Harare (New Ziana) – The government has rubbished opposition claims that the country has political prisoners and that its members are routinely harassed, intimidated and persecuted.
Briefing African Union ambassadors on current political developments in the country on Monday, Acting Foreign Affairs and International Trade Minister, Professor Amon Murwira said the opposition was making these “patently false” claims to cover up for its violent actions witnessed in the Midlands and Manicaland provinces during the August 23 and 24 harmonised elections, which were purely criminal activities.
“Overall, it is not a coincidence that Zimbabwe is under attack less than two weeks before we observe the SADC Anti Sanctions Day. The anti-sanctions campaign has been echoed at continental level by the African Union, on many occasions and at various summits and other international fora. Government notes a concerted effort by actors sympathetic to those who imposed unilateral sanctions to undermine this important crusade,” said Prof Murwira as he called for the immediate and unconditional removal of the punitive measures.
He urged Zimbabweans to shun violence and uphold peace while working towards the attainment of Vision 2030 by shunning violence.
In apparent reference to Citizens Coalition for Change leader Nelson Chamisa, who declared ahead of the August harmonised elections that he would not accept any result that did not declare him the winner, the second such declaration after another one in 2018, Prof Murwira said Zimbabwe’s democracy, constitutionalism and rule of law were under attack with the tacit approval of some Western countries.
“Government will not tolerate any actions aimed at disturbing the peace under the guise of ‘democratic political processes’,” he said. “It is on record that the opposition in Zimbabwe in its various factional manifestations has never accepted election results except in those pockets in which they win, ironically from the same electoral process. Even after the inter-position of the courts at its instance, the opposition routinely rejects any outcomes other than those in which they are declared winners.”
The CCC has accepted and taken up all local government seats it won in most major urban settlements and 103 Parliamentary and Senatorial seats but Chamisa has refused to accept defeat in the Presidential vote, after he garnered 44 percent of the vote to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s 52.6 percent.
Prof Murwira denied that the government and the ruling ZANU (PF) party was involved in the confusion dominating the structureless CCC with some of its councillors and Parliamentarians having been recalled by Sengezo Tshabangu who claims to the opposition outfit’s secretary general.
He conceded that there is no law compelling political parties to have constitutions, structures and elected leadership but said the absence of such instruments had wrought confusion and conflict that is difficult to resolve in the absence of mechanisms for dispute resolution.
“No amount of scapegoating can cure that. It therefore comes as a surprise that formations claiming to be democratic, and enjoying all-round support; political, financial, diplomatic, and organizational from external forces, seek to blame others for their own failures,” he said.
New Ziana
