By Innocent Mujeri
Leader of the Zimbabwe Activists Alliance Coordinators (ZAAC) Lynnette Tendayi Mudehwe, has said that days of cheap politicking are over and people should not be coerced by greedy politicians to demonstrate amid Covid 19 pandemic which is wreaking havoc in the country.
Mudehwe was speaking after last Friday’s planned demonstration which flopped dismally when the generality of the Zimbabweans shunned it.
“The challenges we are facing as a country require all Zimbabweans regardless of political affiliations to put heads together on how we can survive this. Opposition supporters are crowded in the high-density suburbs where Covid 19 can wipe them out in a day. Their so-called leaders are busy playing cat and mouse with security services about planned demonstrations ignoring the real threat the people are facing.
“The Covid 19 enforcement measures are also being resisted and ignored as political enforcement instead of life saving initiatives is prioritised. That is how these opposition leaders are putting people’s lives in danger in pursuit of cheap political grandstanding,” said Mudehwe.
Mudehwe further urged Zimbabweans to shun all future planned protests as opposition leaders have a tendency of using people as pawns in their regime change game.
“Whilst the poor citizens go through all this, the so-called demo leaders are proudly safe in hiding and happy, what is there to be happy about? They don’t see that they are exposing their poor supporters and other citizens to the Covid19 pandemic. They think that Covid19 is a ZANU PF creation that must play second fiddle to the opposition’s democratic right to demonstrate,” added Mudehwe.
Mudehwe posed questions to opposition leaders who are not doing anything to fight Covid19 but manage to spend time and money coercing their supporters to engage in stupid demonstrations.
“As leaders, what have you done about establishing Isolation Centres in your communities? Are you aware that self-Isolation is ineffective in high density areas? Have you done any Covid19 behavioral change campaigns in your communities? What role are you playing to prevent loss of life? You have done nothing and one wonders what type of leaders you are.
“Be responsible please. There is time for everything and now we must stop everything else and concentrate on saving lives. We have demonstrated together before and can demonstrate again together when we win this war against Covid19. Show leadership to save lives not endanger lives,” fumed Mudehwe.
Mudehwe also said the opposition wants to use demonstrations to illegally force the establishment of a National Transitional Authority to satisfy their waning political egos.
“We know you want a National Transitional Authority (NTA) and desperately need the government to respond brutally to ensure their expected intervention from the West. It is cold out here for all of us and the thoughts of a NTA where we can share a piece of the cake as we did in 2008 are too tempting making some people to be very unreasonable in their thinking,” said Mudehwe.
The opposition called for mass protests last Friday (31 July 2020) purportedly to force Government to take stern action against corruption. However, the planned demonstrations which had visible marks of a regime change agenda were largely shunned by Zimbabweans who went about their business.
