Opinion / Columnist
Mugabe's silence frightening
03 Dec 2014 at 12:34hrs | Views
President Robert Mugabe must take the opportunity presented by the Zanu-PF congress this week to show leadership qualities and stop factionalists and youths who are threatening violence against Vice President Joice Mujuru and her perceived backers during the party's 6th congress in Harare.
The veteran Zimbabwe leader has largely been quiet as his wife Grace aided by a faction led by Justice minister Emmerson Mnangagwa has used crude propaganda tactics and threats of violence against senior officials like Mujuru.
Now the damp squib congress is in disarray and once violence erupts as is likely, then it will embarrass not only the 90-year-old president, but the entire nation as foreign dignitaries and diplomats will be closely monitoring proceedings.
Elsewhere in this edition, we carry a story that thugs have been hired to boo, harass and intimidate Mujuru and her backers but we urge the president to use all powers vested in him to stop this charade which is being sponsored by a faction which will stop at nothing to achieve power.
While genuine war veterans and liberation heroes are agreed that the faction has blindfolded Mugabe and hijacked the party, we still feel that the Zanu-PF leader should say something about all this noise otherwise we might end up having serious violence which might spread and affect the whole country.
Mugabe cannot allow a rogue youth like Godfrey Gomwe to publicly harass and threaten the country's vice president as if we live in a failed State, where lawlessness rules supreme. Who is Gomwe to threaten anarchy at the Zanu-PF congress? Mugabe should tell Gomwe and those sponsoring him that Zimbabwe is a peaceful country where thugs cannot threaten the country's leaders and get away with it.
Mugabe's silence on these issues is frightening because Mujuru and over 100 ministers and Members of Parliament who support her cannot freely attend the congress if the violence tool is to be invoked.
Police commissioner general Augustine Chihuri's troops must remain professional in dealing with potential thuggery at the congress and so far to their credit, they have remained on the right side of the law. All other law enforcement agencies must display extreme professionalism in dealing with potential violence at the congress.
Zimbabweans are generally peaceful and we are not interested in violence which will achieve nothing but further destroy our economy. Surely, everything cannot stop working because Zanu-PF, a ruling party which does not know how to rule, is holding its congress.
The veteran Zimbabwe leader has largely been quiet as his wife Grace aided by a faction led by Justice minister Emmerson Mnangagwa has used crude propaganda tactics and threats of violence against senior officials like Mujuru.
Now the damp squib congress is in disarray and once violence erupts as is likely, then it will embarrass not only the 90-year-old president, but the entire nation as foreign dignitaries and diplomats will be closely monitoring proceedings.
Elsewhere in this edition, we carry a story that thugs have been hired to boo, harass and intimidate Mujuru and her backers but we urge the president to use all powers vested in him to stop this charade which is being sponsored by a faction which will stop at nothing to achieve power.
Mugabe cannot allow a rogue youth like Godfrey Gomwe to publicly harass and threaten the country's vice president as if we live in a failed State, where lawlessness rules supreme. Who is Gomwe to threaten anarchy at the Zanu-PF congress? Mugabe should tell Gomwe and those sponsoring him that Zimbabwe is a peaceful country where thugs cannot threaten the country's leaders and get away with it.
Mugabe's silence on these issues is frightening because Mujuru and over 100 ministers and Members of Parliament who support her cannot freely attend the congress if the violence tool is to be invoked.
Police commissioner general Augustine Chihuri's troops must remain professional in dealing with potential thuggery at the congress and so far to their credit, they have remained on the right side of the law. All other law enforcement agencies must display extreme professionalism in dealing with potential violence at the congress.
Zimbabweans are generally peaceful and we are not interested in violence which will achieve nothing but further destroy our economy. Surely, everything cannot stop working because Zanu-PF, a ruling party which does not know how to rule, is holding its congress.
Source - dailynews
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