Anti-Mugabe protests moving to rural areas

Anti-Mugabe demonstrators are reportedly moving to the country's rural areas following the recent ban on all protests and rallies in urban cities.

The anti-Mugabe protesters were carrying out their activities at different social gatherings that included funerals, memorial services and other traditional events.

The activists were said to be operating under a social movement dubbed #Zimbabwe Yadzoka, Mayibuye iZimbabwe. This could be loosely translated as #BringbackourZimbabwe.

The co-ordinator of the campaign Victor Chimhutu said that they wanted to bridge the gap between urban cities and the country's rural areas.

"… The current situation is to the advantage of Zanu-PF; if you look at voting patterns, urban centres always vote for change while those in the periphery are too afraid to express themselves or participate freely in political processes and national discussions," Chimhutu was quoted as saying.

Zimbabwean police last week issued a ban on all protests and rallies, with the notice citing a lack of manpower to prevent disorder.

Zimbabwe has seen a mounting tide of violent protests in the past weeks, with demonstrators calling for the resignation of President Robert Mugabe.

Mugabe had been in power since 1980 when the country won independence.