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Chronicle Reporter

A POPULAR restaurant owner based in St Anna, Matobo district, Matabeleland South, Thulisani Mguni, has been arrested on allegations that she was using her premises as hub for the opposition MDC Alliance.

Mguni, who was running KwaThuli Tshisanyama which is based at the St Anna shopping Centre had used her popular spot to invite members of the opposition to hold meetings and also distributing various materials which were reportedly castigating the government.

Police sources revealed that neighbouring business people had reported Mguni to the police for allegedly causing a nuisance at the shopping centre through her alleged activities.

“For some time police had put the restaurant under surveillance as initially members of the opposition would leave their material at the shop of which they would then distribute to their patrons.

“However, everything came to a head when she hosted what she termed a luncheon for a group of MDC members, where she then conducted an illegal rally, with people from the party addressing patrons and also people who at the shopping centre. She was thus arrested for being a public nuisance and also convening an illegal gathering,” said the source.

She was reportedly taken to Bidi police base and later appeared in court in Bulawayo, where she was remanded in custody.

This publication managed to interview some of Mguni’s employees at the restaurant who revealed that they had since shut down operations after her arrest.

“Our main crime was being a popular restaurant because everyone would pass by here to have lunch hence on the day in question these people were from having a rally in the district and came through just to have lunch, it was not a rally at all,” claimed the employee who declined to be named.