Why Zimbabweans are protesting against Mugabe

The insistence by the government that it will introduce bond notes next month is the major cause why Zimbabweans are protesting against their 92-year-old leader President Robert Mugabe, an African think-tank says.

“Zimbabweans fear that this will take the country back to the hyperinflation of the 2000s, and the bond note plans have been one of the major drivers of the protests since June,” Afrobarometer says.

Zimbabwe’s main opposition Movement for Democratic Change led by Morgan Tsvangirai has described the move as bringing back the discredited Zimbabwe dollar through the back door.

Another opposition party, the Zimbabwe People First, led by the country’s former Vice-President Joice Mujuru, is taking the government to court over the same issue.

Afrobarometer says although Zimbabweans have real concerns about economic conditions, the economy has also been stable, and both health and educational services have been operating.

But the introduction of bond notes to ease hard currency shortages has triggered the protests because people are afraid of hyperinflation that hit the country in the 2000s reaching its peak in 2008.

“These protests suggest a lack of support for President Robert Mugabe and his ruling party, the ZANU-PF, which has responded to the protests with violence,” it says.

The protests are being led by social media activists like #Thisflag and #Tajamuka with the country’s fragmented opposition parties only playing a marginal role.

Only a year ago, a survey by Afrobarometer showed that Mugabe was more popular than any opposition leader.

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