Opinion / Columnist
Mnangagwa either instigates violence behind the scenes or is incapable of stopping it
07 Aug 2023 at 01:41hrs | Views
A FEW days ago, I read an alarming statement in a local newspaper which reported that addressing a rally recently, President Emmerson Mnangagwa ordered the police to hunt down suspected Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activists allegedly behind an arson in the Hanke area of Shurugwi, where 10 houses were burnt down.
Mnangagwa said this despite the fact that the police had initially said the incident was not politically motivated.
Memories are still fresh in many of how the President used to boast that Zanu-PF controls everything, including the army and the police.
It is very clear, therefore, that police are told by Zanu-PF who to arrest on trumped-up charges and who not to arrest when they have committed a crime.
Just a few weeks ago, a deputy minister had a showdown with a police officer after she instructed the police officer to drop charges against a Zanu-PF activist who had committed a criminal offence.
Mnangagwa must have instructed the police to prefer criminal charges against supporters of a rival political party and fabricate the story that the incident was politically motivated when the police knew it wasn't.
When he preaches against violence at rallies, he always directs his warnings to the opposition, yet Zanu-PF is the main culprit when it comes to political violence.
His supporters invade venues that would have been booked by other political parties just to disturb their rivals' activities without being arrested by the police.
A case in point is the one where CCC activist Tinashe Chitsunge was murdered in cold blood in broad daylight by Zanu-PF thugs who invaded the venue of a CCC campaign rally that had been cleared by the police in Glen View 7 last week.
It is important to note that the police did not arrest these hooligans when they invaded the venue, but simply dispersed them.
The police did not keep watch as expected, knowing fully well that Zanu-PF hooligans have a record of invading venues and disrupting opposition political parties' rallies and attacking people.
In some cases, lives have been lost as happened in Kwekwe last year when Mbonani Ncube was speared to death at a CCC rally.
When incidents like the Glen View 7 murder of Chitsunge happen towards a national election like this, the nation expects the President to speak out against the perpetrators and call for an immediate stop to violence.
However, he remains mum and also makes statements at rallies directed at people who are usually the victims of the brutal and barbaric attacks by supporters of his party.
Mr President, you are an international disgrace.
Your behaviour and actions make many people suspect that you are the one who instigates political violence, especially as many cases have been recorded even on video with your supporters saying they received instructions from the top party leadership to kill opposition supporters.
If the assumption that you instigate violence is wrong, then you are just not capable of stopping your supporters' violent behaviour.
God is watching.
Mnangagwa said this despite the fact that the police had initially said the incident was not politically motivated.
Memories are still fresh in many of how the President used to boast that Zanu-PF controls everything, including the army and the police.
It is very clear, therefore, that police are told by Zanu-PF who to arrest on trumped-up charges and who not to arrest when they have committed a crime.
Just a few weeks ago, a deputy minister had a showdown with a police officer after she instructed the police officer to drop charges against a Zanu-PF activist who had committed a criminal offence.
Mnangagwa must have instructed the police to prefer criminal charges against supporters of a rival political party and fabricate the story that the incident was politically motivated when the police knew it wasn't.
When he preaches against violence at rallies, he always directs his warnings to the opposition, yet Zanu-PF is the main culprit when it comes to political violence.
His supporters invade venues that would have been booked by other political parties just to disturb their rivals' activities without being arrested by the police.
A case in point is the one where CCC activist Tinashe Chitsunge was murdered in cold blood in broad daylight by Zanu-PF thugs who invaded the venue of a CCC campaign rally that had been cleared by the police in Glen View 7 last week.
It is important to note that the police did not arrest these hooligans when they invaded the venue, but simply dispersed them.
The police did not keep watch as expected, knowing fully well that Zanu-PF hooligans have a record of invading venues and disrupting opposition political parties' rallies and attacking people.
In some cases, lives have been lost as happened in Kwekwe last year when Mbonani Ncube was speared to death at a CCC rally.
When incidents like the Glen View 7 murder of Chitsunge happen towards a national election like this, the nation expects the President to speak out against the perpetrators and call for an immediate stop to violence.
However, he remains mum and also makes statements at rallies directed at people who are usually the victims of the brutal and barbaric attacks by supporters of his party.
Mr President, you are an international disgrace.
Your behaviour and actions make many people suspect that you are the one who instigates political violence, especially as many cases have been recorded even on video with your supporters saying they received instructions from the top party leadership to kill opposition supporters.
If the assumption that you instigate violence is wrong, then you are just not capable of stopping your supporters' violent behaviour.
God is watching.
Source - newsday
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