Copac 'mafia' want to silence Jonathan Moyo

Zanu-PF Tsholotsho North Member of Parliament and former Information minister Jonathan Moyo could be charged with contempt of Parliament following his denunciation of the constitution-making body, Copac, as a "mafia."

Douglas Mwonzora (MDC-T) and Edward Mkhosi (MDC), two Copac co-chairpersons, yesterday said Moyo had "gone beyond fair comment" and was likely to be charged with breaching Parliamentary privileges. Mwonzora and Mkhosi were reacting to Moyo's recent article in the State media where he wrote: "Copac mafia uses devolution for regime change."

Mwonzora said Moyo's comments on Copac has gone beyond fair comment to abuse of Copac as a collective body and them as individuals and since they are a Parliamentary body, they feel this time Moyo has breached Parliamentary privileges and is clearly in contempt of Parliament and the law has to take its course.

Edward Makhosi said it looks like for reasons best known to him (Moyo), he wants to destroy the Copac project and maybe some of his reasons are that he did not get a chance to be part of this project and he appears to be one of those people who think if they are not involved in something, then it is not being done well. Mkhosi said Moyo had a hidden agenda on the way he evaluated Copac.

In the article, Moyo said: "Copac mafia has become desperate and is now resorting to fallacies and scare tactics about devolution and a women's parliamentary quota to force the adoption of a Copac draft constitution to secure the mafia's floundering regime change or succession interests."

Zanu-PF Copac co-chairperson Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana declined to comment over his party colleague's remarks, saying that could strain their relations.