CIVIL Society Organization, Zimbabwe Coalition on Debt and Development (ZIMCODD) has reaffirmed as ‘malicious’ and ‘unfortunate’ state media reports that were carried a couple of weeks ago alleging that the non-governmental organization was training young people in Tanzania for banditry activities ahead of the Head of States of Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit.
Ahead of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s trip to the SADC Summit in Tanzania two weeks ago, the daily state newspaper alleged that there was a plan by opposition-linked and foreign-sponsored civil society organisations from Zimbabwe to smear the country’s image at the Summit.
In press statement Thursday, ZIMCODD said the ‘training banditry’ allegation which was also reinforced by the state controlled weekly press was malicious.
““This allegation is not only malicious but insulting, provocative and reckless putting the lives of the innocent people who participated at the 2019 People’s Summit at risk,” read the statement.
““ZIMCODD would like to set the record straight, that never at any one point, was demonstrating against or “smearing” the President on the agenda of the 2019 People’s Summit,” read the statement.
The pro-poor civil society further denied allegations that civil society organisations among them ZIMCODD had travelled with activists to Dar es Salaam for the purposes of lobbying for Harare to be placed on the regional bloc’s agenda.
“The narrative that ZIMCODD under the auspices of SAPSN sponsored Zimbabwean people to go to Tanzania for training in “banditry” and destabilising the country.
ZIMCODD says its trip to Tanzania was grossly misunderstood and misrepresented by state media journalists who made little effort to establish about the organization’s participation and its entourage.
“It is unfortunate and regrettable that journalists who have been authoring malicious stories, particularly Zvamaida Murwira, Darlington Musarurwa and Patience Rusare of Herald, Sunday Mail and the Patriot respectively, never at any point approached or contacted ZIMCODD to get the facts right or at least to hear our side of the story.”
ZIMCODD further demanded the state-run newspapers in particular the Patriot to issue a retraction saying it was farfetched to imagine a union between the foreign organisation Centre for Applied Non-Violent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) and itself.
“It is too far-fetched to try and link ZIMCODD’s earnest work to foreign organisations such as Center for Applied Non-Violent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) and it would be prudent for the writer of the Patriot to retract the allegation simply because it is not true and criminalizing innocent citizens of Zimbabwe.”
The SADC People’s Summit is an annual gathering of social movements from the region whose participants are drawn from youths, women, students, community-based organisations among other relevant stakeholders.
The People’s Summit, which is always organised on the side-lines of the SADC Heads of States and Governments, has been convened since 2006.
