Old video shows Zimbabwe police beating opposition party members in 2019, not 2023

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Zimbabwe is scheduled to hold general elections in August and observers are keeping a close eye on the government’s treatment of opposition supporters. With just over a month to go, a video of police assaulting people in a street has been circulating on social media, fueling speculation that it shows a recent crackdown by Zimbabwean authorities. However, the video is from elections in 2019. AFP Fact Check previously debunked the clip when it was used to spread falsehoods during Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020.

The 30-second video shows anti-riot police wielding batons chasing and beating people in the street.

“WATCH: Zimbabwean police dealing with Zimbos,” reads one of the tweets.

Screenshot of a misleading post, taken on July 17, 2023

Tweets that featured the video here and here have garnered hundreds of shares since they were published in May and July 2023.

Comments are varied but most appear to believe the events are recent.

“Probably in an opposition party stronghold,” reads one reply. “Zimbos will never learn.”

Screenshot of some replies to the tweet, taken on July 18, 2023

However, the video is unrelated to recent events – political or otherwise – in Zimbabwe.

Elections 2019

AFP Fact Check investigated the same video back in 2020 when social media posts claimed the footage showed Zimbabwe police dealing with churchgoers who were defying Covid-19 lockdown rules (archived here).

A keyword search on Google at the time showed the video had been shared by journalists and lawyers on November 20, 2019 (archived here and here).

One of the tweets read: “Video received: Zimbabwe riot police attacked opposition party MDC Alliance supporters today who had gathered to hear leader, Nelson Chamisa, give his Hope of the Nation Address.”

Screenshot of the 2019 tweet

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance, the main opposition party, is now known as the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) (archived here).

AFP photographer Jekesai Njikizana was on the scene when the events unfolded in 2019. In one of his images, a man in red overalls with a matching red backpack stands out amid the police contingent. He also appears in the video currently being shared.

Screenshots showing a man in red overalls in the misleading video (left) and in the AFP photograph from November 2019 (right)

Njikizana’s photograph is captioned: “An anti-riot police man in Zimbabwe tackles a woman with his boot as they dispersed a crowd gathered to hear an address by leader of the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) Alliance, Nelson Chamisa at Morgan Tsvangirai House, the party headquarters, in Harare, on November 20, 2019.

“Nelson Chamisa was due to address party supporters in his Hope of the Nation Address (HONA). The public address was blocked by riot police who beat up several people as they dispersed.”

The photograph and its caption as displayed in AFP's archives

President Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union–Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF) won the 2018 elections in an outcome marred by fraud allegations (archived here).

As reported by AFP, the CCC finally managed to launch its 2023 election campaign on July 16 after multiple rallies were banned (archived here).

Elections are scheduled for August 23, 2023.

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