Mudenda raps Zimbos for being ‘too law-abiding’

By The Standard | Jul. 4, 2017 | 2 Min read

SPEAKER of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda may have encouraged Zimbabweans to demonstrate if there was something they were unhappy with, citing protests against former South Korean and Brazilian leaders as examples.

BY TATIRA ZWINOIRA

Mudenda, who was attending the 2017 Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce annual congress in Victoria Falls on Wednesday, was responding to a question from Zanu PF-linked cleric, Obadiah Musindo.

Msindo had asked why Parliament was not doing enough to censure government officials who did not listen to their respective portfolio committees.

Mudenda used the examples of former South Korean and Brazilian presidents Park Geun-hye and Dilma Rousseff, respectively, on how when they got embroiled in corruption scandals triggering demonstrations.

“Another very powerful force outside the Executive and the Judiciary to pounce on those who have been found wanting by the parliamentary committee or committees is the people themselves, you the people,” he said.

“Take South Korea, where the former President (Geun-hye) was involved, through a friend, in certain dealings, the electorate stood up and said ‘the President must be prosecuted’.

“She tried to stick to power with a host of lawyers, but she did not succeed and she was arrested because of the power of the electorate, they demonstrated against her behaviour.”

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Mudenda went on to cite how Rousseff faced the same fate when she got embroiled in corruption scandals, with her compatriots protesting until she was booted out.

“So you have Parliament working there, you have got the Executive and Judiciary working there to get things corrected, but the power of the people is more biting when they stand up and say enough is enough,” he said.

“But, that culture is not yet in Zimbabwe. It is there now in South Africa, but in Zimbabwe we are law-abiding to the extreme.”