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From the city’s centre at Town Hall, what had slowly morphed into a raucous pack travelled up Victoria Ave, chanting loudly as it moved. Turning right onto Glyn Jones, the demonstration’s mood continued to sour. Tires were set on fire and the people sang louder. Stopped from continuing on its path down Masauko Chipembere, the crowd –still thousands strong– turned around and onto Haile Sellasie. And there, as can happen with large numbers of people who have grown impatient, a mob mentality slowly rose to grip the demonstrators, who only one hours earlier, had danced and sang in celebration of their right to protest against a government they no longer supported.

On Haile Sellasie, some individuals began throwing rocks at shop windows. I witnessed virtually no looting, but a lot of property was damaged. Further down the street, the crowds—by this time, fractured by security forces and engulfed in waves of anarchy—fell into violence.

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At 7:00 a.m. yesterday, the streets of downtown Blantyre were all but deserted. As expected, shops and restaurants were to remain closed July 20, the day for which nationwide demonstrations were scheduled for groups both for and against President Bingu wa Mutharika and the ruling DPP.

And by late afternoon, those same streets were again, eerily quiet.

In the morning, it was fears of clashing protesters that cleared the downtown core. In the early evening, it was government forces’ bullets and tear gas.

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