A full-scale investigation is now in progress over the
alleged abduction of three MDC Alliance members and the public should await the
results, which will be made public, before coming up with unsubstantiated
conclusions, the Government said yesterday.
Three MDC Alliance members — Johanna Mamombe, Cecilia
Chimbiri and Christine Marova — were reported missing last week before being
located at a general dealer’s shop near Musana on Friday.
During a joint press conference yesterday, Home Affairs and
Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe yesterday confirmed he had directed
police to institute a full-scale investigation on what transpired after the
flash demonstration by the MDC Alliance in Warren Park in western Harare last
week.
The investigations would establish what transpired, who did
what, and the motive behind the actions.
“While circumstances pertaining to the whole case are not
clear, my Ministry has directed the Commissioner General of Police to institute
full-scale investigations into the matter. I want to assure Zimbabweans that no
stone will be left unturned with a view of finding out exactly what happened
after the flash demonstration in Warren Park by MDC Alliance.
“This inquiry will also include the way the story was
covered in the media in order to iron out a lot of grey areas for the benefit
of the public, and in the process reveal the correct circumstances in the whole
matter,” he said.
Minister Kazembe said social media was awash with messages
that police had arrested the three, prompting him to ask Police Commissioner
General Godwin Matanga if this was so. He denied the allegations.
“This basically means that it must have been a
communication breakdown,” said the Minister.
Minister Kazembe said the demonstration, which was staged
by the MDC Alliance members, was illegal as they had not followed the proper
procedures and had also violated the lockdown regulations.
“The flash demonstration was illegal. There are certain
procedures that should be followed such as informing the police before staging
the demonstration,” said the Minister. “Secondly, it violated the lockdown
regulations. There was no social distancing and that will be dealt with at an
appropriate time. But for now we are dealing with the alleged abduction.”
The investigations would find out what happened, how the
three reached Musana and all the other queries.
“We can assure Zimbabwe that the police will do their
utmost to get to the bottom of the story,” said Minister Kazembe.
Police, at the joint press conference, said investigations
were still underway, but so far they had not recovered the vehicle belonging to
Ms Mamombe.
Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said
he had not confirmed the arrests, but had just told the media that his
department would find out from Harare province what had happened. “In our
interaction with Harare province we were told something had happened in Warren
Park and was being attended (to). It was premature for the police to confirm
who had been arrested and who had not been arrested because the scene was still
being attended.”
Comm-General Matanga told the same press conference that
the police had put together investigation teams deployed by the head of
Criminal Investigations Department (CID).
“It is my conviction that they are carrying out their
investigations very well. I want to assure that the results of the
investigations will be communicated to all Zimbabweans.
“The information I have right now is, the illegal
demonstration took place on Wednesday May 13, 2020 around 1230. When the
information was passed to Harare police station, police were deployed to Warren
Park 1.
“When police arrived the crowd scattered and could not be
arrested. Fortunately, we have a video clip from the demonstration and we are
now following up on those people appearing on the clip.
“According to the lockdown regulations, the offences are
clearly spelt out. Again, depending on who played what role in the
demonstration, that will come out as a result of the investigations we are
talking about. It is too early for me to give answers before the conclusion of
the investigations,” he said. Herald
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