22 Jun 2008

Day of drama in Harare

It was inevitable something dramatic would have to happen.

The electoral playing field had become so one-sided, the incidents of violence and murder against his supporters so widespread, that Morgan Tsvangirai had to do something.

On Sunday afternoon he called a press conference in his Strathaven home in Harare's central suburbs and announced that his party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), was pulling out of the presidential run-off scheduled for Friday, 27 June.

In the week preceding this announcement, the city had become numbed by the ongoing violence and ruling party Zanu-PF's brand of aggressive campaigning.

Whole constituencies comfortably won in the 29 March poll were being overrun by Zanu-PF's youth militias. Mob rule reigned even in the townships.

Those affiliated with the opposition - elected MPs, councillors, organising secretaries, activists - were being systematically targeted.

I visited houses that were stoned and ruined, burned to ashes, and the families of such officials were seen as targets too.

One youth was dragged out of his councillor relative's home in Chitungwiza, a satellite town south of Harare, and the axe used to break down their door was embedded in his skull. An opposition mayor had his young wife kidnapped and murdered.

It was against this background that Sunday promised something dramatic from the opposition.

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Their appeal comes in the wake of a vicious crackdown on opposition activists and supporters that began with the planned day of prayer on Sunday 11 March and continues to make headlines worldwide. More information here.