A GROUP of suspected Zanu PF hoodlums yesterday blocked cleric and President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s outspoken adviser Shingi Munyeza from addressing a public meeting in Harare. Munyeza, who appeared unfazed, said the incident was a well-orchestrated tactic to intimidate him.
The cleric has lately become a strong critic of the Mnangagwa regime over human rights violations.The rowdy group stormed the venue as Munyeza was about to address the meeting. Initially, the youths demanded to know why he was in good books with Norton Member of Parliament Temba Mliswa (independent) — another Mnangagwa critic.
This was after a recorded telephone conversation between Mliswa and business tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei attacking Mnangagwa recently went viral.The youths also accused Munyeza of not paying them for managing his social media platforms.
They, however, failed to prove their claims when the businessman dared them to furnish him with evidence that they were responsible for his social media pages.
The youths continued harassing Munyeza until they forced him out of the meeting, leaving fellow businessman Nigel Chanakira and others to address the gathering.
Munyeza has been using his Sunday sermons broadcast on social media platforms to criticise government’s human rights abuses and corruption.
Munyeza told NewsDay after the incident that he knew the “kind of system” he was dealing with, but remained unshaken.
“I call it an occult system and it is an orchestrated move to try and muzzle me. It is an orchestrated move to try and raise fear and to take away my own freedoms and rights,” he said. “I will not relent, I am not deterred, I remain resolute. This country is being run by a rogue system. What people have not realised is what I have been saying. There is no respect for freedoms, there is no respect for rights so today was such a day where I was stopped from addressing a gathering that was apolitical. I am very fully aware of it, I am cognisant of it but it is what it is, we have a rogue system.”
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Munyeza later took to social media, saying freedoms and rights were never negotiated with the oppressor.
“The struggle is a collective. No one is more important than the other. Diverse strategies must be implemented until everyone is free. Territory taken must never be relinquished,” he wrote.
In his latest sermon on Sunday, Munyeza said Zimbabwe was in a crisis and accused the Zanu PF regime of having gone “rogue and cancerous”.
“We have a crisis. The system has gone rogue and cancerous. They can’t provide, protect or prosper citizens. They are like cancerous cells which will destroy the body,” he said.
Zimbabwe has come under the global radar over alleged gross human rights abuses that have seen journalists, activists, ordinary citizens and lawyers being harassed one way or the other. Investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono remains in custody together with opposition Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume.
At the weekend, they were joined by MDC Alliance vice-chairman Job Sikhala and are all being charged with inciting public violence.
Several other activists are in hiding fearing arrest for planning the foiled July 31 protests.
The international community has called on the Harare regime to end human rights abuses in the country and called for an inclusive dialogue among stakeholders including business, the church, civic society and political actors.
Meanwhile, presidential spokesperson George Charamba yesterday threatened more arrests of would-be protesters after a group of youths demonstrated against Sikhala’s arrest at the Harare Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
“The level of propaganda deceit is just appalling. The good thing is there is a clear resolve to end this nonsense once and for all. Hazvichazoitike zvakare (it will never happen) in this country. We shall be a law and order people, whoever thinks they can stand behind goons. Zvinotopwa gore rino (it will end this year),” he wrote on his Twitter handle.
