Zimbabwe will not accept pressure to subvert the rule of
law to pacify certain political interests and will uphold the Constitution in
the conduct of its affairs, a senior Government official has said.
Government spokesperson Mr Nick Mangwana said under
President Mnangagwa’s Second Republic, the country would respect its
Constitution, particularly with regards to separation of powers between the
Executive, the Judiciary and the Legislature.
He said this as Government and analysts slammed United
States Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mr Matthew Harrington for claiming
that Zimbabwe was harassing political opposition and that authorities should
drop what he termed “spurious charges” against MDC-Alliance vice chairman Mr
Tendai Biti.
Mr Biti is facing charges of inciting post-election
violence that led to the death of six people in Harare on August 1.
He is also facing charges of contravening Section 66A (1)
of the Electoral Act Chapter 2:13, which prohibits the unofficial or false
declaration of election results as he unlawfully declared opposition party
leader Mr Nelson Chamisa as the winner of the July 30 presidential elections.
During a US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, on Thursday, Mr Harrington
suggested that there was “harassment of members of the political opposition”
and said the Government of Zimbabwe “should drop spurious charges against
former finance minister and prominent opposition figure Tendai Biti and all
those who have been arbitrarily detained for exercising their human rights and
fundamental freedoms”.
But Government and analysts yesterday pushed back strongly,
slating the US for its interference and duplicity.
“The Government cannot on one hand say no one is above the
law and everyone should enjoy the benefit of due process as enshrined in our
Constitution and statutes and on the other hand interfere with that due
process,” Mr Mangwana said.
“Rule of law means that nobody is above the law regardless
of their social station, including who their friends are within or outside the
country.”
Mr Mangwana said in line with its diplomatic thrust of
re-engaging with the international community, Zimbabwe was willing to make
friends, but would not brook lectures on the conduct of its domestic affairs.
Said Mr Mangwana: “Government will continue to engage with
those who we don’t necessarily agree with us on some matters in order to find
common ground. However, that does not include directives from those friends or
allies on who to prosecute and who not to prosecute, who to appoint to certain
positions or not. That would be contrary to the ethos which informs our
sovereignty and independence.”
Political analyst and media expert Professor Charles Pfukwa
slammed the US, saying it was not only seeking to undermine the rule of law
which it claims to champion, but to also disregard Zimbabwe’s sovereignty.
“I would have preferred the US Foreign Relations to talk
about Zimbabwe not fulfilling its foreign policy obligations but when they
tinker about the bolts and nuts of the internal affairs of our country, I have
a problem. It is no longer proper foreign policy or good international
relations neither is it good diplomacy,” said Prof Pfukwa.
“No one has ever quarrelled about (US President Donald)
Trump being a Republican or (former president Barack) Obama being a Democrat.
It is not our business to do that because that is their sovereign right. We
deal with the US as a nation and not individuals or political entities,” he
said.
Prof Pfukwa said the US was trying to introduce bullying
tactics with an ulterior motive that emanated from Zimbabwe’s natural resources
endowment.
He said if the US was sincere, it should have preoccupied
itself with the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo, killings in
Somalia and the killing of a journalist in Saudi Arabia.
Another analyst, Mr Goodwine Mureriwa, echoed similar
sentiments.
“They do not respect the principle of equality among
states. That is why the George W. Bush administration imposed illegal sanctions
on Zimbabwe that are tantamount to economic terrorism. They are doing all this
to sustain their hegemony on other states.” Herald
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