OPPOSITION MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has blasted
President Emmerson Mnangagwa for labelling innocent citizens as terrorists
after they expressed anger over his maladministration.
Chamisa accused Mnangagwa of using a primitive way of
governance.
Speaking for the first time after visiting a number of
victims of State-sponsored abductions, torture and arrests in the last week,
Chamisa said it was not proper for activists to “stay in mountains” fleeing the
regime in a free country.
Chamisa, who has been on leave mourning the death of his
mother who passed on last month, is expected back in office today at a time
dozens of citizens are in hiding facing arrest for allegedly participating or
calling for the July 31 protests .
“It is not proper to have people in a supposedly free
Zimbabwe who are not sleeping in their homes peacefully and are wanted not for
anything criminal, but for demanding accountability and end to corruption,”
Chamisa said.
“We have brutality of innocent citizens by State agents and
it is sad. But we will smile soon. I sense victory, our sorrows will turn into
joy, celebrations are not far away, and change is coming.”
He said the country was faced with a multifaceted crisis
including COVID-19 and corruption, adding that “the centre no longer holds”,
hence the need for action to get Zimbabwe out of the woods.
“How does a citizen who is asking for accountability get
accused of being a terrorist? How do you say you want to flush out terrorists?
How do you label Zimbabweans terrorists for differing with you?
“This whole thing of abductions, torture and arrests are
all primitive instruments of governance. Let’s fix our legitimacy, reforms and
define our solutions,” Chamisa said.
He said the centre was no longer holding in Zimbabwe and
people must work to ensure that things are back in line.
“This is not time for brutality or violence against the
people, Zimbabwean lives matter, now we can’t breathe. We have a survival
crisis, a livelihood crisis. Nothing is working and it is not a partisan issue.
“It is not about MDC or Zanu PF; it is about Zimbabwe and
our collective dignity as a people. It is our being that is under attack and
there is no need for point scoring,” the country’s main opposition leader said.
“This is the struggle of being a Zimbabwean. We are
hopeless, jobless, homeless, cashless and lifeless too. This must stop. We
can’t continue like this when young people are being robbed of their future.”
He said Zimbabwe had everything good except leadership and
that it was time to correct that without “rancour or anger like what (Zanu PF
acting spokesperson Patrick) Chinamasa and Mnangagwa are doing”.
“Finger pointing is never a solution in circumstances of
national challenges,” he said. “Instead of shooting the messenger, they must
understand the message. Zimbabwe can’t breathe and Zimbabwean lives matter.
“It is about the message not the messenger. It’s not about
who said it, but what is said. It’s not good for any sane leader to label any
of our citizens as terrorists. It is a sad indictment and it is actually an act
of terrorism for anyone to call others terrorists.” Newsday
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