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MDC leader, Prof Welshman Ncube recently equated Zanu-PF supporters to pigs while MDC-T treasurer Mr Roy Bennett was quoted by some media organisations saying President Mugabe was a “diseased dog”.
Jomic co-chairperson, Mrs Priscilla Misihairabwi Mushonga, said Jomic was worried with the hate language but could not do anything if there were no complainants.
“We are against any form of hate speech but we deal with it on the basis of complainants if they come forward and say they are not happy.
“Generally, we try to be pro-active than reactive hence we have been engaging political parties to make sure their statements are censored.
“I raised concerns with Prof Ncube on what he is said to have said but he told me that he had been quoted out of context.
“All he said was that Zanu-PF supporters’ behaviour was like pigs that even after washing them they will go back to the dirty . . . he was referring to their intimidating and violence tendency,” Mrs Misihairabwi Mushonga said.
Political consultant, Mr Rejoice Ngwenya said the political leadership were supposed to be careful in their utterances to make sure their statements were not quoted out of context.
“If you are a leader, it is important to stay away from statements that can be interpreted otherwise.
“They must say things that are commensurate to their dignity and integrity and they have to understand that they have to be cautious when they say something,” Mr Ngwenya said.
Observers said it was in the nature of the MDC formations to be provocative ahead of major summits like the African Union mid-term Summit set for Addis Ababa Ethiopia next week.
Zanu-PF secretary for administration, Cde Didymus Mutasa, yesterday said law enforcement agents were supposed to take action against the two MDCs that are
ironically at the forefront of alleging hate-speech on the part of Zanu-PF.
“The police should take action against Welshman and Bennett and charge them for making criminal statements,” Cde Mutasa said.
“We feel a drastic action should be taken against people like (Mr) Bennett and (Prof) Welshman (Ncube) in order to stop others from making such statements.
“It is only a person who doesn’t understand the process through which the President (Mugabe) went through to liberate this country from people like (Mr) Bennett and calling the President names will not change people like Bennett’s iniquities.”
Zanu-PF politburo member and Tsholotsho North legislator, Professor Jonathan Moyo, yesterday said the statements were provocative and undesirable.
“Because of what (Mr) Bennett has said, he has successfully exiled himself from Zimbabwe permanently because the day he sets his foot here, whether tomorrow, next month, next year or any other day, he will learn a lesson which his colonial ancestors never learnt but should have been taught in order to save the likes of (Mr) Bennett.
“If (Mr) Bennett is courageous enough to believe what he has said about the President, let him set his foot in Zimbabwe,” Prof Moyo said.
He said the silence of the two MDC formations over the utterances proved that the parties condoned the statements adding that Jomic was supposed to take action against the parties and Prof Ncube and Mr Bennett.
“Jomic would help if it were living up its GPA purpose but sadly it cannot do anything useful because it has been hijacked and personalised by its three co-chairpersons who have substituted themselves for Jomic and have in the process become rather opaque, unavailable and unaccountable with disastrous consequences on the execution of Jomic’s mandate,” Prof Moyo said.
Undermining the authority of or insulting the President in terms of Section 33 (2) (b) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (Chapter 9:23).
Online Reporter