Supporters of a new opposition party in Zimbabwe, founded by the country’s former vice president, were pelted with stones at a rally on Saturday.
Six minivans pulled up near the tent where the rally was held and threw stones at supporters of the Zimbabwe People First party, before speeding off. An Associated Press reporter saw several cars with smashed windows. A bleeding man was rushed to a hospital.
The party’s leader Joice Mujuru was not at the rally held in the capital Harare.
The incident lasted only a few minutes as police quickly intervened, witnesses said. Police detained one of the minivans but the occupants fled the scene. Police spokesman Charity Charamba said she could not comment as the incident had not been reported.
Jim Kunaka, a former member of President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party, ZANU-PF who has joined Mujuru’s party, said he identified some of the assailants as his former party members. The ruling party’s spokesman could not be reached for comment.
Mujuru, Zimbabwe’s first female vice president, was once a close ally of Mugabe but ran afoul of the increasingly politically active first lady, Grace Mugabe, who campaigned against Mujuru who was ousted as vice president and expelled from ZANU-PF in 2014.-AP
