President Emmerson Mnangagwa has urged ZANU PF supporters to stop harassing members of the opposition saying they should actually entice them into joining the ruling party.
He made the remarks while addressing residents of Glenview 3, a suburb in Harare where he commissioned boreholes that are premised on addressing perennial water challenges. He said:
Let us all be united. No one has ZANU PF in his or her pocket but ZANU PF has everyone in its pocket.
Do not go and harass the opposition supporters but go and invite them to join our party Zanu PF. Let us be united in Zimbabwe, and parents let us not allow our children to be used in demonstrations but teach them development and building our country together.
The ruling party has often been accused of violence against members of opposition parties.
A few weeks ago, ZANU PF youths were accused of assaulting opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) councillor, Lovemore Maiko, in Chitungwiza a few days before the elections that were held there recently.
In February this year, a CCC supporter, Mbongeni Ncube, was killed at a party rally in Kwekwe and police later reported that several ZANU PF card-carrying members were among 16 people arrested over the violent incident.
The opposition CCC said party leader Nelson Chamisa was physically barred from attending the funeral of Chief Mabhikwa, born Nichodemus Vusumuzi Khumalo, in Lupane on Saturday.
In a statement, CCC said officers from the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) and other state security agents blocked Chamisa from the late traditional leader’s funeral. The opposition party said:
Police [and] security forces have physically barred [Nelson Chamisa] from attending the funeral of Chief Mabhikwa who is closely related to several senior [CCC] members.
This is the second time that police, security forces and or ZANU PF people under the influence of [President Emmerson Mnangagwa] have physically barred [Nelson Chamisa] from attending a funeral.
The first was the 26 January 2019 funeral of music superstar Oliver Mtukudzi at the National Sports Stadium in Harare.
Coercive state apparatus are being used to exhibit behaviour which is NOT African. Talk of the absence of UBUNTU!
Chief Mabhikwa died on Monday after he was involved in a road traffic accident on Sunday in Jotsholo, about six kilometres from his homestead.
Vice President Constantino Chiwenga represented Mnangagwa at Chief Mabhikwa’s burial.
More: Pindula News