Political activist and leader of the National Vendors Union Zimbabwe (Navuz). Sten Zvorwadza was reportedly taken to Harare Central Police Station on allegations of insulting and undermining the authority of the president.
Zvorwadza was escorted by Rose Hanzi and Agnes Muzondo who are lawyers from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) from his place of residence. His arrest comes after his criticism of President Robert Mugabe’s directive to rid the capital of vendors. Speaking at the ZANU-PF Youth League national assembly held at the Zanu-PF headquarters Mugabe directed then Home Affairs Minister Ignatius Chombo and Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Minister Saviour Kasukuwere to get rid of vendors in Harare’s CBD.
Zvorwadza vowed to defy the directive. Zvorwadza is quoted by Daily News saying:
As the informal sector, we will not listen to such nonsense; we are going to stay in the streets. He is daydreaming. I bet with my head, the president has no capacity to remove vendors from the streets.
He must depart from this issue of day-dreaming. Mugabe must appreciate the role of the informal sector. Zimbabweans must understand that Mugabe is old and he is a dead man walking.
The move to chase away vendors will be a final blow to the dying economy. Mugabe is living a good life with his family; he thinks that we are in the streets because we want to do so, failing to understand that he is the one who created this situation.
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