Bulawayo court overturns police ban of MDC rally

By Lance Guma
16 May 2008

A police ban on an MDC victory rally set for White City Stadium on Sunday has been overturned by the High Court in Bulawayo. The party had notified police they were going to hold the rally - as required by the country’s repressive laws - but the officer commanding Bulawayo province, R.M Masina, sought to scuttle their plans. She argued, among other dubious reasons, that the police did not have enough manpower to police the rally, the atmosphere in the country was tense and that the MDC wanted to use the rally to incite violence.

This forced the MDC legal team led by lawyer Job Sibanda, to file a High Court application Friday seeking to bar the police from interfering with the rally. Senior party officials like Eddie Cross argued that an MDC rally at the same venue in March was only policed by 20 officers and yet there were over 25 000 people at the venue and there was no violence. They also argued that Zanu PF had launched its own election run-off campaign and by denying the MDC permission to hold it’s rallies the state was applying double standards. The legal team also pointed to the open hostility of the police as a factor betraying their bias.

Our correspondent Lionel Saungweme was at the High Court and told us MDC officials were determined to hold the rally, since the party have still not been given the opportunity to celebrate their historic victory over Zanu PF and Mugabe in the March election. He says the MDC hope that by bringing their supporters together in the midst of the escalating violence, they will create a sense of togetherness and hope. The party also wants to thank its supporters for delivering what they feel was a ‘decisive’ blow to Mugabe’s dictatorship.

It remains unclear whether the police will respect the High Court order and allow MDC supporters access to the stadium on Sunday.