Fresh crackdown ahead of key SADC summit

More opposition figures were arrested in Zimbabwe over the weekend after the hearing of four democracy activists seeking the release of opposition leader Jameson Timba was postponed. Critics have long accused the ruling Zanu-PF of stifling both democracy and dissent. However, Human Rights Watch says the opposition and civil society groups are facing an intensifying crackdown ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit Zimbabwe is hosting this month. News24 reports that Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe has accused the opposition of pushing for demonstrations around the time of the summit to provoke a ‘heavy-handed response’ to attract international attention. Timba was arrested in June with scores of others. A wave of new arrests emerged on Friday including that of opposition figure Jacob Ngarivhume and a religious leader. The hearing of four democracy activists arrested Wednesday in Harare was meanwhile postponed on Friday. They were charged Thursday under public disorder laws after taking part in protests demanding Timba's release. Another 14 were arrested in the small northwestern town of Kariba on Thursday, according to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights group.