News / Local
2022 Mnangagwa insult case resurrected
22 hrs ago | Views
The State last week charged the brother of Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) leader Mqondisi Moyo with insulting President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2022, a move the party says is politically motivated and suspicious.
The charges come just days after Moyo launched a fresh petition to the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), seeking regional support for negotiations with the government on the MRP's secessionist agenda. In a petition dated May 20 and addressed to Sadc Executive Secretary Elias Magosi, Moyo requested assistance in advancing the campaign for the creation of the breakaway Mthwakazi Republic. Sadc has yet to respond to this latest petition. The MRP submitted a similar request in September 2023.
President Mnangagwa has previously issued stern warnings to opposition activists, especially those affiliated with the MRP, cautioning that their lives could be at risk if they continue pushing for secession.
On Wednesday, Moyo's brother, 58-year-old Dinginhlalo Moyo, was arrested and charged with insulting President Mnangagwa and Zanu PF in early April 2022 at Silozwi business centre in Matobo district. However, when he appeared in court on Thursday, the State altered the charge to public disorder, with indications that the Harare authorities advised the prosecution to make the change. Dinginhlalo was charged with disorderly conduct at a public place before Plumtree Magistrate Aeline Munamati and remanded out of custody to June 19.
The MRP has condemned the circumstances surrounding Dinginhlalo's arrest, describing it as suspicious and politically driven.
"On his initial arrest, he was abducted by 13 State security agents from Plumtree," the party said in a statement. "Normally, he should have been arrested by police from Gwandavale and Lushumbe, whose base is at Masiye camp in Lushumbe or Matopos Police Station, which has jurisdiction over Matobo."
The party questioned why Dinginhlalo is being tried at Plumtree Magistrates Court when the Khezi District Magistrate Court has jurisdiction over Matobo district.
"The 13 police officers who came to arrest him in April 2022 were heavily armed with AK47s and other weapons," the statement added.
MRP claims the arrest and prosecution are politically motivated and highlighted that the case has resurfaced despite a previous bail win secured by his defence lawyer, Mr Nqobani Sithole.
"At the close of the trial, the court indicated the case lacked merit," the party noted. "Three years later, one wonders what merit the case now has."
MRP also recalled President Mnangagwa's March 23, 2022 statement in which he warned the party and the Mthwakazi people that their lives would be shortened if they continued with secessionist ambitions.
Mnangagwa has consistently reaffirmed that Zimbabwe will remain a unitary State as recognized by the United Nations. The MRP, however, continues to campaign for the establishment of the Mthwakazi Republic, covering parts of the Midlands and Matebeleland provinces.
The President remains firm that the creation of the Mthwakazi Republic will not be allowed.
The charges come just days after Moyo launched a fresh petition to the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), seeking regional support for negotiations with the government on the MRP's secessionist agenda. In a petition dated May 20 and addressed to Sadc Executive Secretary Elias Magosi, Moyo requested assistance in advancing the campaign for the creation of the breakaway Mthwakazi Republic. Sadc has yet to respond to this latest petition. The MRP submitted a similar request in September 2023.
President Mnangagwa has previously issued stern warnings to opposition activists, especially those affiliated with the MRP, cautioning that their lives could be at risk if they continue pushing for secession.
On Wednesday, Moyo's brother, 58-year-old Dinginhlalo Moyo, was arrested and charged with insulting President Mnangagwa and Zanu PF in early April 2022 at Silozwi business centre in Matobo district. However, when he appeared in court on Thursday, the State altered the charge to public disorder, with indications that the Harare authorities advised the prosecution to make the change. Dinginhlalo was charged with disorderly conduct at a public place before Plumtree Magistrate Aeline Munamati and remanded out of custody to June 19.
The MRP has condemned the circumstances surrounding Dinginhlalo's arrest, describing it as suspicious and politically driven.
"On his initial arrest, he was abducted by 13 State security agents from Plumtree," the party said in a statement. "Normally, he should have been arrested by police from Gwandavale and Lushumbe, whose base is at Masiye camp in Lushumbe or Matopos Police Station, which has jurisdiction over Matobo."
The party questioned why Dinginhlalo is being tried at Plumtree Magistrates Court when the Khezi District Magistrate Court has jurisdiction over Matobo district.
"The 13 police officers who came to arrest him in April 2022 were heavily armed with AK47s and other weapons," the statement added.
MRP claims the arrest and prosecution are politically motivated and highlighted that the case has resurfaced despite a previous bail win secured by his defence lawyer, Mr Nqobani Sithole.
"At the close of the trial, the court indicated the case lacked merit," the party noted. "Three years later, one wonders what merit the case now has."
MRP also recalled President Mnangagwa's March 23, 2022 statement in which he warned the party and the Mthwakazi people that their lives would be shortened if they continued with secessionist ambitions.
Mnangagwa has consistently reaffirmed that Zimbabwe will remain a unitary State as recognized by the United Nations. The MRP, however, continues to campaign for the establishment of the Mthwakazi Republic, covering parts of the Midlands and Matebeleland provinces.
The President remains firm that the creation of the Mthwakazi Republic will not be allowed.
Source - Southern Eye
