Zimbabwean police have reportedly set strict guidelines for the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance's 19th anniversary celebrations which are set to be held on Saturday.
Reports on Thursday indicated that police had finally given the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC Alliance the greenlight to hold its long-awaited event.
The MDC was twice forced to postpone the celebrations due to a cholera outbreak that killed at least 50 people in the southern African country.
But, according to New Zimbabwe.com, police on Tuesday okayed the MDC event with a litany of conditions.
In a letter sent to the party, the police threatened to "put down the festive meeting should the opposition decide to break the rules".
"You are expected to control behaviour of your political party members, before, during and after the celebrations," reads the letter.
Plans to inaugurate Chamisa
"…Your political party shall not intimidate passers-by and those who have nothing to do with your celebrations.
"… Your members should not be involved in toy-toying, convoying of vehicles of people chanting, singing and disseminating hateful and defaming speeches," read part of the letter.
Among other conditions, police also asked the MDC Alliance marshals to dress in uniforms easier to identify and ensure there would be peace throughout, said a NewsDay report.
The MDC indicated last month that it planned to use the celebrations to inaugurate Chamisa as the legitimately elected president of Zimbabwe, following the disputed July 30 elections.
"The leadership is saying that the person who was voted for by the people should be inaugurated by the people.
"We are not joking; this is not a joke. Yes, you can have the military might, but no military might can defeat the popular vote.
False institutions
"You can have false institutions but; no false institution can ever replace a popular will," Chamisa himself was quoted as saying at the time.
Chamisa lost the presidential vote to President Emmerson Mnangagwa by 44.3% to 50.7%, respectively.
Mnangagwa's victory was challenged by the MDC, but in a unanimous decision, the country’s constitutional court approved his win, as reported by AFP.
Mnangagwa was then officially sworn in as president of Zimbabwe on August 26 where he pledged to "protect and promote the rights of Zimbabweans".
* Sign up to News24's top Africa news in your inbox: SUBSCRIBE TO THE HELLO AFRICA NEWSLETTER