{"id":2220,"date":"2019-01-21T15:36:50","date_gmt":"2019-01-21T15:36:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.com\/zimbabwe\/?p=2220"},"modified":"2019-01-21T15:36:50","modified_gmt":"2019-01-21T15:36:50","slug":"govt-riots-explanation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Govt riots explanation&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Questions have been raised over government\u2019s claims that police and army deserters were responsible for the riots and mayhem that characterised a three-day stay-away, which reportedly led to the death of at least 12 people.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Addressing a press conference on Saturday, police spokesperson Charity Charamba told journalists deserters were behind the riots.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>This is despite claims by State security minister Owen Ncube, who blamed the MDC and civil society organisations of causing the disturbances.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Observers have criticised the latest statement by government, claiming the explanation leaves a lot to be desired.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>UK-based Kent University law lecturer Alex Magaisa expressed dismay over government\u2019s explanation on social media, accusing President Emmerson Mnangagwa\u2019s regime of being dishonest and lacking probity.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cTheir default setting is to blame the MDC and NGOs. Security minister simply followed this tired script. It was implausible, absurd and laughable. So they came up with another theory \u2014 our uniforms were stolen, deserters and retired officers kept uniforms. It\u2019s amateurish and worse.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cTheir theory does not explain how thousands of them ended up with military and police trucks plus guns and ammunition. Did the criminals steal these too? Did retired officers take them home when they left? It\u2019s completely absurd but that\u2019s what makes them a laughing stock,\u201d Magaisa said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The police presser, which they jointly held with the army, came as dozens of people are being treated of gunshot wounds, while others were shot dead.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The police\u2019s heavy-handedness has received widespread condemnation from human rights and international organisations. The organisations have asked the government to exercise restraint and investigate cases of human rights abuse.<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Amid this condemnation, Zimbabweans, have however been left with more questions than answers, especially after the police claims.<\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>MDC official David Coltart described the explanation as bizarre.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201c\u2026Kafkaesque happenings in #Zimbabwe. If you find yourself in a hole stop digging! Having been caught red handed it now appears rogue elements in uniform are now accused of fomenting the violence this week. This can only complicate things even more for the regime,\u201d Coltart wrote on Twitter.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Another observer Pedzisai Ruhanya said the joint statement by the army and police was an embarrassment.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\u201cThe joint statement by Zimbabwe\u2019s police and army\/security services is the greatest embarrassment and tomfoolery in Africa South of the Sahara in this sector since Idi Amin!\u201d he said on Twitter.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Questions have been raised over government\u2019s claims that police and army deserters were responsible for the riots and mayhem that characterised a three-day stay-away, which reportedly led to the death of at least 12 people. Addressing a press conference on Saturday, police spokesperson Charity Charamba told journalists deserters were behind the riots. This is despite [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[152,239,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-2220","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-policy","9":"tag-crisis","10":"tag-economic-chaos","11":"tag-government"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.1 (Yoast SEO v24.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&#039;Govt riots explanation&#039; - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#039;Govt riots explanation&#039;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Questions have been raised over government\u2019s claims that police and army deserters were responsible for the riots and mayhem that characterised a three-day stay-away, which reportedly led to the death of at least 12 people. Addressing a press conference on Saturday, police spokesperson Charity Charamba told journalists deserters were behind the riots. This is despite [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-21T15:36:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/upload\/sites\/14\/2018\/12\/220px-Emmerson_Mnangagwa_in_Harare_Zimbabwe_-_2018_cropped.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"220\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"267\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation\",\"name\":\"'Govt riots explanation' - zimbabwe\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/upload\/sites\/14\/2018\/12\/220px-Emmerson_Mnangagwa_in_Harare_Zimbabwe_-_2018_cropped.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-01-21T15:36:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-01-21T15:36:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/2e02b5816e71b1149d79877f669a85e4\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/upload\/sites\/14\/2018\/12\/220px-Emmerson_Mnangagwa_in_Harare_Zimbabwe_-_2018_cropped.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/upload\/sites\/14\/2018\/12\/220px-Emmerson_Mnangagwa_in_Harare_Zimbabwe_-_2018_cropped.jpg\",\"width\":220,\"height\":267},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"&#8216;Govt riots explanation&#8217;\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/\",\"name\":\"zimbabwe\",\"description\":\"\u0623\u062e\u0628\u0627\u0631 \u064a\u0648\u0645\u064a\u0629 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0645\u062f\u0627\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0627\u0639\u0629\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/2e02b5816e71b1149d79877f669a85e4\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"'Govt riots explanation' - zimbabwe","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"'Govt riots explanation'","og_description":"Questions have been raised over government\u2019s claims that police and army deserters were responsible for the riots and mayhem that characterised a three-day stay-away, which reportedly led to the death of at least 12 people. Addressing a press conference on Saturday, police spokesperson Charity Charamba told journalists deserters were behind the riots. This is despite [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation","og_site_name":"zimbabwe","article_published_time":"2019-01-21T15:36:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":220,"height":267,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/upload\/sites\/14\/2018\/12\/220px-Emmerson_Mnangagwa_in_Harare_Zimbabwe_-_2018_cropped.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation","name":"'Govt riots explanation' - zimbabwe","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/upload\/sites\/14\/2018\/12\/220px-Emmerson_Mnangagwa_in_Harare_Zimbabwe_-_2018_cropped.jpg","datePublished":"2019-01-21T15:36:50+00:00","dateModified":"2019-01-21T15:36:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/2e02b5816e71b1149d79877f669a85e4"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/upload\/sites\/14\/2018\/12\/220px-Emmerson_Mnangagwa_in_Harare_Zimbabwe_-_2018_cropped.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/upload\/sites\/14\/2018\/12\/220px-Emmerson_Mnangagwa_in_Harare_Zimbabwe_-_2018_cropped.jpg","width":220,"height":267},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/govt-riots-explanation#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"&#8216;Govt riots explanation&#8217;"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/","name":"zimbabwe","description":"\u0623\u062e\u0628\u0627\u0631 \u064a\u0648\u0645\u064a\u0629 \u0639\u0644\u0649 \u0645\u062f\u0627\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u0633\u0627\u0639\u0629","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/2e02b5816e71b1149d79877f669a85e4","name":"cfeditoren"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.cc\/zimbabwe\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}