Photograph: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP
Zimbabweans stayed away from work yesterday as part of a mass protest against endemic corruption at the hands of Robert Mugabe’s government.
The protest, known #ZimShutDown2016, was coordinated by the #ThisFlag movement which has seen thousands of people take to social media to voice their criticisms of the widespread corruption, injustice and poverty in the country which has been ruled by Mugabe for 36 years.
As the nation takes stock of #ZimShutDown2016 a moment of solidarity please with this original warrior #ItaiDzamara pic.twitter.com/M5enbVHiY3
— Alex T Magaisa (@Wamagaisa) July 7, 2016
After clashes in the capital Harare earlier this week, the streets were deserted on Wednesday in what was described as the “most peaceful stay-away actions in nearly a decade.”
Meanwhile, the government reportedly tried to shut down WhatsApp to stop protesters communicating, although people quickly started sharing details on how get round the ban, and by the afternoon normal service seemed to have resumed.
‘Enough is enough’
Evan Mawarire, the pastor who started #ThisFlag, has praised the growing strength of movement, telling Reuters news agency yesterday that “we have got to a point now where everyone is saying enough is enough.”
First #ThisFlag was a "fad" then they said it was "politics" now they say its funded by the west. The citizens movement is surely alive.
— #ThisFlag E Mawarire (@PastorEvanLive) May 14, 2016
If you have been involved in the protests we want to hear from you. What inspired you to take part? Do you agree with Mawarire’s sentiments? And do you think #ThisFlag and #ZimShutDown2016 offers hope for a new kind of politics in Zimbabwe?
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