On Thursday Zanu PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa was breathing fire in support of hooligans who invaded parliament last Saturday, assaulting MDC-T
MP for Hwange Central Brian Tshuma and journalists going about their business — confirming that the thuggery was politically-motivated.
“We will defend them,” Mutasa said. “They are our members.”
Mutasa attempted to hide behind the flimsy veil of “provocation” with an equally weak argument saying: “Is it possible for someone to just leave their homes to go and beat up people at parliament without being provoked?”
The answer is an unequivocal “Yes”, for the MP and journalists did not provoke the hooligans who were evidently acting under political instruction to disrupt debate on the Human Rights Commission Bill.
Zanu PF’s militia had already set the precedent, disrupting debate on the Bill in Masvingo and Chinhoyi at what looked very much like the instigation of their party leaders.
Events at parliament were just a culmination of Zanu PF’s strategy to disrupt sober discussion on the Bill that has the potential to lay bare systematic human rights abuse, including the Gukurahundi genocide authored by the former ruling party.
Mutasa chose to ignore the obvious fact that the party thugs’ behaviour was criminal. Zimbabwean laws do not allow anybody to be assaulted and certainly not by unruly mob behaviour.
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But ironically Zanu PF wants us to believe that the rowdy mob had the moral obligation to assault whomsoever they chose, at parliament or anywhere else for that matter.
The police, possibly acting under instruction from politicians of Mutasa’s ilk, did not arrest any of the hoodlums as they claimed to be investigating a crime committed right before their eyes.
A few days later the police quickly pounced on 13 MDC-T activists who were peacefully protesting outside the High Court against the continued holding in remand prison of fellow party activists accused of murdering a police officer.
Mutasa and the police would want us to believe that it is morally correct for Zanu PF ruffians to beat up selected sitting MDC-T MPs at the august House and morally wrong and criminal for people to protest peacefully expressing solidarity with their colleagues.
What the Zanu PF secretary for administration confirmed in his utterances is that Zanu PF politicians sponsor violence and they are only too ready to defend perpetrators of this evil that is eating away at the fabric of our society.
This stance echoes Zanu PF Senator for Mount Darwin Alice Chimbudzi who was quoted in The Herald of June 29 saying: “It is us politicians who cause all the violence we see during elections because we hire people to beat up our opponents.”
Mutasa and Zanu PF need to reform and understand that Zimbabwe does not belong to their party and its acolytes only — it belongs to all of us and they should stop their culture of abusing the rights of other citizens.
The Human Rights Commission Bill is a direct response to this retrogressive culture.
