Police cancel CUF rally over disorder

Zanzibar. Police in Zanzibar had to suspend a planned political rally by opposition Civic United Front (CUF) on Tumbatu Island after reported chaos led to the burning of a Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) flag.

North Unguja regional police commander Hassan Msangi told a news conference yesterday that the disorder occurred after members of the two political parties engaged in a bitter war of words.

Mr Msangi also said during the chaos on Friday two camps used by CCM members were set on fire at Gomani and Uvuvini.

“We’re still investigating in order to identify those who were behind this lawlessness,” said the North Unguja police boss.

He added: “We have banned all political rallies for security reasons. At the same time we have launched a man hunt for the perpetrators,” he said.

However, he said the situation had become under control by yesterday after the anti-riot police were deployed on the Island using a boat owned by the anti-economic sabotage watchdog known in its Kiswahili acronym as KMKM.

Mr Msangi said police will consider allowing the opposition party to hold its rally once the situation returns to normal.

A House of Representative member for Tumbatu, who doubles as the minister of State in the President’s Office (Regional Administration), Mr Haji Omar Kheir, claimed CUF were behind the lawlessness in the area after its members burnt a CCM flag.

“As if that was not enough, the CUF members burned two CCM camps,” claimed Mr Kheir.

He said before the Friday incident CCM flags in five branches of the ruling party were pulled down on March 5.

Mr Kheir said people who were on patrol following the chaos arrested two young men and detained them at Gomani and Jongowe but they were later freed by unknown people.

CUF’s Information, Publicity and Mass Communication director Salim Bimani refuted the claims that CUF was behind the lawlessness, saying the party’s flags were the ones that were burnt.

He claimed that the chaos was planned to ensure that CUF did not conduct political rallies in the island ahead of the October General Election.