Harare - Zim-Bob-We's police got a high court interdict on Saturday ordering opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to call off street protests next week or face arrest. The order was issued by High Court Judge Ben Hlatshwayo after the police filed an urgent application in which they claimed the planned protests would undermine law and order and challenged the country's constitutional democracy.
| Come the revolution, Ben's gonna go the blindfold and cigarette route... |
Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) said on Friday it would press ahead next week with protests against President Robert Mugabe and warned that militant government supporters could turn the demonstrations bloody. Chief Inspector Andrew Phiri confirmed police had got a provisional order from the court outlawing the protests. "It is declared that the respondents (MDC and Tsvangirai) have acted unlawfully in calling for demonstrations intended to oust a legitimately elected president.
| ... who defines legitimacy himself. |
Accordingly it is ordered that the respondents be indicted from organizing, urging or suggesting, or setting up the demonstrations intended to remove the lawfully elected president and government," the order said. The order gave the MDC the right to argue its own case. MDC legislator and lawyer David Coltart complained that they had received the order only at the time police served it but they intended to appeal against it on Sunday. "The MDC is not organizing violent protests, but peaceful protests," Tsvangirai spokesman William Bango said.
| Don't worry. ZANU-PF will supply that part of it... |
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