Contextual Assessment
Heavy military was present in Masvingo urban. The water canons and military vehicles with armed soldiers were moving around the town in an incident which shocked the majority of Masvingo dwellers. With the presence of armed military forces, all roadblocks leading into town quarters of the population were returned back home and some their exemption letters were confiscated. Vehicles were queuing for long hours and stretching for a distance, a situation which had happened during lockdown level 1. Some were arguing that the presence of heavy military and strictness of police at roadblock is the government’s reaction to promised demonstrations against worsening economic situations being planned by the opposition party. It has been a week and a couple of days with no fuel in Masvingo. Since last week vehicles were just queuing for fuel which they did not know when they were going to get the delivery.
Updates
Today 11 June, 2020 twelve cases tested positive for Covid-19. These include eleven returnees from South Africa and one contact of a known case who are all isolated. Masvingo province reported two recoveries with 41 positive cases. A total of 332 confirmed cases, 51 recoveries, 277 active cases and 4 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic. (Source: Ministry of Health and Child Care Covid-19 update).
The 9 Masvingo MDC Alliance district chairpersons arrested on 9 June 2020 were fined $500rtgs each for violating lockdown rules. The opposition party members are condemning the police for operating in a partisan manner where ruling party officials are gathering hundreds of people but they are not arrested. Last week in Gutu North, MP Yeukai Simbanegavi addressed a gathering with more than hundreds Nyazvidzi villagers but she was not arrested.
Source: Masvingo Centre for Research and Community Development
