Former Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) Bulawayo senator Gideon Shoko has been arrested by Criminal Investigations Department Law and Order detectives in Bulawayo, reported NewsDay.
Shoko’s arrest coincides with the government’s intensified crackdown on dissenting voices, aimed at preventing potential demonstrations during the upcoming Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit scheduled for August 17.
CCC spokesperson Promise Mkhwananzi confirmed Shoko’s arrest to NewsDay. He said:
Government has suspended the bill of rights without the due support of parliament. (President Emmerson) Mnangagwa must declare that he has suspended the constitution.
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When contacted for comment, Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) spokesperson in Bulawayo Province, Inspector Abednico Ncube, professed ignorance of the arrest.
Details of the charges against Shoko were yet to be divulged.
Shoko is one of the CCC senators who were recalled by Sengezo Tshabangu, an activist who seized control of the opposition party soon after the 2023 general elections.
Tshabangu expelled scores of CCC Members of Parliament and councillors whom he did not favour, replacing them with his own allies.
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