Mujuru defends riotous behaviour

ZIMBABWE People First leader Dr Joice Mujuru has joined her compatriots in the opposition ranks supporting hooligans who engaged in violent activities that affected parts of Harare and Beitbridge.

On Monday, MDC-T spokesperson Mr Obert Gutu praised the hooligans, adding that his party was in support of the violence.

Addressing journalists at her residence in Harare yesterday, Dr Mujuru said people had a constitutional right to demonstrate.

"Police should protect the demonstrators, the demonstrators are the people, don't forget those demonstrators are government, that the police and other security agents should be protecting," she said.

"I am sure we heard from ZimEye the message from Commissioner General (Dr Augustine Chihuri) himself when he was cautioning (the police) that they should not do what is not necessary because they are dealing with people who are angry.

"Theirs is just to keep peace not to start problems.

"Some of the brutalities which they are showing are not supposed to be started at all," she said.

"So you can imagine, even the Commissioner General himself is looking forward to a peaceful demonstration hence we are also calling for a peaceful demonstration."

Dr Mujuru, however, did not mention that some of the people whom she referred to as peaceful demonstrators brutally attacked two police officers in Epworth on Monday.

She claimed that the demonstrations were evidence that people were not happy with Government. As such, she said President Mugabe, who was resoundingly elected in 2013 should step down and call for fresh elections.

Dr Mujuru, who served for two terms as Vice President, condemned Government for import controls saying the local industry was failing to meet demand.

She gave a long list of known problems affecting the country, but failed to pronounce how her party intended to address them.

She did not rule out a possibility of a coalition with the MDC-T ahead of the 2018 harmonised elections.