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Wallace Ruzvidzo Herald Reporter
OPPOSITION politician Mr Nelson Chamisa and like-minded detractors should not be misled into thinking they can hamper the Second Republic’s development efforts and the successful hosting of the Sadc Summit in August, Government has said.
The increasingly desperate Mr Chamisa continues to cast aspersions on last year’s general elections, which have already been endorsed by Sadc and various other observers as free, fair, transparent and credible.
Speaking after a post-Cabinet media briefing in Harare yesterday, Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere, said Mr Chamisa’s actions were reflective of cognitive dissonance.
President Mnangagwa, he said, was leading a democratic State with utmost respect for the rule of law.
“I believe he is suffering from cognitive dissonance. The 2023 elections are over and Government is properly constituted,” said Dr Muswere.
“I think we need to remind him that the authority to govern a country is derived from the people of Zimbabwe and in this particular case, the people of Zimbabwe voted overwhelmingly for Zanu PF and its Presidential candidate, His Excellency President ED Mnangagwa.
“If, in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, there was to be any dispute or legal challenge, Mr Chamisa should have read Section 93 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, which is very clear on the parameters, the timelines and processes that should be invoked in the case of a dispute around a Presidential election.
“He did not do that, but he keeps dreaming and dreaming, just like one of his friends (Job Sikhala) who dreams that he is going to be an icon.
“They should be reminded to read the Constitution of Zimbabwe.”
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Dr Muswere said the opposition’s theatrics would not succeed in impeding the strides Zimbabwe continued to make under the Second Republic.
“They should wake up to the reality that His Excellency, the President, Dr ED Mnangagwa, is the Head of State and Government, Commander in Chief of the Defence Forces, and that the SADC Summit will be held in Zimbabwe.
“The elections were held in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the Constitution of Zimbabwe is supreme.
“They should continuously read Section 93 of the Constitution, which sets out the parameters, processes and the legal framework that is provided in terms of any legal challenge on an outcome of an election,” he said.
Turning to Mr Sikhala, who last week embarked on a smear campaign during the Geneva Human Rights and Democracy Summit in Switzerland, Dr Muswere said his “criminality evoked the application of the relevant law and order processes”.
“It must be reiterated that Zimbabwe is a democratic State with absolute respect for human rights and the rule of law.
“Job Sikhala was not a political prisoner. His falsehoods are in sharp contrast to his indisputable violation of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. It must be underscored that in Zimbabwe, no one is above the law regardless of their political persuasion,” he said.
“His arrest was based on his criminal activities, given that he incited public violence and disorder and violated his bail conditions. He is on record for perennially violating bail conditions.”
Dr Muswere said Zimbabweans were the genuine victims of human rights abuses as they had been reeling under the adverse effects of Western imposed sanctions.
“His wilful, wishful, malicious depiction of the political situation in Zimbabwe is wholly and materially false. The nature of his criminality evoked the application of the relevant law and order processes.
“His conviction and acquittal in some of the cases attests to the impartiality and independence of the judiciary and it would be anarchical if our laws worked in favour of a criminal’s comfort.
“The genuine victims of human rights violations are the people of Zimbabwe, who have endured the gross dehumanising effects of illegal sanctions, and therefore deserved spotlight should be beamed on the millions of Zimbabweans who have borne the brunt of the illegally imposed Western sanctions on Zimbabwe,” he said.
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