrests of several high profile opposition figures, activists, journalists and writers over recent weeks has dragged Zimbabwe into the global spotlight once again.
These included novelist Tsitsi Dangarembga and the opposition MDC Alliance spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere. The arrests followed the controversial detention of investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and Jacob Ngarivhume, leader of the political group Transform Zimbabwe, both of whom have been denied bail and are being held in government custody. In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Dangarembga warned that Zimbabwe will “implode” unless its citizens are able to have their voices heard.
Human Rights Watch last week called on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union to publicly speak out against what it called “repression and rampant abuses throughout the country.”
The crackdown on activists has inspired an online campaign driven by the Twitter hashtag #ZimbabweanLivesMatter.
