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POLICE in Bulawayo have arrested a man from Famona suburb after he was found with explosives he allegedly intended to use to bomb properties and cause mayhem in the city during a stayway organised by anti-Government elements yesterday.
Police swooped on Henry Nyandoro (27) and found two explosives hidden between his mattress and base following a tip off.
National police spokesperson Senior Assistant Commissioner Charity Charamba confirmed the arrest but could not provide finer details.
“I can confirm the arrest but I don’t have all the details at the moment. We want to urge members of the public to shun violence,” she said.
A police source said they received a telephone call alerting them about the explosives.
“The officers followed up on the information they had received through a telephone call. The officers were informed that the suspect had two detonators that were hidden between his bed’s base and mattress,” said a police source.
“After searching the house, officers found the explosives but the suspect said they don’t belong to him.”
The arrest of Nyandoro raises fears that the organisers of yesterday’s stayaway were bent on unleashing terror and mayhem on a massive scale to render the country ungovernable.
Organisers, who include Pastor Evan Mawarire of the #This Flag campaign, Promise Mkhwananzi of the shadowy Tajamuka/Sesijikile outfit and Sten Zvorwadza of the National Vendors’ Union of Zimbabwe, have been on a crusade to foment an uprising to topple the Government of Zimbabwe.
Their strategy is anchored on a social media misinformation campaign where they inflame emotions by peddling falsehoods on platforms such as WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook.
Yesterday, the group rode on a collective job action by civil servants, who have since distanced themselves from the so called “shut down”, to intimidate people into staying home.
The civil servants gave notice for their strike over salary disagreements with the government but were clear that their programme was not political and therefore did not share the same agenda with subversive elements who were calling for a “shut down” of the country.
Thousands of Bulawayo residents were forced to stay home after rowdy youths blocked roads and stopped public transporters from operating.
Other residents went home as scary photoshoped images of the Chronicle Building, National Railways of Zimbabwe wagons, Greens Supermarket and the City Hall, all in flames, circulated on social media.
Kombi crews fearing to lose their vehicles were forced to park them, leaving most people stranded.
Violence erupted in Makokoba suburb with protestors burning tyres and placing stones on the road to prevent movement of vehicles and people.
The police’s anti-riot squad swiftly descended on the city’s oldest suburb with water cannons and teargas to disperse the protestors.
A majority of Makokoba residents disowned the demonstrators, saying they were not from the suburb.
“We’re not part of the protestors. Now we are caught in a crossfire. Police are now patrolling the suburb and even throwing teargas at us. We’re staying with very elderly people and children who may suffocate from the teargas effects,” said a resident.
Meanwhile, there was relative calm in Gweru with heavy police presence in the central business district as well as the residential areas.
Almost all teachers reported for duty but most pupils failed to turn up at schools.
Big retailers like OK supermarket, Choppies and Pick n Pay opened their doors for shoppers. Only small to medium enterprises took heed of the call to stay away.
In Victoria Falls, only big shops such as OK, TM, Bata, Edgars, banks and a few restaurants were open.
A majority, which include curio shops and boutiques, were closed.
Some opened mid-morning after the arrest of 17 demonstrators who had gathered at the intersection of Livingstone Way and Park Way waving placards.
The group was still at the police station last night.
Provincial police spokesperson Sergeant Namatirai Mashona could not comment as she was out of office. The Chronicle was told the 17 will be charged with disorderly conduct in a public place.
About 10 drivers of taxis were also picked up for questioning after they allegedly converged at Moringa Shops yesterday morning.
A majority of schools sent pupils home in the resort town with only private institutions such as Kings and Lulu Academy conducting lessons.
In Binga it was business as usual as shops and schools were operational.
In Lupane, schools conducted lessons.
Shops were closed in the morning with some opening later in the day.
In Hwange businesses opened while fuel service stations were closed in the morning and started operating in the afternoon.
Business in Gwanda yesterday came to a standstill as shops, schools, banks and vendors closed shop in fear of a possible outbreak of violence.
The situation was tense from about 6AM when heavily armed riot police officers patrolled the streets.
The Central Business District was deserted with all major retail shops closed.
Even vendors were conspicuous by their absence in the streets and the market place.
Only Choppies and OK Supermarkets which are outside the CBD were open, albeit operating under the police’s eagle eyes.
There were no reported incidents of violence.
The new Government Complex, which is always a hive of activity, was virtually deserted and the car park outside the perimeter fence was empty.
The Registrar’s office operated normally until 2PM and the Civil Court closed after lunch.
Towards midday, the atmosphere began to warm up after business people realised there was no violence.
Some shops opened but it was short lived.
They quickly closed after false social media reports that riots had erupted all over Bulawayo.
Government departments were operating as normal in Plumtree with armed police being deployed to guard some government offices. Pupils were turned back from schools as teachers did not turn up to work.
This applied to several schools in Bulilima and Mangwe Districts.
Several shops in the border town, including all pharmacies, were closed while some shops closed earlier than usual.
Armed police officers were also deployed to conduct patrols within the border town. They were also deployed to monitor Plumtree, Maitengwe and Mphoengs Border Posts.
Seven taxi operators were arrested for attempting to stage a demonstration against roadblocks within the border town.
The group of taxi operators, who were holding placards written “Reduce Road Blocks”, attempted to stage a demonstration within the Central Business District.
Matabeleland South Officer Commanding Crime, Assistant Commissioner Bobby Murwira, confirmed the arrests and said the seven taxi operators were being held at Plumtree Police Station and would appear in court soon.
Most businesses were intimidated into closing shop in Masvingo.
The CBD was literally deserted as most shops were closed, save for OK and Pick and Pay supermarkets.
A snap survey by The Chronicle revealed that virtually all schools turned away pupils as teachers either chose not to report for duty or remained in the classrooms but were not conducting lessons.
There was heavy police presence in the CBD and residential areas as law enforcers maintained peace.
Banks that include FBC, POSB and Central African Building Society (CABS) were operating as usual while CBZ, ZB Bank, BancABC were closed.
Online Reporter