By Thandiwe Garusa

HEAVILY armed anti-riot police Monday blocked MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa from hosting a charity event for the elderly and people with disabilities in Harare’s Hatfield suburb.

The party usually hosts an end of year get-together where it donates Christmas gifts to the needy.

MDC Alliance’s deputy national spokesperson Ostallos Siziba said that the party condemns the treatment of the party as a banned political organisation.

“We were supposed to give charity goods to old people here in Hatfield as per tradition, in the democratic movement as we conclude the year we give back to communities and our program was disrupted by members of the police,” Siziba said.

“We had notified the police as per the law enforcement protocols and order in this country, but we were banned. So, to them the MDC is a banned organization which cannot exercise freedom to gather and assemble as prescribed by the constitution of this country,” Siziba said.

He added: “We condemn this act unequivocally and we have taken action to ensure that we rectify this activity because we are a legal political organization with rights to gather and give back to the community, so President Nelson Chamisa is going to continue with this to ensure that we give back to the community as per our tradition.

“It is a month of giving and important to us as the democratic movement. One of our key values is solidarity with the oppressed, vulnerable and masses of our people, so we are honoring these elderly people to give them food to appreciate that they are genuine citizens who are supposed to be benefitting when this country develops.

“We have been disrupted but we continue with our program and we will advise our people on how we are going to move.”