Zimbabwe military and CIO agents blocked MDC President Nelson Chamisa from entering the National Sports Stadium for Oliver Mtukudzi’s funeral send off on Saturday, 26 January 2019.
The party’s Secretary General, Douglas Mwonzora announced on his twitter portal saying, “The decision by state agents to bar @nelsonchamisa from entering the National Sports Stadium is cowardly and totally unacceptable. Although Hon Zwizwai and myself tried to remonstrate with the government ministers present it was to no avail.”
Mwonzora later spoke to Kukurigo over the phone and said, “We were already inside with other MDC officials. After we learnt that he (Chamisa) was being barred at one of the gates, we confronted the two ministers. They told us they had discussed with security and they would allow him in. But when our security people went to the gate it had been locked and the people manning it had gone away,”
“We view this as totally unacceptable and cowardly. It is a very surprising attitude given the fact that they always say such national events are open while in reality they always try to make the events partisan. Perhaps they did not want the crowd to see our leader,” he added.
Chamisa who has more supporters than President Mnangagwa in and around Harare received a rousing welcome when he went to pay his condolences to the family of the late musician and perhaps this may have motivated the government’s desire to bar him from showing up at the stadium where he would have been guaranteed a great show of support more than Zanu PF leadership.
Commenting on the issue former UK nurse and Permanent Secretary for Information Ndabaningi “Nick” Mangwana confirmed that Chamisa had indeed been barred but refused to take responsibility on behalf of the government saying that it was the work of a third party.
“I will get a comment from minister Ziyambi Ziyambi who was there but it is not something that has been done at the instruction of government but possibly by individuals manning the gates. But I have not confirmed the event itself so I cannot say much although I did receive a call from Mwonzora to that effect,” said Mangwana.
This incident happens at a time when there are shocking reports across global news portals of gross human rights abuse by state security agents; the military and police in particular.
After it became clear that they shot and killed many people, dozens of females including underage girls have reported that they were raped by members of Zimbabwe military during deadly January protests.
Rape is often used as a weapon of war by armies in order to subdue opponents and to humiliate their perceived enemies.
The government has not said a word about the alleged rape crimes committed by it’s soldiers and policemen when the state responded to recent riots and protests.
