The Chinese national who has been charged with shooting and
injuring two people at a mine in Gweru over a salary dispute will receive a
fair trial, without discrimination, in accordance with the country’s laws,
President Mnangagwa said yesterday.
Speaking at State House when he received donations to fight
the Covid-19 pandemic from the Minerals
Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe (MMCZ) and the Chamber of Chinese Enterprises
in Zimbabwe (CCEZ), the President made it clear that the mine manager would be
treated the same as every other citizen and resident.
Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Guo Shaochun, had earlier
said the incident did not represent the behaviour of the Chinese community in
Zimbabwe.
Zhang Xuelin, a manager at Reden Mine, allegedly shot Mr
Kenneth Tachiona (39) on both legs as well as Ms Wendy Chikwaira (30) on the
arm after they confronted him over outstanding salaries at the mine last
Sunday.
He has since been arrested on attempted murder charges and
appeared in the magistrates courts in Gweru where he was remanded in custody to
July 7.
“Let me assure you that our laws are not discriminatory;
there will be no favour, there will be no discrimination. The law must apply to
every citizen and resident in this country equally. So the man involved will
not be disadvantaged at all. He will receive a fair trial and fair treatment as
any other Zimbabwean would have,” said the President.
Making it clear that Zimbabwe recognised that crimes were
committed by individuals not communities, President Mnangagwa said Zimbabweans
were mature enough to recognise that a crime by one person did not brand others
of the same group.
Ambassador Guo had expressed concern over the incident and
reiterated his support for the country’s law enforcement agencies to
investigate and handle the matter in a transparent manner as required by the
country’s laws.
“I would also like to emphasise that this is an isolated
incident, and no matter what had happened to the enterprise before the incident
took place, this is not what we want to see. The behaviour of the Chinese
employee involved in the case does not represent China, the Chinese Government
and all Chinese nationals and Chinese enterprises in Zimbabwe. Any possible
illegal acts and persons who violate the law should not be shielded,” he said.
Ambassador Guo said China and Zimbabwe had long-standing
friendship and cooperation, and called upon all relevant sides to safeguard the
relations carefully.
Meanwhile, CCEZ, which represents a swathe of Chinese-owned
companies in Zimbabwe, donated medicines and personal protective equipment to
institutions worth US$55 000.
The goods were handed over by the organisation’s vice
president, Ms Shanel Liu.
They include US$5 000 worth of medicine to Parirenyatwa
Group of Hospitals, 20 000 surgical masks each to Matabeleland South and
Midlands provinces and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority while the Immigration
Department got 45 000 masks.
The MMCZ, through its acting board chairman Mr Jemister
Chininga, donated 1 300 litres of hand sanitiser, 950 N95 face masks, 480
re-usable overalls, 57 000 pairs of latex gloves and three automated sanitising
booths to be installed in Zimbabwe’s three international airports.
President Mnangagwa thanked the Chinese business community
and the mines for their donations that he said had contributed to the country’s
improved readiness to handle the Covid-19 pandemic.
He reiterated that Government would ensure fair
distribution of the donated goods and had put in place mechanisms to ensure
transparency.
The Chinese government and various Chinese groups have made
many donations towards the Covid-19 fight while the MMCZ has previously donated
US$40 000. Herald
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