Protests and Repression Returns to Zimbabwe

Published: Feb. 1, 2019, 8:59 p.m.

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Zimbabwe was rocked by protests in mid-January in the most significant public display of dissatisfaction with the government of Emerson Mnangagwa. Mnangagwa you will remember deposed longtime Zimbawe ruler Robert Mugabe in a coup in November 2017\\xa0 -- an this past summer he further ensconced himself in power through an election in which he was declared the winner.\\xa0
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The proximate cause of these protests were a sudden increase in the price of fuel. The government\'s response was exceedingly violent and repressive. Thousands of people are now languishing in jail.
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On the line with me to explain what caused these protests and why the once promising reign of Mnangagwa is now looking more and more like a facsimile of the Mugabe era is Mako Muzenda.\\xa0
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Mako Muzenda is a freelance journalist from Zimbabwe. --and I have had the pleasure of editing her contributions to UN Dispatch. She is currently finishing her post graduate work at university in South Africa, which is where I caught up with her for this episode.\\xa0\\xa0
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We kick off discussing the fuel tax hike that lead to these protests before having a longer conversation about the ups and downs of the Mnangagwa era in Zimbabwe.\\xa0
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