Zimbabwe government harasses opposition with arrests, jail

By FARAI MUTSAKA
Associated Press

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe’s general election is several months away but many opposition figures say they are already battling government repression similar to the iron-fisted rule of Robert Mugabe, the former president who died in 2019. President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government is responding with force to opposition to his rule, stoked by worsening economic conditions including inflation at more than 250% and the emergence of a popular new opposition party. Among those suffering from the government’s dragnet is opposition member of parliament Job Sikhala, who has been detained in the harsh Chikurubi prison near the capital, Harare, for close to three months on accusations of inciting violence.