Daily Times

BULAWAYO, ZIMBABWE: Hundreds of protesters waved Zimbabwe’s national flag and sang the national anthem during a cricket match against New Zealand on Saturday, in a sign of mounting opposition to President Robert Mugabe.

Circumventing laws which forbid political gatherings without police clearance, protestors at the ground in Bulawayo – the country’s second largest city – rose at the 36th over and began singing the national anthem while waving the national flag, which has been turned into a symbol of protest.

“I am in complete support of the protest because of the situation in the country,” activist Mandla Dungeni said.

A woman who asked to be identified as Rose said, “It’s difficult to fend for ourselves let alone send our kids to school. It’s not a secret that the government has failed. That is why you are seeing all these people concerned about how things are.”

Pastor Evan Mawarire who called for a national strike last month – which shut down businesses and schools and paralysed the public transport system – was behind the protest, according to a video he posted on Facebook.

Police had earlier arrested at least 10 members of the pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA) who staged a protest outside the venue of the Test match calling on Mugabe to fix the ailing economy or step down.

“Mugabe Must Go” one placard read, and another protestor called for resistance to a government plan to introduce token bank notes to ease cash shortages. The demonstration was dispersed by mounted police.

After 36 years of Mugabe’s authoritarian rule, Zimbabwe has seen a rise in opposition protests fuelled by internet activism using the hashtag ‘ThisFlag’ – a reference to wearing the national flag in public.