<\/p>\n
Masarira, also known as Traore, told Channel Africa on Tuesday that the mobilisation appears to be driven largely through social media by people outside Zimbabwe, with no visible leadership prepared to take responsibility on the ground.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Masarira said personal experience shaped the warning, after spending several months in prison following previous activism. \u201cI\u2019ve gone through the fire. And I stayed in prison for four to five months,\u201d Masarira said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to Masarira, young people and ordinary citizens could face arrest or violence without clear legal protection or financial support. \u201cThere is no need for people to go through the same fire, go the same rigorous process whereby people end up getting arrested, people end up being beaten,\u201d Masarira said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Masarira said there is \u201cno proper clarity\u201d on the purpose of the planned protest and no leaders publicly confirming that leadership will be \u201cfrom the front\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
While acknowledging that protest is a constitutional right, Masarira argued that organisers must be visible and accountable. \u201cIf these people are genuine, they must come on the ground and face the regime head-on,\u201d Masarira said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Masarira alleged that some individuals in the diaspora are using the planned protest to raise funds from businesspeople while promising future political or economic benefits. Masarira further alleged that some of the money is not reaching grassroots organisers. \u201cWe are dealing with people\u2019s lives here and we need people who are willing to put their faces on the campaigning of the protest,\u201d Masarira said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Asked about Zimbabweans facing unemployment, inflation and a high cost of living, Masarira said public frustration is real but argued that repeated street protests have not produced results in Zimbabwe. \u201cProtests have never worked in Zimbabwe,\u201d Masarira said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Masarira said previous demonstrations had led to arrests and imprisonment without achieving meaningful political change. \u201cWhy can\u2019t we sit down and come up with a proper solution that will work and not be repeating the same strategy that is not yielding results over and over again?\u201d Masarira said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Masarira called for what was described as a \u201cscientific approach\u201d, including structured engagement with President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other authorities. \u201cLet\u2019s put things in writing and seek for a meeting with the president,\u201d Masarira said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Masarira said stakeholders should present clear demands, set timelines and hold follow-up meetings to assess progress.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to Masarira, legitimate grievances should be raised in a way that avoids endangering citizens while still pressing government to address economic and governance concerns.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":40953,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-40952","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Political Activist Malcolm Masi Masarira has warned Zimbabweans against joining planned July 31 protests without clear leadership, legal support or agreed objectives.","published_date":"","news_description":"Political Activist Malcolm Masi Masarira has warned Zimbabweans against joining planned July 31 protests without clear leadership, legal support or agreed objectives.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40954,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/40952\/revisions\/40954"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=40952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}