Police confirmed on Tuesday that they had arrested Tafadzwa Nelston Matanhuse, 32, of Chiredzi, on allegations of incitement to commit public violence.
Reports indicate that Matanhuse handed himself in on Tuesday after learning that police were looking for him. He was accompanied by his lawyer, Martin Mureri.
The arrest follows a viral video in which Matanhuse accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa and businessman Wicknell Chivayo of ordering the demolition of vendors’ stalls in Chiredzi, saying the move had left scores of vulnerable families facing hunger.
In the clip, he called Mnangagwa and Chivayo “dogs” and described them as selfish and indifferent to the poor. He also dared them to kill him if they wished.
Matanhuse criticised the pair for donating expensive cars to the wealthy while ordinary people went hungry.
He further claimed that Mnangagwa would no longer care for citizens after securing a two-year term extension from Parliament.
Mahere described Matanhuse’s arrest as “despicable”, saying it showed that the Government was “anti-poor, anti-progress and anti-people”.
“The despicable arrest of Tafadzwa Matanhuse tells us everything we need to know about this Govt. They are anti-poor, anti-progress and anti-people. You violently destroy people’s source of livelihood, then gaslight us all by arresting them on a bogus charge of ‘incitement to violence’ for calling out your callousness? What a shameful, vile lot you all are,” Mahere wrote on Facebook.
The demolitions, carried out on Friday, come as the ZANU-PF-led Government pursues constitutional amendments that could delay elections by a further two years, pushing them to 2030.
Affected vendors expressed grief, frustration and hopelessness, accusing the council of destroying their livelihoods without prior notice.
One woman said she had relied on her vending income to educate her children. She said her eldest daughter was completing her undergraduate degree, while her younger daughter was preparing to start university.
Speaking in desperation, she asked whether the Government’s actions were effectively telling her daughters to turn to prostitution to survive.
Chiredzi Central MP Ropafadzo Makumire criticised the demolitions, saying he opposed “decisions that are unreasonable, insensitive, and made without following proper legal and policy procedures”.
Makumire argued that the Government was contradicting itself by destroying markets while simultaneously promising to build better facilities.
He said authorities were already struggling to improve service delivery, which remained below acceptable standards.
Makumire questioned the rationale for demolishing the structures without first providing a viable alternative for affected vendors.
“My question is simple: if there are no resources to provide an alternative, why demolish their makeshift structures and evict them in the first place? Development should improve people’s livelihoods, not destroy them without a viable plan,” said Makumire.