News / Local
Zanu-PF MPs gang up against Biti
13 Apr 2022 at 17:54hrs | Views
Zanu-PF MPs jeered and booed Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) vice president Tendai Biti and prevented him from contributing to a motion under discussion in the National Assembly Tuesday, accusing him of inviting Western sanctions on Zimbabwe.
The ruling party MPs turned the gallery into a spectacle after they started mocking and interjecting him as he made his contributions.
Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda tried to call the House into order amd allowe the Harare East legislator buy the Zanu-PF MPs could not be reatrained.
They kept shouting at him and describing him as a sell-out who was unfit to speak in the house or lecture finance minister Mthuli Ncube on how to run the economy.
Biti was trying to make a contribution on the importance of gold reserves in the country.
"Gara pasi. Hautaure chinhu muno. Wakaunza masanctions muZimbabwe and now you want to lecture us. Gara pasi iwe (Take your seat, you are the one who brought economic sanctions on Zimbabwe through your western friends. We are not going to let you speak about our economy. Sit down)" they shouted at him in one accord.
The house was turned into a circus after CCC and MDC Alliance MPs hit backs and returned the jeers.
Some of them resorted to seeking Mudenda's intervention, whose efforts came to naught.
"Speaker, this is unfair. The Hon. Member is not protected. Why are you not restricting Zanu-PF members from all this? Why are allowing this anarchy?" Harare Central MP Murisi Zwizwai said.
"I represent my constituency. Do you want us to collapse this parliament? Why are you allowing Zanu-PF to do this? We are equally elected to this parliament. Respect Speaker imi vanhu veZanu-PF."
The Speaker finally called the House to order and ruled that whoever would try to revisit the Biti incident would be chucked out of parliament.
Zwizwai became the first casualy as Mudenda ejected him from the House after he disobeyed Mudenda.
"I have no problem with that but let us balance between the political parties in here," he said as he walked out.
Another CCC parliamentarian Fani Munengami also ejected by Mudenda soon afterwards.
He claimed he had a different point but the speaker was having none of it.
After finally being allowed to speak Biti said: "I was elected by people in my constituency. I have the right to represent them. I represent those people who elected me to this House."
The ruling party MPs turned the gallery into a spectacle after they started mocking and interjecting him as he made his contributions.
Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda tried to call the House into order amd allowe the Harare East legislator buy the Zanu-PF MPs could not be reatrained.
They kept shouting at him and describing him as a sell-out who was unfit to speak in the house or lecture finance minister Mthuli Ncube on how to run the economy.
Biti was trying to make a contribution on the importance of gold reserves in the country.
"Gara pasi. Hautaure chinhu muno. Wakaunza masanctions muZimbabwe and now you want to lecture us. Gara pasi iwe (Take your seat, you are the one who brought economic sanctions on Zimbabwe through your western friends. We are not going to let you speak about our economy. Sit down)" they shouted at him in one accord.
The house was turned into a circus after CCC and MDC Alliance MPs hit backs and returned the jeers.
Some of them resorted to seeking Mudenda's intervention, whose efforts came to naught.
"I represent my constituency. Do you want us to collapse this parliament? Why are you allowing Zanu-PF to do this? We are equally elected to this parliament. Respect Speaker imi vanhu veZanu-PF."
The Speaker finally called the House to order and ruled that whoever would try to revisit the Biti incident would be chucked out of parliament.
Zwizwai became the first casualy as Mudenda ejected him from the House after he disobeyed Mudenda.
"I have no problem with that but let us balance between the political parties in here," he said as he walked out.
Another CCC parliamentarian Fani Munengami also ejected by Mudenda soon afterwards.
He claimed he had a different point but the speaker was having none of it.
After finally being allowed to speak Biti said: "I was elected by people in my constituency. I have the right to represent them. I represent those people who elected me to this House."
Source - NewZimbabwe
