By Times Live.com
THE usually quiet city of Bulawayo was turned into a mixture of teargas, black smoke from burning tyres and chanting of struggle songs on Monday as residents joined in protests over the latest fuel hike.
“Into oyenzayo siyayizonda” – which loosely translates to “we hate what you are doing” – was the battle cry among protesters who took to the streets to express their displeasure at the worsening economic environment in South Africa’s northern neighbour.
The protest was unmistakably directed at President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has been at the helm since November 2017 after his ousting of Robert Mugabe.
A fuel hike announced by Mnangagwa on Saturday, a day before he left for Russia, was the final straw for most protesters. Fuel prices more than doubled overnight.
The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), which had for years been relegated to the back bench of politics, appeared to have found a new lease of life on Sunday. The union’s president, Peter Mutasa, called for a three-day stay-away – to last until Wednesday – in protest over the fuel hike.
While most citizens heeded ZCTU’s call only midway through the morning, Bulawayo residents appear to have enjoyed a head-start, responding almost immediately.
On Sunday night in Mpopoma, youth in the poor township barricaded roads leading to the city centre with rocks and burning tyres. As early as 7am, most roads leading from the townships to the city centre were on lockdown.
This common thread has raised speculation among the country’s security structures of some co-ordination, organisation and planning by the protesters.