POLITICAL activists from Gokwe, Midlands province on Thursday staged a protest demanding that SADC "respects the will" of Zimbabweans.
SADC Heads of State will be convening in Harare for the regional bloc's 44th Summit where President Emmerson Mnangagwa will assume it's leadership.
Tensions are already running high following the arrest of about 160 human rights activists and opposition members in recent weeks on varied charges. Political analysts believe the arrests and crackdown are aimed at blocking any demonstrations.
Several rights organizations have since criticized the arrests and ordered authorities to immediately release the arrested victims.
In a viral video circulated Thursday a group of rights activists from the usually quiet rural community of Gokwe, the group's leader who identified himself as Givemore Chuma urged SADC leaders to do the "respectable".
"SADC must not be used to sanitise President Emmerson Mnangagwa's illegitimacy. This is what we are saying as the inhabitants of Gokwe.We are holding these demonstrations to send out a clear message.
"It has been common knowledge through the years that people from Gokwe are backward, but today we have taken the first step in sending the message that we are not supporting the conferment of the SADC chairmanship to Mnangagwa.
"He must leave the office. No one voted for him to power.What lessons does SADC intend to confer to citizens across the region ?" he said in the video.
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Chuma said the task ahead of SADC is to respect the will of the people of Zimbabwe.
"It is unfair to reward election theft in such a manner. What we appreciate is the fact that Advocate Nelson Chamisa won this election and he is the one who deserves the chairmanship. I am not the one who is saying this. I am just the spokesperson on behalf of Zimbabweans and the people of Gokwe.
"If he (Chamisa) is not the one to take the helm then we have to take it to the street on the 17th of August. The Constitution's Section 59 allows us to demonstrate. Zanu-PF has made it clear that power in Zimbabwe will not be transferred through the ballot. We need a democratic government in Zimbabwe. The ruling party has failed for the past 44 years," he added.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) maintained a presence in the highest density suburbs with water canisters and military vehicles seen roaming up and about.
Authorities have justified the presence arguing it is an international best practice legally resorted to in line with providing security.
President Mnangagwa's administration has since urged citizens to remain calm revealing the crackdown is aimed at sniffing out undesirable elements hired to threaten the country's security.
