Indefinite stayaway call fizzles out

Zimbabwe's indefinite national shutdown due to start after the Easter weekend – called for by war veterans leader Blessed Geza – failed to take off last Tuesday, reports News24. Geza is in hiding after his expulsion for demanding that President Emmerson Mnangagwa step down. On the streets of the capital, Harare, people from different walks of life said that hunger had forced them back to work as the country's economy increasingly relies on informal trading. Geza had previously called for a national shutdown on 31 March, which left cities and towns empty. More than 90 protesters were arrested during the protest and are still in remand prison. Some believe Geza's call for a national shutdown was good, but the timing was wrong because people had no money after the Easter holiday. Responding to Geza's call for a national shutdown, Zimbabwe's permanent secretary for the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Nick Mangwana, wrote on X: ‘Every economic activity in Zimbabwe boosts the country and households. It's foolhardy for anyone to think they can dictate when and how people engage in economic activities. It's equally grandiose for them to think that the Zimbabwean people are a subject of their whim.’ After Geza made the call, Zimbabwe police said they had deployed officers throughout the country, reports News Day.

The war veteran accuses Mnangagwa of several transgressions, including allegedly presiding over a corrupt administration. According to The Zimbabwean, Geza claimed that Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, Attorney-General Virginia Mabhiza and Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda are planning to submit a proposal to Parliament to extend the Presidential term to 2030. The sweetener for parliamentarians, he claimed, would be an extension of their own term of office as well. He said the plan aimed to avoid the constitutional requirement of a referendum.

Full report in The Zimbabwean

Full report on the News Day site

Full News24 report