In a series of tweets, the newly formed Zimbabwe People First; (ZimPF) described Mugabe’s government as no different to that of Smith, after the Zimbabwean police issued a ban on protests and rallies in the capital Harare.

The notice cited a lack of manpower to prevent disorder. It said that demonstrations would only be allowed after September 16. The notice also stated that anyone taking part in protests before then could be imprisoned for up to a year. Zimbabwe has seen a mounting tide of violent protests in the past weeks, with demonstrators calling for the resignation of Mugabe.

Mugabe had been in power since 1980 when the country won independence. The veteran leader over the weekend, however, accused Western countries of seeking to overthrow his government through violent protests.

The former deputy president Joice Mujuru’s party said that Mugabe's Zanu-PF party was still oppressing black Zimbabweans, the same way that Smith had done in the past. Mugabe using the same measures that Smith's UDI Rhodesia used to suppress black people's freedom #Zimbabwe #ThisFlag

--news24--