adminthe weekend when protestors disrupted a public hearing into the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission Bill.
Mr Moyo blamed Zanu-PF supporters for the chaos at Parliament during the hearing meant to afford the public to air their views on the bill.
Addressing journalists at Parliament yesterday, Mr Moyo condemned the behaviour.
“It has been reported and now in the public domain that MPs, journalists and members of the public were assaulted in Parliament by rowdy gangs identified as Zanu-PF activists who were dropped off at Parliament as they chanted their party songs and slogans,” said Mr Moyo.
He said the behaviour was primitive and violated the Privileges, Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act and other Standing Orders of Parliament.
“Therefore it is our conclusion that these disruptions are politically motivated, calculated and sponsored,” he said.
Pressed to substantiate why he believed that Zanu-PF was behind the violence, Mr Moyo appeared to backtrack, saying it was not him saying it but the media.
“It’s something in the public domain. It’s not me who is saying it, I have seen horrible pictures in The Sunday Mail where police were trying in vain to restrain people,” he said.
He said even if it was his party the MDC-T that was implicated, he would not hesitate to condemn it.
Mr Moyo, however, said he would meet political leaders of the three political parties to the GPA to ensure that Parliament protected its dignity and integrity.
“In our effort to resolve this challenge, we will meet the leaders of these political parties.
“As Speaker, I will talk to everyone since my office is neutral,” he said.
Parliament, said the Speaker, had commissioned full investigations to establish what happened and how to avoid such disturbances in the future.
He said while concerns raised by the protestors were genuine, it was the manner in which they aired them out that was deplorable.
The assault of MPs and journalists, said Mr Moyo, retarded the parliamentary reforms that were embarked upon since 1999 to take the August House to the people and allow them to participate in parliamentary activities.
He expressed concern at the lack of security to the extent that MPs were harassed and beaten up while at their workplace.
“Does this mean that we do not have sufficient security at Parliament to protect individuals? And if we are not in a position to protect these MPs, how secure is the property of the institution,” he said.
The Human Rights Bill, said the Speaker, was part of negotiated deliverables of the GPA, that included the appointment of constitutional bodies such as the Zimbabwe Media Commission, Zimbabwe Electoral
Commission and the Anti-Corruption Commission done with Parliament’s involvement.
“These commissions have since been appointed, with the exception of the Anti Corruption Commission, whose appointment is imminent following the concurrence of the Committee on Standing Rules and Orders
Committee to the names proposed by His Excellence, the President,” he said.
Protestors said there was need to have the Bill translated in vernacular for easy understanding.
Sources say differences between Zanu-PF and the MDC formations over the period when human rights abuses should be investigated led to abandonment of the public hearings.
They said negotiators to the Global Political Agreement had agreed to start the probe from 2009 when the inclusive Government was born.
But MDC formations now want the investigation to begin from Independence and include the Gukurahundi crisis.
Zanu-PF opposes the proposal and argues that if that was the case, the investigations into human rights abuses should start from the colonial era, a move the MDC formations are against.
Online Reporter