Opposition MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa, accompanied by his lawyer Thabani Mpofu, on Tuesday visited incarcerated journalist Hopewell Chin’ono at Harare Remand Prison. “Clearly we must do something about what is happening. … It is time that we take care of Zimbabwean lives that matter … We must be serious about the situation,” Chamisa said. “They are in high spirits and they really want to see a better country,” Chamisa said. On Tuesday President Emmerson Mnangagwa gave a speech calling the main opposition party “terrorist,” and vowed to flush out opponents in an ongoing clampdown. Scores of opposition members and government critics have been arrested and rights groups allege security forces have carried out illega
This morning, I updated the people of Zimbabwe on the situation in our country. Despite the hurdles and challenges we have and continue to face – cyclones, droughts, sanctions and now the Coronavirus – our goal remains constant: To reform, restructure and rebuild in order to improve the lives of our people. We will continue to strive for peace, unity, development and progress. We will continue to reform and to open up, to liberalise and to modernise. The repeal of POSA and AIPPA is just the start. As your president, I vow to continue working harder towards this vision. Let us together cultivate a society of hope, of inspiration, of unity, of love and of peace. Let us pursue with renewed fortitude and zeal our journey of reforming and rebuilding our motherland. In unity an
MDC-T acting secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora has reportedly shut out acting party president Thokozani Khupe and her loyalists from Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House (previously known as Harvest House) as power struggles intensify after the opposition movement failed to hold an extraordinary congress to elect a substantive president on July 31. Police last week barred Khupe from holding the elective congress ordered by the Supreme Court in March citing the spike in COVID-19 local transmissions and lockdown regulations which prohibit gatherings of more than 50 people. Mwonzora was set to challenge Khupe at the congress for the presidency. "Mwonzora's campaign has resorted to violence ... people who are not aligned to his faction are being prevented from entering Harvest Ho
Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa has blamed what he called dark forces for the economic crisis in the country. At a time his government is terrorizing opposition members, Mr Mnangagwa has called for unity, love and tolerance. Below is part of Mr Mnangagwa’s brief SONA: We will defeat the attack on our economy. We make no apology for fixing our economy across the political, social and economic spectrum. We wil continue to strike a balance between peace and stability and protection of civil rights on the other hand. Reforms that will open up the economy and help entrepreneurs are bearing fruits. Corruption at all levels must stop. The dark forces inside and outside our borders have tempered with our growth and development for too long. Let us embrace patriotism, accountability,
The Harare High Court on Monday heard long-delayed bail applications by journalist Hopewell Chin’ono and opposition politician Jacob Ngarivhume, who were arrested on July 20 and accused of inciting public violence. Justice Tawanda Chitapi heard the applications separately and reserved judgement to August 6. Prosecutors say both men incited public violence through social media posts ahead of anti-government protests which had been called for July 31, but their lawyers say the charges are political. The protests were ruthlessly crushed by the security forces who closed all access to towns and forced residents to stay in their homes. Dozens of opposition activists were arrested and some were abducted and tortured. Ngarivhume, through his lawyer Moses Nkomo, disowned the Twit
Fugitive opposition figure of MDC Alliance Job ‘Wiwa’ Sikhala has vowed continued mass action against government in a move likely to escalate the already volatile situation. Speaking from his hiding place, the Zengeza East Legislator has vowed to put more pressure on President Mnangagwa’s government and ZANU PF. Below is his statement; As you have noticed after the 31st of July, instead of the regime attending to the issues raised by the Zimbabwean citizens they went into the default mode and escalated human rights abuses all over the place. Our people are being beaten, tortured, arrested for no apparent reason. This can not be allowed to continue. On Saturday night residents of Dzivarasekwa were beaten door to door by people in military uniforms. The same thi
Defiant Mahere: I won’t stop protesting. Yatove Huruhwese nakatsande totosvika kunapena said Mahere. Fadzayi Mahere said she was part of a group of seven citizens who embarked on a peaceful walking protest in their neighbourhood, within the 5km radius permitted under the lockdown regulations. MDC Alliance spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere has narrated her arrest ordeal by police officers during a peaceful protest at Groombridge, Harare, on Friday, 31 July 2020. She said as they proceeded with their walk, just moments after they left the house, a vehicle without a number plate was following them and taking pictures. Now certain that they were been followed Mahere said they managed to get a lift into a car and went to a coffee shop where they were arrested by their stalkers w
Former MDC legislator Norman Mpofu has challenged the opposition leader Nelson Chamisa advisers to resign for advising him to take leave when the nation needs him the most. "Can Chamisa advisors do a noble thing and resign. How can they allow him to be absent from duty during such a critical moment. Being at the helm of a party in a struggle like the one in Zimbabwe requires sacrifices. One can not afford to even bury loved ones let alone mourn for a month. This is unprecedented. The party visibility has dropped," Mpofu said."Party supporters and other citizens are under siege. Party supporters and citizens are being abducted. It needs him to confront the system, to galvanize the nation and condemn tyranny. It needs him to alert the world. MDC A is conspicuous by its sile
ZANU PF aligned social media user Kudzai Mutisi has told President Emmerson Mnangagwa to resign and stay if he does not understand his responsibility to appoint a new minister of Health and Child Care to replace the sacked Dr Obadiah Moyo. Posting on Twitter, Mutisi who has of late been candid on Mnangagwa and ZANU PF said the President was failing to see the urgency to appoint a new minister when the country was going through a pandemic which he said was strange of him. “President @edmnangagwa must appoint a new Minister of Health without any delay… If he doesn’t know his responsibilities as a president he must resign and stay at home. Why is he so slow to act? We are in the middle of a pandemic & the President sees no urgency at all? Strange,” sais Muti
Before we set out, I made a telephone call to my trusted long-time mentor, friend and lawyer – David Drury. I told him that we were about to go on a peaceful walking protest in the neighbourhood. I told him we had taken every precaution in the book to ensure we were compliant with the law. We wore face masks. We were walking within the permitted radius. We carried sanitizer. We were going to respect social distancing. There were 7 of us. Our actions were peaceful. We had written placards that read “No Violence,” “I am protesting peacefully,” Babies’ Lives Matter,” “Covid Kills, So does corruption,” “FreeZimbabwe,” “I have a dream,” and “EndHunger”. When we were making these placards, we joked
