Opposition MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa has come under fire for his silence and absence at the sentencing of rights activist and party member Makomborero Haruzivishe at Harare Magistrates court yesterday.
Haruzivishe was sentenced to 14 months in prison by Harare magistrate, Judith Taruvinga following his conviction on charges of inciting public violence and resisting police arrest sometime last year.
While Haruzivishe was being sentenced, Chamisa was in Bvukururu, Zaka meeting and speaking to villagers about harvesting, bad roads and persecution of opposition leaders.
“I’m in Bvukururu, Zaka. It’s so refreshing to listen to citizen voices here and see how Zimbabweans are converging, so determined to see real change & a New Zimbabwe.Many are concerned but strong. Harvesting, bad roads & persecution of Citizens and Opposition leaders topical,” tweeted Chamisa few hours after Haruzivishe was slapped with a jail term.
The tweet did not go down well with pro-democracy activists who felt Chamisa’s failure to talk about Haruzivishe’s conviction which was still topical issue was failing to read the prevailing temperature.
Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) leader, Takudzwa Ngadziore, who was tortured and arrested for demanding justice to Bulawayo student Tawanda Muchehiwa was unapologetic saying party activists were on their own.
“I hold the view that : The Zaka/Bvukururu tweet is WRONG. The message might be right but the timing isn’t ! The Nation & world is focusing on Makomborero Haruzivishe incarceration. Thus, it materialize the(fallacy) that Party Activists/HRD”s are on their own. Silence was Golden,” said Ngadziore.
Another ZINASU leader Nancy Njenge said Chamisa was wrong for tweeting about other things when his party member was being sent to jail.
“That assumption yekuti everything that he does is strategic and he is never wrong is dangerous. What he did was wrong, noone expected chaos or him to rally behind @MakomboreroH but showing off a blind eye wasn’t the right thing,” she said.
A pro-democracy activist Katema Katema had no kind words for their ‘friends’ saying; “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”
However others supported Chamisa saying as a leader he has the power to delegate while arguing that his presence was not going to lessen the sentence.
