RELATIONS between President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa’s
administration and the European Union (EU) hit a new low yesterday, with the
influential bloc’s point person in Harare, Philippe van Damme, accusing the
Zanu PF leader of lying over post-election violence in the country.
Brick-bats flew in all directions as the fall-out over a
deteriorating rights situation in the aftermath of a hotly-contested election
reached a tipping point between Harare and Brussels.
The angry exchange came following Mnangagwa’s sensational
claims that his government had not issued orders to the military to use live
ammunition, and that Van Damme had, in fact, apologised after failing to prove
reports of post-election abuses.
The Zanu PF leader, who came to power on the back of a
military operation last November and claimed a narrow electoral victory in the
July 30 election that is being challenged by his nemesis MDC Alliance leader
Nelson Chamisa at the Constitutional Court, claimed in a recent interview with
Independent Foreign Service journalist Peta Thornycroft that Van Damme
apologised to him after failing to find proof of victimised citizens on
hospitals beds.
He accused civil society groups of fronting a regime change
agenda, describing claims of post-election retributive attacks as mere
speculation that should be dismissed.
“Let me assure you, the best thing to do is get the list of
150 cases and pass it onto us. This is fake news and it’s flying left, right
and centre. We were told (of these cases) by Philippe van Damme, the EU
ambassador here, and we took him to task and said let’s go around all the
hospitals in Harare and see if there is any record of people in hospitals. He
had to later apologise as this was not true,” Mnangagwa reportedly said.
But Van Damme took exception to the remarks and hit back on
micro blogging site, Twitter, saying he did not apologise for raising concern
over the post-election violence targeted at opposition activists.
“Not sure where you get that from. Ridiculous. Civil
society has documented cases of human rights abuses and retribution. We do not
apologise, but on the contrary, urge authorities to take these cases seriously.
Police has to enquire and protect victims and witnesses,” Van Damme.
Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi defended Mnangagwa, with
his own verbal salvo at the EU envoy.
“What is also ridiculous is that Van Damme came to my
office too and I asked him if he had the evidence, and he did not have it,” Ziyambi
said.
The Zanu PF official said soldiers were dealt with using
internal processes and findings of an internal enquiry ordered by Mnangagwa
would be made known.
“At this stage, it is premature to tell you what is
happening behind closed doors. What is apparent is that there was an external
order and it has to be probed. It is, however, premature to comment on that,”
Ziyambi said.
MDC Alliance spokesperson Thabitha Khumalo accused
Mnangagwa of trying to abrogate responsibility for the fatal shootings and
failing to uphold the country’s Constitution that grants rights to protest.
“Soldiers work from orders of their commanders and
Mnangagwa is the Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces,” she said.
National Patriotic Front spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire
also blasted Mnangagwa, accusing him of being dishonest.
“Mnangagwa is responsible for the death of the innocent
people,” Mawarire said.
“If (Police Commissioner-General Godwin) Matanga usurped
the powers of the Commander-In-Chief and staged a coup, so he should be charged
with treason. However, what is clear is that Mnangagwa, as usual, is refusing
to take responsibility for actions he ordered.”
Political analyst Gladys Hlatywayo said Mnangagwa’s claims
were shameful and an attempt to take Zimbabweans and the international
community for fools.
“If the soldiers were not ordered by anyone, why is it they
have been shielded from accountability? We saw how the State was quick to
arrest opposition leaders over the same matter and yet nothing has been done to
soldiers who killed unarmed civilians in cold blood,” Hlatywayo said.
Another political analyst Maxwell Saungweme said the
conduct of the soldiers showed they were operating under command to execute a
planned mission.
“If he [Mnangagwa] as Commander-in-Chief said they were not
ordered by anyone, the questions then are who ordered them? What happened to
these renegade soldiers who acted in uniform with that official order?”
Saungweme asked.
Reward Mushayabasa, a former mass communications lecturer
at the Harare Polytechnic who is now based in the United Kingdom, said
Mnangagwa’s remarks over the shootings confirmed fears that there were now two
centres of power in government.
Blessing Vava, another political commentator, accused
Mnangagwa of being economical with the truth, saying soldiers only work under
command. Newsday
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