Armed police on Wednesday allegedly pounced on MDC Alliance activists that were gathered at Vova shopping centre in Nkayi, Matabeleland North province to meet their party leader Nelson Chamisa.
Chamisa has been touring rural areas in the country to mobilise support ahead of the 2023 harmonised elections.
His tours have encountered violent attacks by ZANU PF supporters.
MDC Alliance deputy spokesperson, Gift Ostallos Siziba Thursday claimed that Chamisa was attacked in Nkayi on Wednesday. Siziba claimed:
Armed with AK47s and tear smoke, the State unleashed terror on thousands of citizens of Nkayi.
Vova shopping centre was turned into a war zone by trigger-happy regime agents who were petrified that if president Chamisa addressed the people, they would be fired.
A whole battalion comprising high-ranking police officers, Central Intelligence Organisation officers (CIOs) and mujibhas were stationed in Nkayi.
However, Siziba could not reveal how Chamisa managed to escape the attack.
Indications are that Chamisa had initially managed to navigate his way into Matabeleland North, and met supporters in various places like Tohwe and at Turk Mine.
In a social media Facebook post on Wednesday, Chamisa said:
I’m in Nkayi, Matabeleland North. Just had a fulfilling citizen and community interface, listening to citizens’ concerns, hopes and aspirations. Great conversations at Nkayi centre, Vova, Tohwe, Zwelabo and Gwelutshena. Nkayi is ready for change. A new great Zimbabwe is loading.
Later, there was a massive gathering at the Vova shopping centre where the police pounced on the crowd and dispersed it.
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