Opinion / Columnist
Mnangagwa taking us down a familiar path?
09 Dec 2018 at 14:21hrs | Views
The furore surrounding the Commission of Inquiry into the August 1 post-election violence set up by President Emmerson Mnangagwa has not come as a surprise.
Many people who were - and are still - very disturbed by the manner in which six innocent and defenceless civilians were shot dead, naturally want answers.
They want to find out answers to at least two questions.
Who ordered the army onto the streets of Harare to deal with the violent demonstrations and who pulled the trigger on defenceless civilians?
We hope that, just like ordinary citizens, Mnangagwa also sincerely wants to establish the truth of what happened on August 1.
Zimbabwe and the Head of State who commissioned the inquiry can only glean valuable lessons from the fatal post-election violence if the unadulterated truth is allowed to stand.
Former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, who heads the Commission of Inquiry into the August 1 post-election violence, is widely regarded as a man of integrity and for that reason we are confident that he won't sully his reputation by presenting to Mnangagwa an inaccurate version of what transpired on the fateful day.
When he appointed the seven-member Commission to inquire into the post-election violence in August, Mnangagwa promised "to address the matter in a transparent manner and in the public interest."
We hope he really meant it and hasn't changed his position because of some unsavoury details that came out during hearings organised by the Motlanthe commission.
The president must do the honourable and make the Motlanthe Commission report public because only the truth will set Zimbabwe free.
Given the promise he made at the end of August to address the matter in a transparent manner, reports in State media attributed to presidential spokesperson George Charamba emphasising the fact that the president has no obligation to make Motlanthe Commission public make very disturbing reading.
When Mnangagwa made the undertaking "to address the matter in a transparent manner and in the public interest," we are very sure he was aware that he was not legally obligated to make the report of commission inquiry public.
But he still promised to conduct the inquiry in a transparent manner notwithstanding the provisions of the law and not surprisingly Mnangagwa earned some plaudits from some sections of the country.
He was praised because his stance then showed, at least people thought, his understanding of the fact that the legal position is not necessarily the right one all the time.
We therefore hope Charamba's statement is not a precursor to a Mnangagwa volte face because that would be deplorable given the high moral ground the president took at the end of August when he set up the Motlanthe Commission.
Many people who were - and are still - very disturbed by the manner in which six innocent and defenceless civilians were shot dead, naturally want answers.
They want to find out answers to at least two questions.
Who ordered the army onto the streets of Harare to deal with the violent demonstrations and who pulled the trigger on defenceless civilians?
We hope that, just like ordinary citizens, Mnangagwa also sincerely wants to establish the truth of what happened on August 1.
Zimbabwe and the Head of State who commissioned the inquiry can only glean valuable lessons from the fatal post-election violence if the unadulterated truth is allowed to stand.
Former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, who heads the Commission of Inquiry into the August 1 post-election violence, is widely regarded as a man of integrity and for that reason we are confident that he won't sully his reputation by presenting to Mnangagwa an inaccurate version of what transpired on the fateful day.
When he appointed the seven-member Commission to inquire into the post-election violence in August, Mnangagwa promised "to address the matter in a transparent manner and in the public interest."
We hope he really meant it and hasn't changed his position because of some unsavoury details that came out during hearings organised by the Motlanthe commission.
The president must do the honourable and make the Motlanthe Commission report public because only the truth will set Zimbabwe free.
Given the promise he made at the end of August to address the matter in a transparent manner, reports in State media attributed to presidential spokesperson George Charamba emphasising the fact that the president has no obligation to make Motlanthe Commission public make very disturbing reading.
When Mnangagwa made the undertaking "to address the matter in a transparent manner and in the public interest," we are very sure he was aware that he was not legally obligated to make the report of commission inquiry public.
But he still promised to conduct the inquiry in a transparent manner notwithstanding the provisions of the law and not surprisingly Mnangagwa earned some plaudits from some sections of the country.
He was praised because his stance then showed, at least people thought, his understanding of the fact that the legal position is not necessarily the right one all the time.
We therefore hope Charamba's statement is not a precursor to a Mnangagwa volte face because that would be deplorable given the high moral ground the president took at the end of August when he set up the Motlanthe Commission.
Source - dailynews
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