News / National
Chamisa seeks AU, Sadc intervention
23 Jan 2019 at 11:18hrs | Views
MDC vice-president Morgen Komichi yesterday implored the Southern African Development Cooperation (Sadc), the African Union (AU) and the rest of the international community to intervene on the deteriorating economic and human rights situation in Zimbabwe, warning further delays would result in anarchy.
Komichi also challenged Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda to intervene in the face of the alleged persecution of opposition legislators.
The party's chief whip Prosper Mutseyami said the majority of the legislators were now living in fear as the government's sponsored crackdown continued with five MDC legislators arrested so far.
MDC legislators had a caucus meeting yesterday where they agreed to engage Mudenda to stop their harassment. The legislators said they now feared carrying on with their duties under the present circumstances.
They also raised concern over the wanton arrest of party members and the heavy-handedness exhibited by the security forces.
Komichi said the political tension had reached an alarming level, hence the need for the international community to urgently intervene.
"There is a state of emergency, as we speak right now, because all the institutions that are supposed to resolve the country's problems are all captured by Zanu-PF," Komichi said.
"Zimbabwe has now been transformed into a military State; the citizens are now victims of the State. There is no any other way the citizens can rescue themselves besides international intervention and that is when we call for Sadc to intervene. The chairperson must not give a blind eye to the Zimbabweans' challenges. AU must intervene.
"We ask; at what stage does the Sadc chair want to come in when people are dying in Zimbabwe?"
This comes at a time when the recent crackdown is said to be linked to internal Zanu-PF squabbles.
Some Zanu-PF legislators allege there was a plan to impeach President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was forced to abort his Davos trip to attend to the situation back home.
Mutseyami said as a party, they would not be drawn into supporting either of the Zanu-PF factions and in the event that a motion against Mnangagwa was raised, they would only act in a manner that was people-centred.
He also demanded that the Judiciary acts impartially in dealing with cases of the alleged protestors.
"There is now a clear agenda to maliciously and deliberately misuse criminal court processes in a manner that is not justified by the underlying legal action," Mutseyami said.
"In the quest for Executive overreach, the targeting of MDC MPs is an attempt to deal a fatal blow to the Legislature ,the same way the Judiciary is being captured.
"With Zanu-PF elite rapture at play, the MDC caucus is also being targeted to avoid its participation in a rumoured impeachment plan."
Mutseyami said instead of impeachment, the whole Zanu-PF-led government should resign.
Komichi also challenged Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda to intervene in the face of the alleged persecution of opposition legislators.
The party's chief whip Prosper Mutseyami said the majority of the legislators were now living in fear as the government's sponsored crackdown continued with five MDC legislators arrested so far.
MDC legislators had a caucus meeting yesterday where they agreed to engage Mudenda to stop their harassment. The legislators said they now feared carrying on with their duties under the present circumstances.
They also raised concern over the wanton arrest of party members and the heavy-handedness exhibited by the security forces.
Komichi said the political tension had reached an alarming level, hence the need for the international community to urgently intervene.
"There is a state of emergency, as we speak right now, because all the institutions that are supposed to resolve the country's problems are all captured by Zanu-PF," Komichi said.
"Zimbabwe has now been transformed into a military State; the citizens are now victims of the State. There is no any other way the citizens can rescue themselves besides international intervention and that is when we call for Sadc to intervene. The chairperson must not give a blind eye to the Zimbabweans' challenges. AU must intervene.
This comes at a time when the recent crackdown is said to be linked to internal Zanu-PF squabbles.
Some Zanu-PF legislators allege there was a plan to impeach President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who was forced to abort his Davos trip to attend to the situation back home.
Mutseyami said as a party, they would not be drawn into supporting either of the Zanu-PF factions and in the event that a motion against Mnangagwa was raised, they would only act in a manner that was people-centred.
He also demanded that the Judiciary acts impartially in dealing with cases of the alleged protestors.
"There is now a clear agenda to maliciously and deliberately misuse criminal court processes in a manner that is not justified by the underlying legal action," Mutseyami said.
"In the quest for Executive overreach, the targeting of MDC MPs is an attempt to deal a fatal blow to the Legislature ,the same way the Judiciary is being captured.
"With Zanu-PF elite rapture at play, the MDC caucus is also being targeted to avoid its participation in a rumoured impeachment plan."
Mutseyami said instead of impeachment, the whole Zanu-PF-led government should resign.
Source - newsday
