Scores were left injured on Saturday when heavily armed riot police ran pitched battles with anxious customers who were losing patience after failing to access their money from the city banks.
With tensions running high, things boiled over when the banks called police to control the crowds. A witness to the chaos wrote to us saying the police used baton sticks to try to control the crowds and this inflamed the situation. Outside the CFX Bank, irritated customers retaliated and pounced on a lonely policeman who was overpowered by the angry mob.
The policeman was left in a daze after the clients at a local bank vented their anger on him in revenge. He was left bleeding profusely after he was attacked,’ our source said.
Other reports said that on Friday some banks had enlisted the services of soldiers to keep the peace in the queues. The soldiers used this to jump queues and access the cash for themselves, beating up people in the process.
Managers blamed the Central bank for its limited allocation of money to the banks. While the Reserve Bank has increased the cash withdrawal limits to Z$500 000 from $50 000, the money is still not enough as people spend the nights sleeping outside the banks.’
In Harare, the military police on Saturday battled fellow soldiers who were creating problems in bank queues. Reports say baton-wielding military police beat soldiers in uniform. At Coal House in central Harare, where two building societies are located opposite each other, fights erupted as members of the public cheered.
It’s alleged that a number of soldiers were bundled into military vehicles and taken to barracks where they were expected to be detained.
SWRadio Africa
Post published in: News