Zimbabwe’s Biggest Mobile Operator Econet Says Ordered to Shut Down Internet

HARARE – Zimbabwe’s biggest mobile operator Econet Wireless said on Friday the government had ordered it to shut down its internet services until further notice following days of deadly protests over steep fuel price hikes. (Please see UPDATE at bottom of page.)

Zimbabweans accuse President Emmerson Mnangagwa of failing to live up to pre-election pledges to kick-start growth, having seen their purchasing power eroded by hyper-inflation, and of resorting to armed forces to crush dissent like strongman predecessor Robert Mugabe.

Authorities have said three people died during protests, which erupted after Mnangagwa’s government decreed a 150 percent hike in fuel prices. Rights groups say the toll was much higher. Horrific footage surfaced on Twitter showing bodies in the back of a bakkie.

Zimbabwean doctors said on Thursday they had treated nearly 70 people for gunshot wounds while police rounded up hundreds after violent protests this week.

The authorities first cut off internet access on Tuesday, before briefly restoring services on Wednesday although media platforms including email, Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter remained blocked throughout.

Critics say the government was trying to prevent images of its heavy-handedness in dealing with protesters from being broadcast around the world.

“We were served with another directive for total shutdown of the internet until further notice,” Econet said in a statement. “Our lawyers advised that we are required to comply with the directive pending the court’s decision on its legality.”

Government officials were not immediately available to comment.

In the capital, life resumed to normal after three days of clashes between police and protesters, which started on Monday.

Long queues formed at petrol stations, and at retail outlets as people sought to stock up on food. Police patrolled the streets, especially in hotspots in the crowded townships.

On Wednesday, Ben Freeth – Executive Director of the Mike Campbell Foundation – in Harara, posted a letter on Facebook which included the following:

There are no newspapers to be bought, the Internet has been shut down by the government and everything is at a complete standstill.

People are too afraid to move around as a result of the burning of vehicles by vigilante groups and the complete dearth of any updated information or warnings due to the total social media blackout…

In some centres it almost feels apocalyptic. We have heard gunfire, and before the Internet was closed down, saw pictures of dead and wounded people…

Contacts in the diplomatic corps and the political opposition are also completely in the dark, along with the rest of us.

This morning I spoke to Nelson Chamisa, leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance, and it is clear that no one knows what is going on because the entire country has been effectively silenced.

Right now the situation remains eerie and uncertain. If this goes on for much longer, the humanitarian crisis will escalate. We cannot buy food because the shops are all closed and transport systems have closed down. Most of the hospitals are without essential medicines and also staff because doctors and nurses can’t even get to work.

This is an unprecedented situation in Zimbabwe and internationally. Even in wartime Europe, the people could get newspapers, transport systems operated, retail outlets were still open and people could communicate.

I cannot send you an e-mail or a photograph – it is a very weird situation.

The only thing we can do at this point is to ask for your prayers as we face this time of escalating fear and uncertainty.

Read his full message below.

UPDATE 16H30, FRI 18 JAN: Econet Wireless said it has received an instruction from the government to open up Internet access, except for some social media applications.

Earlier on Friday, the United Nations urged an end to a security crackdown on civilians triggered by days of deadly protests.

(Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Writing by James Macharia; Editing by Raissa KAsolowsky and Jenni Baxter)

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