(Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe warned against opposition protests before a regional summit in the country later this month, when President Emmerson Mnangagwa will assume the chairmanship of a southern African economic bloc.
The country will host heads of state for a meeting of the Southern African Development Community on Aug. 17. The authorities in the capital, Harare, are using the event to repair dilapidated infrastructure — like fixing roads and street lights — and build villas to be used by regional leaders at the site of a new area north of the city.
Any protests would tarnish the preparations, Information Minister Jenfan Muswere told reporters at a briefing on Thursday.
“The full might of the law will be deployed in response” to plans to disrupt the summit, he said.
On Wednesday, state-security agents arrested four human-rights activists on board a flight at the main airport in Harare. They appeared in court on Friday to face charges of disorderly conduct over holding an unsanctioned protest to show solidarity with 78 opposition activists imprisoned since mid-June.
The authorities are “accelerating” a crackdown against “legitimate and peaceful activism” before the August summit, according to Allan Ngari, Africa advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.
In recent weeks, opposition-party leaders including Job Sikhala and Jacob Ngarivhume have threatened to call for peaceful demonstrations against the government.
Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe said the state-security apparatus is monitoring efforts by political activists to cause unrest and disturb the hosting of the summit. Authorities also blame an unidentified diplomat for working to destabilize the government.
“The security cluster is aware of the secret meetings being held locally and outside the country by those seeking to unleash civil disobedience,” Kazembe said at the same briefing.
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