--- description: Demonstrations against the authoritarian regime of frail, 92-year-old dictator Robert Mugabe have been intensifying. title: Zimbabwe Court Suspends Ban on Protests in Central Harare image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b93ff2c008f8a89/6988a52d524fc0c73cdf968a/gettyimages-591793244.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Zimbabwe](/tag/zimbabwe/) ## Zimbabwe Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # The Zimbabwean High Court Has Suspended a Ban on Protests in Central Harare by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 8, 2016 3:33 AM CUT  Zimbabwe activist Stan Zvorwadza offers flowers to antiriot policemen at Harare Central Police Station during a protest action on Aug. 18, 2016 Zimbabwe activist Stan Zvorwadza offers flowers to antiriot policemen at Harare Central Police Station during a protest action on Aug. 18, 2016Jekesai Njikizana—AFP / Getty Images by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Sep 8, 2016 3:33 AM CUT A police ban on protests in the central business district of the Zimbabwean capital, Harare, has been lifted by the country’s High Court, reports say, putting pressure on the authoritarian regime of frail 92-year-old dictator Robert Mugabe. Anti-Mugabe protests intensified [earlier this April](http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/04/zimbabwe-protest-thousands-call-mugabe-rule-160414150629673.html "undefined"), when thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in protest over the country’s declining economy. On July 6, demonstrators declared a[ national “stay-away” day](http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/07/zimbabwe-shuts-protest-economic-collapse-160706153213733.html "undefined") to protest corruption and economic mismanagement under the Mugabe regime. Since then demonstrators and police have[ clashed on several occasions](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/30/demonstrators-beaten-and-assaulted-after-being-arrested-during-z/ "undefined") resulting in protesters being beaten, tear-gassed and water-cannoned. According to local newspaper [the _Chronicle_](http://www.chronicle.co.zw/breaking-news-demo-ban-lifted/ "undefined"), the ban on protests was lifted because police had not consulted opposition members and civil-society groups before issuing the ban. Demonstrators and lawyers welcomed the ruling. Stan Zvorwadza, one of the activists challenging the ban, told the BBC that protesters wished to demonstrate peacefully. “My clients can now demonstrate today or tomorrow,” said Tendai Biti, Zvorwadza’s lawyer, in an interview with the [BBC](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-37300780 "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4483367/zimbabwe-high-court-protest-harare-ban/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4483367/zimbabwe-high-court-protest-harare-ban/"},"headline":"The Zimbabwean High Court Has Suspended a Ban on Protests in Central Harare","datePublished":"2016-09-08T03:33:38.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:27:43.425Z","description":"Demonstrators and lawyers welcomed the ruling","url":"https://time.com/4483367/zimbabwe-high-court-protest-harare-ban/","keywords":["Zimbabwe","Economy","protest","Ban","Robert Mugabe"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b93ff2c008f8a89/6988a52d524fc0c73cdf968a/gettyimages-591793244.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2b93ff2c008f8a89/6988a52d524fc0c73cdf968a/gettyimages-591793244.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"ZIMBABWE-POLITICS-UNREST-DEMO","caption":"ZIMBABWE-POLITICS-UNREST-DEMO","creditText":"Jekesai Njikizana—AFP / Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/zimbabwe/","name":"Zimbabwe"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4483367/zimbabwe-high-court-protest-harare-ban/","name":"The Zimbabwean High Court Has Suspended a Ban on Protests in Central Harare"}}]}] ```