Army deployed to Bulawayo streets

Government has deployed the much-dreaded Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) in the city as part of its desperate move to contain the civil unrest that was fast getting out of hand.

All roads leading to the city centre are being manned by heavily-armed military personnel checking the few vehicles making their way into the largely deserted city centre.

They have significantly increased their patrols in a move viewed by observers as a way of intimidating the protesters.

A few people who spoke to this paper said it was high time Zimbabweans move out of the comfort zones.

"We have suffered for long, we have been suppressed for decades and we have all but suffered in silence. I think now is the time. Zimbabweans are beginning to come out of their cocoons to fight for their democratic right," said a local activist Methembe Nyoni.

"Our hope as youths is that we hold on to this till this government learns to respect us. We are not idiots; hence Mnangagwa should be aware of that. They may maim, beat, torture and kill us but we should step up the fight against the government that does not recognise the will of the people," said Mlandu Ncube, MDC provincial chair.

Zapu national spokesperson Iphithule Maphosa said it was clear that the wheels have come off.

"You don't need a rocket scientist to tell you that the wheels of this government have come off," Maphosa said.