Harare - Zimbabwe's government exceeded
its mandate in ordering an internet blackout during civilian
protests last week, a court ruled on Monday, as authorities
pressed on with rounding up opposition figures blamed for the
unrest.
In his interim ruling, High Court Judge Owen Tagu told
mobile operators to immediately and unconditionally resume full
services. The biggest, Econet Wireless, compiled with
the order late on Monday, it said in a message to subscribers.
The sporadic blackout began on Tuesday following the start
of protests against a rise in fuel prices that turned violent.
With evidence growing that the country is slipping back into
authoritarian rule, critics of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's
government had accused it of shutting off the internet to
prevent a security clampdown being broadcast to the world.
Mnangagwa was due back in Zimbabwe late on Monday after
cutting short a foreign trip.
There was no immediate comment from the government's lawyer
on whether it would appeal the court judgement.
On Monday police arrested Japhet Moyo, secretary general of
the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, which called for a
stay-at-home strike last week in conjunction with the fuel
protest.
He faced subversion charges, his lawyer said, while the
organisation's president was in hiding.
Police say three people died during the unrest, but lawyers
and human rights groups point to evidence suggesting at least a
dozen were killed, while scores were treated for gunshot wounds
and hundreds have been held on public order charges.
They include six opposition lawmakers, of one whom was
detained on Monday, as well as pastor Evan Mawarire, a rights
activist and critic of former leader Robert Mugabe held on
subversion charges for urging support for the union strike.
His application for bail will be heard on Wednesday, his
lawyer said.
The spokesman for the main opposition Movement for
Democratic Change (MDC) said several of its leaders were also in
hiding, and accused the president - nicknamed "Crocodile"
during his time as a high-ranking official in Mugabe's
strong-arm administration - of seeking to "dismantle" the party.
A spokesman for Mnangagwa, who became leader after Mugabe
was forced out in November 2017, said on Sunday that the
crackdown was a foretaste of how authorities would respond to
future unrest.
With high inflation and a shortage of cash in circulation
eating into ordinary Zimbabweans' spending power, the fragile
state of Zimbabwe's economy was also in focus on Monday.
The main teachers union said after a weekend meeting that
its members remained "incapacitated" until the government made a
meaningful adjustment to their salaries.
The president broke off a foreign trip during which he had
been expected to pitch for investments at the World Economic
Forum in Davos. A foreign ministry source said he was now due
back in Harare on Monday night.
Earlier in the day, South Africa said it had last month
turned down a request from its northern neighbour for a $1.2
billion loan.
As many businesses, including banks, shops and government
offices re-opened in Harare on Monday, the government introduced
subsidies for bus travel after public taxis increased prices in
response to the fuel price hike.