Zimbabwe Civic Group Challenges Harare Ban; More Than 80 Arrested
Protesters in Masvingo hit the streets in three waves starting at 3 a.m., when they erected makeshift barricades, and later in the day 
Zimbabwe's National Constitutional Assembly, an opposition civic group, defied a ban imposed by Harare on political gatherings by staging demonstrations Wednesday in five Zimbabwe cities and towns. Police, responding, arrested more than 80 people. NCA activists demonstrated in Harare, Bulawayo, Mutare, Gweru and Masvingo in a direct challenge to a police ban imposed last week on political gatherings in Harare and the satellite city of Chitungwiza, though in effect the ban applied nationally. The government has also imposed a de facto curfew on parts of Harare, ordering bars and other establishments to close their doors at 7 p.m. The situation remains tense in Zimbabwe as steep economic decline has exacerbated a longstanding political crisis. Meanwhile, NCA officials said riot police came down heavily on demonstrators in Bulawayo, Masvingo, Mutare and Gweru. In Mutare, 25 members of the group were arrested. In eastern Masvingo, authorities detained some seven people, they said. Sources in Bulawayo said police there were seeking the NCA chairman for Bulawayo Province, Reggie Moyo. Protesters in Masvingo hit the streets in three waves starting at 3 a.m., when they erected makeshift barricades, and at 2 p.m. and 5 p.m.