Mnangagwa admits stalking opponents, critics

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has made astonishing confessions his government was tracking the daily movements of opponents and critics through their electronic gadgets.

The state leader was addressing chairpersons of Zanu-PF provincial women, youths and war veterans at the party headquarters in Harare on Monday.

In May this year, MDC Alliance Harare MP, Joanna Mamombe and two female party activists claimed they were abducted and subjected to horrendous acts of physical, sexual and mental abuse by suspected state security agents.

They were being accused of attempts to overthrow government, moments after they joined several other party activists stage an anti-government protest at a high-density suburb outside Harare's CBD.

The three now face trial for allegedly faking their abductions with the State buttressing its position on CCTV footage allegedly captured of the activists doing some shopping during the time of the alleged kidnapping.

However, in his address to party loyalists, Mnangagwa boasted his government was aware of opponents' movements.

"You see the fake abduction staged by this other party (MDC Alliance), false abductions, but because of ICT, we are now able to trace where they walked, slept and who they talked to, we have all that now," he boasted.

"You can't refute it, we know at this minute, you were at this place and who did you make a phone call to.

"I also want to warn you that there are foreign embassies in this country, they create false narratives against us as government, against Zanu-PF as a party, but again it is because you matter.

"If you did not matter, they would not waste their time on you."

Mnangagwa said the foiled July 31 anti-government protests remain a living "project that is being funded from outside".

"Ofcourse, I am aware that we are subjected to hostile propaganda by our detractors both inside and outside the country," he said.

"These detractors should make you stronger and not weaker."

Mnangagwa also repeated his earlier threats to deregister Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) operating outside their mandates.

"There are lots of registered NGOs in the country and through the Home Affairs and Social Welfare Ministries, we are going to look at the mandate of each NGO," he said.

"So, the Minister of Home Affairs and Social Welfare, they will depend on you war veterans, youths and women party chairpersons to give them list of NGOs operating in your areas and their mandate because you are the ones on the ground.

"So, if we discover that it is operating outside its mandate. it will be deregistered."