Analysis
The crackdown is the latest front in a long-running political battle over the future of the constitution. The amendments pushed by the ruling party would extend the presidential term and consolidate power, and the opposition argues that the ban on protests is designed to make the change a fait accompli before voters can respond.
For Zimbabwe's civil society, the ban is part of a broader squeeze. Independent media have been harassed, opposition leaders have been detained, and the courts have been cautious about taking on politically charged cases. The result is a public square where organised protest is increasingly risky.
The international reaction will matter. Western donors, who still provide critical budgetary support, have been watching the political drift closely. Whether they link the next round of assistance to a concrete opening for public dissent will be one of the clearest signals yet of how the country's trajectory is being read abroad.