Opposition took to streets in angry protests even before election defeat was announced

Early on Thursday morning, Joseph Chakutamazi left his home in the poor Harare neighbourhood of Hatfield and headed into the heart of the Zimbabwean capital. As usual, he stopped and picked up a few dozen newspapers from a distributor to sell to commuters and office workers.

By 9.30am, he was at his favourite pitch on a usually busy street corner near the former British colony’s parliament on Africa Unity Square.

“I’ve a wife and two kids,” Chakutamazi said. “I earn about two dollars on a good day. I’m not a political person and if I don’t work, we don’t eat.”

On Wednesday afternoon, the army had moved through the city’s streets to break up opposition protesters claiming the result of the historic election on Monday, the first following the end of almost four decades of rule by Robert Mugabe last year, was being rigged.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A man reads a newspaper headline in Harare while awaiting the presidential election results. Photograph: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP

For several hours, the sound of automatic gunfire, shattering glass and screaming had filled the city centre. By the time calm was restored, six people had been killed and dozens injured.

For many in Zimbabwe, the violence came as a visceral shock.

“We never thought this would happen. We thought this had gone away. It is terrifying,” said one woman who had been sent home by her employers for fear of further clashes. The 23-year-old hairdresser said she did not want to be named for fear of government reprisals.

Only nine months ago, the streets of Harare were the scene of joyful celebrations as the news of the resignation of Mugabe, 94, spread. Though he had been removed in what was effectively a palace coup backed by the army and though the ruling Zanu-PF party remained in power, many Zimbabweans hoped for a better future.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Police officers block a road leading to the opposition’s offices in Harare a day after violent protests left three people dead. Photograph: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP

Overseas, too, there had beeen optimism that Emmerson Mnangagwa, the dour 75-year-old spy chief and former vice-president who succeeded Mugabe, would lead the country in a different direction, bringing reforms, democracy and a reintegration into the international community.

Early signs were good. The election campaign was peaceful, in stark contrast to previous polls. International monitors were accredited. The opposition was allowed to campaign unhindered, even if Zanu-PF benefited from what observers described as a “playing field that was far from level”. On Monday the polls went smoothly, with millions queueing in soft winter sunshine to cast their ballots.

Then came the clashes on Wednesday, blamed by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party (MDC) on the government and, inevitably, by the government on the MDC. Well after midnight on Friday morning, Mnangagwa was declared winner with 50.8%, just over six points ahead of Chamisa.

“We are in a new era of uncertainty. But at least we know what kind of government this is. It is a government that calls itself liberal and democratic, [but] unleashed soldiers on unarmed civilians,” Ernest Mudzengi, 43, a media manager, said as he stopped to buy a newspaper from Chakutamazi’s pavement store.

Others – far fewer in number in this opposition stronghold – described the protesters as “thugs”.

“These are stupid people. They should wait for the results and respect them,” said Jake Jugaja, a 28-year-old plumber.

Analysts in Harare say the clashes and deaths on Wednesday are a huge setback to the government’s hopes for international rehabilitation – and to its chances of receiving a desperately needed multibillion-dollar bailout package to prevent economic meltdown.

Play Video 0:49 Tensions rise after Zimbabwe election as police and protesters clash – video

It will also make readmission to the Commonwealth, a key government objective, much harder, and is likely to undermine efforts by Zanu-PF to improve its poor image in Washington.

Much depends on the coming days, and how both Mnangagwa and the opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, react to the result.

“The Zimbabwe we hoped for is not dead, at least not yet, but I am not feeling hopeful any more. It is in God’s hands,” said a businesswoman from the satellite city of Chitungwiza as she hurried to retrieve paperwork from her office near the locked, empty and heavily guarded MDC headquarters.

The new era that many in this impoverished country of 16 million dreamed of when Mugabe was ousted was defined economically as much as politically.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Police patrol outside the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission offices in Harare. Photograph: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP

The ageing dictator left a nation with unemployment rates approaching 90%, shattered services and a crumbling infrastructure. There is no national currency.

Chakutamazi, the newspaper seller, said he had seen no improvement in recent months and did not anticipate any “good news” soon.

“I am worried about more violence,” he said. “I am not a rich man. I just try to get by. It was bad under Mugabe. But now it is just the same.”

Ten minutes later, trucks loaded with soldiers drove past shouting “go home, get moving”. Chakutamazi hurriedly cleared his pavement display and joined the stream of men and women rushing to obey the order. A short while later, the streets of the city centre were almost empty.