The Sunday News
HIS Excellency, President Mnangagwa is on record as saying Zimbabwe’s growth and development hinges on a united citizenry that subordinates political, tribal or any other differences for the country’s prosperity.
The President has repeatedly said the nation’s unity should never be allowed to die as it was a force on which the country was anchored. In addition, peace and stability are key anchors to economic development and as such, Zimbabweans must shun anyone who advocates for any form of action and behaviour that goes against the national interest.
We note that there have been calls by opposition political parties and activists for a demonstration on 31 July under the guise of anti-corruption demonstrations. It is strange that such calls come at a time when the country, like the rest of the world is on lockdown meant to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Public gatherings of any nature have been banned and are in fact illegal, yet some anti-Government actors are calling upon the masses to break the law.
We still remember vividly what happened early last year when the opposition called for countrywide demonstrations that turned violent, with shops and cars burnt in various places across the country, with Bulawayo the worst affected. Surely, that should not be allowed to happen again. We still remember that apart from damage to property and infrastructure, human lives were also lost. That is why we urge citizens to stay at home and act within the confines of the law.
It is behind that background that Zanu-PF and veterans of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle last week warned opposition parties that are working in connivance with some Western embassies to subvert the will of the people through illegal demonstrations that any such attempts will be met with equal force.
In separate Press conferences, Zanu-PF acting spokesperson Cde Patrick Chinamasa and Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) chairperson Cde Chris Mutsvangwa said no amount of noise making will break the determination and boldness of the country’s leadership.
“Zanu-PF is alert to the fact that when this pandemic knocked on our doors, our detractors earmarked us to succumb to Covid-19 and postulated wrongly that this pandemic was going to leave a trail of unburied corpses rotting in the streets. They were so confident because of the manner in which the same detractors have incapacitated our health system through illegal sanctions. However, our leadership has steered us thus far and rendered those false prophecies and devil’s wishes unfulfillable,” said Cde Chinamasa.
Speaking on the same issue, Cde Mutsvangwa said the demonstrations stank of a devious plot of wanting to subvert the will of the people expressed in the 2018 elections won by President Mnangagwa. The war veterans leader said Zimbabwe brooked no dissent and any party that wishes to subvert the will of the people must find another country.
“Our MDC dreamers, if they think they want to seize power here, they must go and look for a safe country somewhere else. When they are on this soil of Zimbabwe it will not happen because the defence and security apparatus which we fought for and gave birth to will be there to defend the Constitution of Zimbabwe. And I want to welcome and hail the decision of our security forces when they issued the statement publicly and unequivocally supporting the President to say that they will not tolerate an extra-constitutional change of governments.”
Several organisations that include the church, civil society and some opposition parties have also condemned the planned demonstrations saying they reek of a hidden agenda to remove the constitutionally elected Government of President Mnangagwa.
