Zimbabwean police bans all demonstrations for the next two weeks

The Zimbabwean police has announced a two-week ban of all demonstrations in the capital Harare.

In a public notice issued on Thursday, the police said they lack the capacity to contain any public disorder during public demonstrations.

“The capacity of the police will not be sufficient to avoid any public disorder caused during public demonstrations in the center of Harare,” police chief Newbert Saunyama said.

The ban starts on Friday, September 2 to Friday, September 16, 2016.

The opposition earlier postponed its planned protest on Friday to demand electoral reforms towards the general elections in 2018.

Since June this year, Zimbabwe has experienced a series of protests against the economic policies of the government.

Many people have been arrested and others injured in the demonstrations marked by violence as police fire tear gas to disperse the protesters.

Social media activists on Wednesday called for a shutdown to protest against police brutality, yet it didn’t gather momentum as people went about their normal duties.

The government has announced a draft law put together to penalize “abusive” usage of social media. The law which spells out a five-year jail term targets social media activists who are described by the government as cyber terrorists.