Following a warning from authorities in Zimbabwe about planned protests to demand that President Emmerson Mnangagwa step down, police were on the streets and businesses and offices were closed in major cities.
Security personnel monitored city centres after advising residents not to protest against President Mnangagwa, who gained power in a coup eight years ago.
A small group attempted to convene at President Robert Mugabe Square in Harare but were dispersed by police, according to reports.
The protests were called by a veteran of the ZANU-PF, in power since independence in 1980, following moves by a faction of the party to keep Mnangagwa, 82, in power beyond the end of his term in 2028.
The main road in the centre of Harare was deserted and some retailers, including car dealers, had removed items from shop windows, reports say.
Schools were closed and commuter taxis suspended operations.
In the country’s second city, Bulawayo, major retailers and offices were shuttered and only a few people were in the normally busy fresh produce market. Police patrolled in vehicles and on horseback.
Mnangagwa and his government have been accused of corruption and mismanagement that has left the southern African country in economic crisis, while repression has weakened the political opposition.
Geza and his group of veterans of the war that led to independence in 1980 are pushing to replace Mnangagwa with his vice president, Constantino Chiwenga, a retired general who orchestrated the coup against Mugabe.
