Masvingo Zanu (PF) Masvingo North Legislator, who is also the Tertiary and Higher Education minister, Stan Mudenge , is under investigations by the government for inciting violence in Masvingo. Mudenge is said to have asked traditional leaders at a meeting in the area that they should force Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) supporters to rejoin Zanu (PF) before the next election.
Home Affairs co-Minister Giles Mutsekwa said in an interview in Harare that his ministry was investigating Mudenge for inciting violence.
Mutsekwa said he received reports that Mudenge was in his capacity as a Zanu (PF) official at Zimuto in Masvingo last week, addressed more than 800 people and instructed local traditional leaders to ensure MDC supporters re-joined his party before the next election.
“This is direct breach of the GPA by a senior government official who is aware of the document, and you wonder were political violence is coming from if top political leaders who are senior government officials are coercing chiefs and headmen to ensure that no MDC activities take place in their areas of jurisdiction, that is a source of violence.
We are going to deal with such political figures like Mudenge first, and this is going to be done at a government level. Once political leaders like this utter such violent inciting words at a crowd of over 800 people what message and actions are disseminates down wards.
“This is the problem we are having in this coalition government, we have people with a culture of not persuading supporters not to incite violence but urge them to use intimidation to win support. We are taking this case seriously,” said Mutsekwa.
Post published in: Politics