Burning tyres. Rocks strewn across road. Eyes watering from tear gas. A line of riot police. Jeering crowds. Fleeing people. Chaos.
This was the riot I drove into yesterday as the township of Mbare erupted. Why? Because ZANU's youth militia deployed as municipal police murdered a vendor at M'pezanhamo market. The state press says he 'fell down'. Vendors and locals exploded with anger and carried his body to the council offices. Then came the riot police. And the games began. Rocks thrown. Tear gas canisters shot. Burning tyres. Blocked roads. Market closed.
My eyes were watering from the tear gas. I had to pull over as I could no longer see only to see a line of riot police right in front of me ready to fire tear gas. So I made a quick u-turn down the rock-and-missile roads.
"It's not right", said a salesman a few blocks from the riot. "It takes a lot to make Zimbabweans angry. We are peaceful. So if we are doing this it shows that this country is not right." Such is the reality in our country. The MDC is 're-engaging' in government. But the violence and the poverty continues. And the people when pushed too far tend to snap. So the road ahead is strewn with rocks, burning tyres and riot police.
