Ideas Party of Democracy (IPD) leader Herbet Chamuka has warned other opposition parties to desist from using President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s name for political mileage while exonerating him of any wrongdoings in the country.
Chamuka who hails from Mnangagwa’s homestead in Zvishavane said Mnangagwa is a victim of bullying by the opposition parties who take advantage of his silence to prop up their agenda.
He blamed the army and police for soiling Mnangagwa’s name by beating innocent civilians or opposition members who demonstrate against the state.
“Especially the police support unit, sometimes they use button sticks, water cannons, spray guns, and live bullets in the streets, shooting at demonstrators. These demonstrators are people with nothing, they are innocent civilians.
“We condemn this as the Ideas Party of Democracy. What you will be doing is bad for president Mnangagwa. It looks like you are fixing the country by beating them but you are making the president’s leadership look bad.
“That’s when you see him being laughed at when he goes to places like the UN, when he goes to European countries, they say he beat up the people. Mnangagwa has never beaten up anyone. So I want to apologize to the president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, most of these crimes were not committed by you. But I encourage the president to intervene quickly so that things can be well in the country,” he said.
The South African-based politician also exonerated Mnangagwa from any wrongdoing during the early 80s genocide in Matebeleland which allegedly killed more than 20 000 people.
“People blame Mnangagwa for this, but it’s not him alone who deployed the fifth brigade to destroy Ndebeles. He was just a Minister of State Security. The Defence Minister was Sydney Sekeremayi.
“Mnangagwa’s hands are clean but people took advantage of his silence. If you look at the Zanu-PF party during the Robert Mugabe era, most people pointed fingers at him! If Tsvangirai had died during the time of severe demonstrations in Zimbabwe. He is not to blame for the Gukurahundi, he wasn’t leading the massacre,” Chamuka said.
The court of public opinion and some opposition parties point fingers at Mnangagwa for the genocide which was executed by the North Korean trained Fifth Brigade.
Former president , Robert Mugabe described the terror attacks as a “moment of madness which should not be repeated” but to date, no one has been held accountable for the attacks.
Meanwhile, the opposition leader wieghed in on the Constituonal Amendment No 2 saying it is gving excessive power to Mnangagwa.
“What troubles me in Zimbabwe is that we are always amending bills, on a regular basis. This can be very troubling for us. Sometimes we ask ourselves if we will be able to contest the 2023 presidential elections due to these amendments. There might be a law that limits us to contest.
“It won’t be surprising to hear them saying we need US$ 2 million for one to contest the elections. Most of us are poor but they want to lead this country because they have better ideas.
“So we are pleading with the Mnangagwa regime not to make it difficult for politicians to also exercise their rights,” he added.
The amendment No 2 sailed through Senate and is awaiting presidential ascent to become an Act.
