In Zimbabwe, about 100 supporters of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) overstepped the party's decision to cancel the planned demonstration to protest the worsening economic problems in the country, and gathered on Friday, August 16, in Harare.

The demonstrations, however, should not take place. The opposition party had announced their cancellation after it was banned by the police and then by the courts.

In the face of protesters, gathered in the center of the capital, Harare, the Zimbabwean police reacted by using tear gas and bludgeoning dozens of people.

"Fascist regime"

These were the first demonstrations since those last January against the rise in fuels that had been violently repressed by the police.

However, the Zimbabwean police announced late Thursday night that demonstrations had been banned. The MDC then went to court to challenge the police ban, but was unsuccessful.

"The court said the protest should be canceled," MDC spokesman Nkululeko Sibanda told AFP.

"The fascist regime has denied Zimbabweans the right to demonstrate," MDC Vice President Tendai Biti told reporters in Harare.

Shortages of food and fuel

Barricades had been set up by armed police around Harare, forcing vehicles traveling to the MDC headquarters to turn around. Elsewhere in the capital, roadblocks had been installed.

Riot police patrolled the streets on Friday, stopping and searching random pedestrians. The police had also set up other roadblocks where long queues were forming on roads leading to the city center, while car and bus searches were being carried out.

Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who succeeded Robert Mugabe at the helm of the country for 37 years in late 2017, pledged to revive the economy, so far unsuccessfully.

Zimbabwe regularly faces shortages of staple foods such as flour, bread, oil, fuels, but also very long power cuts of up to 19 hours a day.

About five million people, one-third of the 16 million Zimbabweans, need food assistance. At least half of them are on the verge of "starvation", according to the World Food Program (WFP).

With AFP and Reuters