By Rungano Dzikira
MDC’s claim that three of its members have been abducted has been thrown to the dogs with National Police Spokesperson, Paul Nyathi authenticating that the trio had been arrested for contravening lockdown regulations.
In a desperate move intended to sway public opinion in MDC’s favour after weeks of negative publicity, Chamisa is said to have called in the youth assembly and instructed them to stage demonstrations against perceived hunger, owing to the national lockdown recommended by government.
According to a member of the MDC youth assembly, this calculated move was discussed during an MDC National Executive Committee virtual meeting, included also was self-exiled professor Jonathan Moyo.
“Civil disobedience was among the recommended actions that could be used to easily pressure government to easy its tight leash on the MDC following the Supreme Court judgement.
“So after the directive, most members of the youth assembly who had promised to come to town failed to make it due to the restricted movements and police roadblocks marred on most roads leading to town.
“Mutown manga musiri kupindika saka haa takabva taona kuti hapana deal since tanga tiri vashoma. Joana then said she had spoken to other comrades in Warren Park who were for the idea though they had failed to make it due to the restrictive travelling orders, so we then went to Warren Park instead,” he said.
On getting there, the youth brigade is believed to have sparked the demonstration in Warren Park, though with little success.
“The demo failed to attract the anticipated huge numbers like what we had hoped for, so we decided to pose for pictures and splash them on social media as a way of showing maboss that we were onto something,” he added.
The source further indicated that apart from the Warren Park farce, they also intend to stage flash demos in other localities such as Budiriro, Glen View, Mufakose and Epworth in the next few days.
“Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) was also roped in to urge its workers to protest against the little salaries and hunger,” he said.
These premeditated moves follow Chamisa’s snub by legislators to disengage from parliament. Likewise, in an effort to stamp relevance and show of mighty that the youth assembly was still under his ambits Chamisa hastily initiated this plan.
Given the background that only three legislators, Joana Mamombe, Virginia Muradzikwa and Shakespear Hamauswa had supported Chamisa’s move to disengage from Parliament, her willingness to participate in these recent shenanigans doesn’t come as a surprise.
Apart from this, Mamombe’s overzealous support and loyalty for Chamisa has raised concern among MDC members especially after Mamombe was handed over Jessie Majome’s constituency without her consent.
This cheap politicking of faking abductions has been one of MDC’s favoured techniques to sway public sympathy and international recognition since the Tsvangirai era. Recently we had the Peter Magombeyi incident, which later turned out to be just but another bluff to seek passage to the USA on asylum.
