Political Reporter
Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party has been urged to allow the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) to finalise its investigations on the alleged political violence that erupted in Murehwa last week before concluding that the perpetrators were ZANU PF members.
This came at a time when CCC has claimed that its members were tortured and victimised in Murehwa by ZANU PF members for attending a ward meeting.
Political analyst, Terrence Chipwanya said that it cannot be concluded that the perpetrators of the Murehwa violence were ZANU PF members as the video circulating on social media does not reveal the political identities of the perpetrators.
“It’s premature for CCC to blame ZANU PF for the violence that erupted in Murehwa. No one is certain that the victims were members of CCC and that the perpetrators were ZANU PF members. I would urge CCC to wait for police investigations before blaming ZANU PF for the violence,” said Chipwanya.
Chipwanya added that the violence could have been stage managed just to tarnish the image of the ruling party ahead of the 2023 elections.
Another political commentator, Nicole Hondo castigated CCC for misleading the public by circulating pictures of patients in South African hospitals claiming that they were victims of Murehwa violence.
“Can you blame people who say some incidents of alleged political violence against CCC are stage managed when we have CCC members like Shepherd Yuda posting images of a patient in South Africa and claiming it’s a ZANU PF victim in Murehwa?” said Hondo.
Meanwhile, ZANU PF has distanced itself from individuals in the alleged political violence that has gone viral on social media saying that the people appearing in the video were neither members of the Party nor any known affiliate.
In a statement, ZANU PF Mashonaland East Provincial Chairperson, Cde Daniel Garwe, said that they had noted with great concern a video circulating on social media purportedly showing a group of individuals physically abusing elderly people in Murehwa.
“Apart from the disgusting physical abuse captured in the video, the Province is disturbed by allegations that the perpetrators are ZANU PF members acting on behalf of unidentified bosses. The Province hereby distances itself from the individuals in the viral video .They are neither members of ZANU PF nor any known affiliate and were clearly hired to further nefarious agendas including soiling the image of His Excellency President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the Second Republic,” said Cde Garwe.
Cde Garwe reiterated that ZANU PF was a peaceful Party that exercises political tolerance and further urged the police to speedily bring the perpetrators captured in the video to the full wrath of the law.
