Commerce informel : affrontements à Daar Es Salam – 3 avril 2012

Traders clash with police, block roads as they resist eviction

thecitizen.co.tz

Tuesday, 03 April 2012

By The Citizen Reporter

Dar es Salaam. Chaos reigned in Dar es Salaam yesterday when small-scale traders disrupted traffic and clashed with police in protest against their eviction from an authorised area.

Hundreds of the stone-wielding protestors, including women, blocked Mandela Expressway and Morogoro Road near the Ubungo commuter bus terminal, stoning motorists and engaging police in running battles.

Motorists were held up in traffic jams for hours, and the situation worsened when the police used tear gas and water cannons to try to disperse the protestors.

Riot police and Kinondoni Municipal Council militia had a hectic time clearing huge stones, logs and other debris dumped on the road.

Several suspects were arrested as police struggled to restore order after the disturbances threatened to spill over into the residential area bordering Mandela Expressway.

Police descended on the vendors at around 7pm following a government directive that small-scale traders be removed from service roads and other unauthorised areas.

Works minister John Magufuli issued the order a fortnight ago when inaugurating the new bus terminal in Mbezi, Dar es Salaam. Read more…