News / National
ZRP clashes with street vendors
11 Jan 2012 at 19:29hrs | Views
Harare POLICE and vendors fought running battles on Wednesday, forcing shops in the First Street Mall and along Nelson Mandela Avenue to close.
The stone-throwing vendors smashed windowpanes of a police post in the First Street Mall.
Six suspects were arrested in the wake of the violent clashes.
Some of the vendors are suspected to be MDC-T activists who sell pirated compact discs at the party's Harvest House offices.
The clashes also sucked in vendors at OK Supermarket at the corner of First Street and Nelson Mandela Avenue.
Police had visited the area following the assault of a member of the force by vendors outside Harvest House on Monday.
Deputy police national spokesperson Chief Superintendent Oliver Ma-ndipaka said the policeman sustained minor injuries.
"What we gathered is that there are some political activists masquerading as vendors or vendors who are masquerading as political activists who have become so confrontational each time the police want to enforce
the law, especially near Harvest House.
"A case in point is when one member of the police force was assaulted by vendors selling pirated compact discs at Harvest House. That assault caused us to beef up our operations in that area."
This becomes the second such incident inside two months.
In November, the area around Harvest House was turned into a war zone after MDC-T activists attacked police officers who sought to arrest them for assaulting Chiedza Chavatendi member Tapiwa Chibaya who had inquired why they had pirated his group's CDs.
Chief Supt Mandipaka said the vendors engaged in direct confrontation with police officers.
He said no one was injured, but a police Mazda vehicle had its rear windscreen smashed.
The First Street Mall Police Post also had most of its windowpanes shattered.
The police were armed with teargas canisters and rifles while patrolling the area around Harvest House and OK First Street, rounding up the vendors.
Violence erupted after the vendors resisted arrest and pelted the police with stones.
Chief Supt Mandipaka said vendors around Harvest House and along First Street had become notorious for confronting the police.
He said investigations showed that the vendors were hiding behind politics to engage in illegal activities.
"To sell wares without legal authority is illegal," he said.
"In any case, we receive reports from registered businesspeople complaining that the vendors inundated them."
Chief Supt Mandipaka warned members of the public to desist from engaging in direct confrontation with law enforcement agents.
"The message that I want to convey is that let this incident be the last where vendors attack the police," he said.
"We do not want people to fear the police, but they should respect what we stand for. It does not help us as a nation to be confrontational because we want tranquility to prevail.
"We consider any direct confrontation with the police as a gross illegality inviting heavy handedness from the police."
The stone-throwing vendors smashed windowpanes of a police post in the First Street Mall.
Six suspects were arrested in the wake of the violent clashes.
Some of the vendors are suspected to be MDC-T activists who sell pirated compact discs at the party's Harvest House offices.
The clashes also sucked in vendors at OK Supermarket at the corner of First Street and Nelson Mandela Avenue.
Police had visited the area following the assault of a member of the force by vendors outside Harvest House on Monday.
Deputy police national spokesperson Chief Superintendent Oliver Ma-ndipaka said the policeman sustained minor injuries.
"What we gathered is that there are some political activists masquerading as vendors or vendors who are masquerading as political activists who have become so confrontational each time the police want to enforce
the law, especially near Harvest House.
"A case in point is when one member of the police force was assaulted by vendors selling pirated compact discs at Harvest House. That assault caused us to beef up our operations in that area."
This becomes the second such incident inside two months.
In November, the area around Harvest House was turned into a war zone after MDC-T activists attacked police officers who sought to arrest them for assaulting Chiedza Chavatendi member Tapiwa Chibaya who had inquired why they had pirated his group's CDs.
Chief Supt Mandipaka said the vendors engaged in direct confrontation with police officers.
He said no one was injured, but a police Mazda vehicle had its rear windscreen smashed.
The First Street Mall Police Post also had most of its windowpanes shattered.
The police were armed with teargas canisters and rifles while patrolling the area around Harvest House and OK First Street, rounding up the vendors.
Violence erupted after the vendors resisted arrest and pelted the police with stones.
Chief Supt Mandipaka said vendors around Harvest House and along First Street had become notorious for confronting the police.
He said investigations showed that the vendors were hiding behind politics to engage in illegal activities.
"To sell wares without legal authority is illegal," he said.
"In any case, we receive reports from registered businesspeople complaining that the vendors inundated them."
Chief Supt Mandipaka warned members of the public to desist from engaging in direct confrontation with law enforcement agents.
"The message that I want to convey is that let this incident be the last where vendors attack the police," he said.
"We do not want people to fear the police, but they should respect what we stand for. It does not help us as a nation to be confrontational because we want tranquility to prevail.
"We consider any direct confrontation with the police as a gross illegality inviting heavy handedness from the police."
Source - TH
