Officials of the faction of Zimbabwe’s opposition Movement for Democratic Change faction headed by Morgan Tsvangirai said Monday they will file papers in high court Tuesday challenging a three-month ban on rallies imposed by police last week.
Police have also imposed a partial curfew in parts of Harare under the authority of the Public Order and Security Act, much criticized as an authoritarian instrument.
The opposition will also ask the high court to find police in contempt of court for using force to disrupt a planned rally in Highfield, Harare, on Sunday, February 18, despite an order from the court saying that the MDC rally could go ahead.
Police last week outlawed rallies in all of Harare Province and in the Harare satellite town of Chitungwiza. Though no notices have been issued for other areas, the two MDC factions have also been barred from holding rallies in Bulawayo.
Chairman Lovemore Madhuku of the National Constitutional Assembly told reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA's Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that the Tsvangirai faction's recourse to the high court would keep pressure on the government of President Robert Mugabe.