MAHUSEKWA Retired brigadier Ambrose Mutinhiri has quarantined Marondera West constituency from private media journalists and the main MDC wing led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, ordering Zanu (PF) supporters to beat up any scribes who stray into the area and burn any vehicles belonging to the MDC-
The Marondera West legislator told a rally at Mahusekwa Business Centre in Chihota last week that the MDC-T was no longer welcome in the constituency. I would like to call upon members of the police to close their ears because what we are going to say may affect them. If you see cars that belong to the MDC or even suspicious vehicles please do burn them
because there are not welcome here, Mutinhiri told stunned villagers, who were gathered to belatedly receive maize seeds and fertilizer.
The legislator, who was accompanied by Zanu (PF) district coordination committee chairperson Foster Chikwara and another senior party official Tonderai Kwaramba both of who are well-known in area for spearheading terror campaigns threatened the villagers with violence if they participated in MDC-T activities or spoke to the independent press.
We have seen names of some people who live here in newspapers and on the internet. We are not going to just stand aside and allow for newspapers to come and lie to the people if you see anyone with a camera you therefore have to destroy it, said Mutinhiri. MDC-T spokesperson for Mashonaland East Silas Gweshe, however, urged the people not to easily give in to Zanu (PF) and said that courage was vital in order to ensure that the MDC-T takes over power from Zanu
PF.
We are aware of the dilemma that most of our people are facing but we would like to urge them not to lose hope. We are going to take the media to such areas so that we expose people like Mutinhiri to the world, Gweshe told The Zimbabwean On Sunday. He said the dilemma for his party was compounded by an unhelpful police force and biased judicial system.
There is a challenge for our supporters because even though the police sometimes come to our rescue the courts have not been helpful, said Gweshe.
Despite the fact that thousand of MDC-T supporters have been beaten by well known Zanu (PF) supporters, none of the perpetrators have been prosecuted for attacks and murders committed as far back as 2000. Serving and retired security officials have made it clear that they will not allow the MDC-T to rule the country even if the party wins the forthcoming elections.
The utterances by Mutinhiri come in the wake of an intensified violence campaign by hoards of Zanu (PF) supporters led by army officers, the police, so-called war veterans and youths from the Border Gezi Training Centre.
Post published in: News