South African celebrities have urged South African’s to show the same support to Zimbabwean Lives Matter, as they have with #BLM. This came after the Zimbabwean police acted with brutal force against anti-corruption protesters. In case you’re aware what’s been happening in Zimbabwe, here’s a brief breakdown.
Police on Thursday warned Zimbabweans not to take part in protests planned for Friday, almost two years to the day since six people were shot dead in the aftermath of disputed presidential elections.This was after Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume called for a nationwide demonstration on 31 July 2020 against corruption and demanded that the ruling ZANU-PF government should go.
According to AFP, police cracked down on protests in the country on Friday, with award-winning novelist Tsitsi Dangarembga among those arrested. The protests, which have the backing of the main opposition MDC Alliance, were called to show anger at government corruption but a number of the organisers were in hiding.
A number of South Africans have since took to social media to urge the support for the hashtag ‘ZimbabweanLivesMatter’. Rapper AKA has vented his frustration about the alleged crackdown on anti-corruption protests in Zimbabwe, adding that too many South Africans are worried about the Black Lives Matter movement overseas to notice the alleged injustice on their own doorstep.
A number of Celebs and public figures (including Cassper Nyoverst, Nadia Nakai, Zakes Bantwini ect.) have since took to Social Media to support the cause for ‘ZimbabweanLivesMatter’. This has since sparked a number of debates on Social Media and has been surrounded by some controversy.
With One fan Accusing Zakes Banwtini of supporting foreign causes before South African cause, referring to the ‘Put South Africans First’ hsahtag. To which Zakes Bantwini replied that South Africans need to humble themselves and realise that not everything is about them. Zakes Bantwini also assured the fan that he was one of the first to support ‘ PuSouth Africans First’, but then gets attacked for showing support to our fellow Africans.
Here are more Social Media posts from Zimbabwean Lives Matter
