Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Youth Assembly National Chairperson, Happymore Chidziva has torn into Vice President Constantino Chiwenga saying his legacy is tainted by alleged acts of corruption, election rigging and political violence.
BY Obrain Mtetwa
Addressing party supporters at Rudhaka stadium, Marondera on Sunday, Chidziva urged the electorate to dump Chiwenga and vote MDC Alliance Presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa whom he said had a good vision for the country.
“What is Chiwenga’s legacy? It’s a legacy of corruption; it’s a legacy of murder, it’s a legacy of stealing diamond money, so is that the legacy he wants to talk about on the 30th of July?
“People of Zimbabwe we must unite knowing that on the 30th of July, we are going to rebuild our country, we are going to vote smart leadership and smart governance led by advocate Nelson Chamisa,” said Chidziva.
Generational Consensus founder and MDC-T youth activist, Gift Ostallos Siziba weighed in, applauding Chiwenga’s role in the liberation struggle which he said is being tainted by his post-independence legacy involving alleged acts of political violence and corruption.
“But after that Chiwenga in 1980, after having been courted into Mugabe’s government, became what I call a last metrical reproduction of the very same sobriquet which they were fighting which was the Rhodesian Front; the Smith regime and so forth.
“From then he was known for being involved in diamond scandal in Chiadzwa, the same man who was also responsible for the massacre of people in 2008 during the run off where in Morgan Tsvangirai had emerged victorious,”
“So his history is marred with corruption, nihilism, bankruptcy, violence, terror, terrorism and also callousness as have been happening during the Gukurahundi, their hands himself and others trickle with innocent blood of nationalities,” he said.
Asked to comment on Chidziva and Siziba’s remarks about Chiwenga, political analyst, Richard Mahomva said the former ZDF Commander had defied the odds by standing up against the political ugly face presented by the former head of state Robert Mugabe when no one could do so.
“We need to situate his legacy in the birth of the second republic how he was the face of the birth of the new dispensation and that is quiet clear. To me he symbolizes political martyrdom because he stood at a time when everyone else could not stand against the fearsome face of Robert Mugabe in defense of the incumbent.
“So that is very key when we reflect on his legacy, it is a permanent record which is fresh and it tends to have more of a lasting memory than any other part of his contribution to the national question in Zimbabwe,” he said.
