As millions of Zimbabweans waited to learn who their next president would be, violent clashes broke out in the capital city of Harare on Wednesday (August 1) between security forces and supporters of opposition leader Nelson Chamisa. 

At least three people were reportedly killed in the fray.

Less than 48 hours after polls closed on a peaceful election day, an opposition protest began outside the Rainbow Towers Hotel in central Harare, with angry demonstrators claiming the government had manipulated the vote and chanting “Chamisa! Chamisa!”

The protest quickly escalated into a turbulent confrontation with police, who fired tear gas and water cannons to break up the demonstrators. Army vehicles and personnel were also seen in the streets, firing live ammunition, while bystanders fled to seek shelter.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a longtime ZANU-PF leader who took over after the military ousted Robert Mugabe from power last November, blamed the opposition Movement for Democratic Change alliance for the deadly clashes. 

The MDC is led by Chamisa, a young lawyer and pastor who had earlier claimed that polls showed he — and not Mnangagwa — had won the election.

Source: Los Angeles Times

BDST: 1103 HRS, AUG 2, 2018
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