Zimbabwe’s main opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has castigated President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s under-fire administration for orchestrating human rights violations to silence dissent in the wake of the ongoing Zimbabwean crisis. Speaking at the Rotten Row, Magistrates Court on Wednesday after denial of bail for MDC Alliance official Job Sikhala, Chamisa stressed that crackdown on dissent was a by-product of a stolen presidential election which has “begotten an illegitimate government exerting coercion to maintain its grip of power.” “Zimbabweans are under siege. The human rights situation is deteriorating. The political situation is a case of a crisis. “You can’t say it’s not a crisis when we have senior leaders of the oppos
Zimbabwe’s socio-economic and political crisis has received the attention of regional political players and civil society, with many calling for Sadc and the African Union (AU) intervention. Envoys sent by South African President and AU chairperson Cyril Ramaphosa to meet President Emmerson Mnangagwa and other stakeholders last week failed to meet the opposition as planned. Zimbabwe Independent senior reporter Bridget Mananavire (BM) spoke to MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa (NC) on the national crisis, as well as problems in the MDC Alliance. Below are excerpts of the interview: BM: South African envoys visited Zimbabwe last week and you did not get to meet them. What really happened and what reasons were given for the cancellation of meetings? NC: As the MDC Alliance we
SOME MDC Alliance bigwigs are said to be making a determined push to have the coalition's firebrand deputy national chairperson, Job "Wiwa" Sikhala, expelled for his radical political activities and dogged opposition to Zanu-PF and its government. The sources who spoke to the Daily News said senior Alliance officials had recently discussed Sikhala's jettisoning in the party's standing committee (SC) WhatsApp group of which the combative Zengeza West MP is a member. Contacted for comment, Sikhala would neither deny nor confirm the move to expel him saying if there were such moves he would respond to them after he had dealt with his current travails with authorities. All this comes as the government has come under intense local, regional and international press
MDC ALLIANCE leader Nelson Chamisa has slammed President Emmerson Mnangagwa over divisive leadership and labelling political opponents as terrorists who must be flashed out. This follows recent threats by Mnangagwa against the opposition following a foiled July 31 anti-government protest the national leader said was meant to forcibly remove him from power. "This business of branding and blaming, labelling, condemning citizens as bad apples or terrorist to be flashed out it is unacceptable, it is the leader who set the tone for amenity, peace and harmony," Chamisa said Sunday. Chamisa reminded his rival of the duties of a leader he said should be found uniting as opposed to antagonising his people. "The frequency of any nation is set at the top by the leader, by t
The arrest of MDC Alliance deputy national chair Job Sikhala has opened a can of worms within the party with accusations flying around furiously on who exactly sold him out. This comes as two party members who had been living with Sikhala; Stephen Chuma and Jim Kunaka openly accused each other of selling out the Zengeza West MP. MDC Alliance deputy national chairperson Job Sikhala will appear in court today after he was remanded in custody on Saturday. This follows his movie-style arrest on Friday in Tynwald where a truckload of policemen armed with assault rifles and batons invaded Tynawald North in search of Sikhala. He was hiding at a house former Zanu-PF MP for Hurungwe East Sarah Mahoka used to reside. The police are said to have violently knocked down the gate to gain ent
THERE was drama in the Harare western suburb of Tynwald North as armed police arrested firebrand MDC Alliance deputy national chairperson Job Sikhala in Hollywood movie-style. Sikhala had been on the run for weeks after he was put on the police wanted list among several other opposition political activists and civic society leaders for their role in the foiled July 31 anti-government protests. Around midday on Friday, the Daily News on Sunday witnessed a truckload of policemen armed with AK assault rifles and batons and in another white twin cab, ferrying plain clothes men invade the usually tranquil suburb of Tynwald North, searching for Sikhala. When they arrived at a house where former Zanu-PF MP for Hurungwe East Sarah Mahoka used to reside, a woman disembarked from the
A LEAKED telephone conversation between President Emmerson Mnangagwa's loyalists suggesting that he was weak and unstrategic in his government appointments, has gone viral on social media platforms. Voices in the audio are believed to be those of Mnangagwa's key proponent, tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei and Norton Member of Parliament Temba Mliswa. Both Tagwirei and Mliswa could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the audio recording yesterday. However, Information, Media and Broadcasting Services secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana said, if the recording was authentic, then it proved that the President was not captured. "I listened to an audio circulating on social media (and) while its authenticity has not been verified, what stands out is that, the parties having a c
The former minister of Sports Recreation, Arts and Culture, Makhosini Hlongwane and former Deputy Minister of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Tapiwanashe Majaya Matangaidze are reportedly among former ZANU PF members who have applied to be re-admitted into the governing party. The development was confirmed by the party’s Midlands chairperson Daniel Mackenzie Ncube who said Zanu-PF is a “big tent”, and that people who want to join or re-join the party were most welcome after being vetted. He told New Ziana: We have applications from former ministers. We have got applications from Makhosini Hlongwane and Tapiwa Matangaidze. We will be sitting down to make our decision on them. It’s something we should have done about two weeks ago, so we are trying
Girls who fall pregnant can no longer be excluded from attending lessons, while teachers will not be allowed to cane pupils, under amendments to the Education Act that became law this Friday. The Education Act Amendment was passed by Parliament, approved by President Mnangagwa, and has been gazetted. Under the amendments, “No pupil shall be excluded from school for non-payment of school fees or based on pregnancy.” During a debate in Parliament, the then Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Professor Paul Mavima, said expelling a girl for falling pregnant had a discriminatory effect in circumstances where she would have been impregnated by a colleague who in most cases, would be allowed to proceed with his education. This was after some legislators argued th
Two MDC-T officials were nearly involved in a fist-fight during a standing committee meeting on Wednesday. The meeting was held in Cranborne, Harare instead of the party’s headquarters, the Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House (MRTH) located in the city centre. Reports suggest that Khupe and her aides are afraid of setting their feet at the party headquarters for fear of being bashed by youths linked to party interim secretary-general Douglas Mwonwora. Mwonzora and acting party spokesperson Khalipani Phugeni reportedly clashed over the manner in which the former is said to be handling party affairs. Phugeni allegedly accused Mwonzora of sponsoring terror in the party and of being a dictator worse than the late former President Robert Mugabe. When contacted for comment, Phugen
