By James Muonwa
AN anti-riot squad was reportedly dispatched to disperse over 400 attendees gathered at a men’s conference held in Kadoma this Saturday.
The Kadoma Men’s Conference ran under the theme “Men Rising: Leading with Purpose, Living with Responsibility,” and was aimed at raising awareness of prostate cancer and general wellness with discussants being a medical doctor and a reverend.
The event, convened at the Salvation Army Citadel in Rimuka suburb, had to be aborted after members of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) anti-riot squad descended on the venue and instructed participants to leave. This is despite the same police having given organisers the greenlight to host the indaba.
Convener of the conference, Kadoma Central Member of Parliament Gift Mambipiri confirmed the incident to NewZimbabwe.com, castigating the regime’s jittery conduct calculated at frustrating genuine civic activities and stifle freedom of association and assembly.
“The meeting started off very well with over 400 men in attendance. I think it shocked the system, which then had to send the police to close the meeting that they had cleared and approved almost two hours into the meeting,” said Mambipiri.
“The Dispol (district police commander) just called to say, ‘for health reasons you are at a venue likely to promote the spread of diseases’. Ironically, the venue was a church which ordinarily hosts over 700 congregants every Sunday,” the legislator further explained.
Mambipiri, who won the legislative seat on a Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) ticket, castigated police for targeting his event arguing that telecommunications giant, Econet, was allowed to host over 1,000 people at a venue without ablution facilities almost 100 metres from the Salvation Army Citadel. He also flagged another Zanu PF-linked event hosted on the same day at Kadoma Swimming Pool, where there are also no toilets and water.
