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Gweru
police ban play
Rooftop Promotions
December 11, 2012
Police in Gweru
Monday banned three performances of the play The Coup which is currently
touring the country.
This is the
second time that the law enforcement agents have banned the play.
Police in Bindura were the first to place a ban on the play stating
that it was "political".
A request for
clearance of the shows was sent on November 22 and when the team
arrived in Gweru on Monday afternoon to prepare for the performance
they were informed that the show was not cleared.
The reason given
was the Police Internal Security Intelligence officer Marengere
wanted to first view the recording of the play before he can issue
the clearance.
Marengere wanted
to perform the duty of the Censorship Board which goes through the
content of any artistic work before they issue a certificate. The
duty of the police is to maintain peace and order during public
performances and not to censor artists.
The play was
supposed to be performed at Lounge Bar on Monday at 5:30pm followed
by another performance at Fairhill Farm on Tuesday at 1 pm and the
last show at the Midlands Hotel at 5:30pm.
On Sunday the
play was successfully performed at Amakhosi Cultural Square without
any incidence. Over 70 people watched the play in Bulawayo.
"We are
deeply worried by the continued suppression of artistic freedom
and expression by the police who in this case are not the authority
over any artistic work. The very same police force operating under
the same Zimbabwean laws allowed the play to go on in Bulawayo.
It is high time
that artists in this country unite and speak in unison against this
unwarranted interference by the police. We will continue lobbying
the Police General Headquarters to issue a generic clearance letter
that covers all the provinces in the country," said Daves
Guzha
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