Protestors Need The Army, We Have No Batons & Water Cannons To Deal With Them: ED Makes Stunning Claims

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has sensationally claimed that his government does not have baton sticks and water cannons to deal with protests arguing that only the military is equipped to handle protests and to restore law and order.

The president has received massive criticism after his government deployed soldiers to quell demonstrations which had turned violent in January. At least 17 people were reported to have been killed when soldiers used live ammunition while another 6 people were killed when the military used live ammunition again on August 1, 2019.

In an interview with The National. in the United Arab Emirates over the weekend, Mnangagwa justified his actions saying,

Protestors Need The Army, We Have No Batons & Water Cannons To Deal With Them: ED Makes Stunning Claims

…the only people we can call in is the army to stop the destruction and bring law and order.

If there is a political and economic jurisdiction in our region where free speech reigns freely and supreme, it is in Zimbabwe.

The French police use water cannon and they use batons, but we don’t have those things. We need to acquire them so that we can deal with civil disturbances.