Zimbabwe’s ruling party Zanu PF has shot back at ANC secretary general Ace Magashule over his latest utterances about the human rights situation currently obtaining in Zimbabwe.
Magashule was speaking to the media after being pressurised by Zimbabweans to intervene through the #ZimbabweanLivesMatter movement. He condemned the state-sponsored violence in Zimbabwe, saying it’s uncalled for and will have consequences for South Africa. “We have a role to play as South Africa or AU. We see what is happening in Zimbabwe. The President is speaking with the President of Zimbabwe. We have talked to some of the people who are exiled who have run away from Zimbabwe,” he said.
Zanu PF subsequently fired back at Magashule. Part of the statement released by the Zimbabwe’s ruling party read, “ZANU PF reminds Cde Magashule that different countries have employed different measures and tactics to enforce Covid19 lockdown measures to a non-compliant public to protect their lives. It is in this light that we have seen on social media, videos of South African soldiers beating their non-compliant citizens using fists and sjamboks while in some regrettable circumstances, we have seen them spraying rubber bullets on their citizens resulting in serious injuries and deaths, to the extent that it has been reported that members of the SANDF killed 8 citizens in the streets during enforcement operations. ZANU PF has not uttered a word in public.
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We have watched Marikana Massacres that remain unprecedented since the tum of the millennium by government forces but we have sought to respect South Africa’s capacity and right to deal with those matters internally. We however are taken aback by these latest irresponsible utterances by Cde Magashule, who by all means should have sought clarifications from his counter-part Cde Dr Obert Mpofii, the Secretary for Administration for ZANUPF. Honestly, for Magashule to rely on a fortune seeking organisation like Tajamuka or faceless social media posts on matters of Zimbabwe is disturbing as it is shocking. We have seen our people being victims of systematic xenophobic attacks with some ANC leaders spreading hostile messages that worsened those attacks against our people but we have sought to address that using the normal diplomatic channels.
ZANU PF has also seen reported issues of rampant corruption allegations against various ANC leaders, where Cde Magashule himself has been implicated, not mentioning the Gupta’s yoke that hovers around his neck and shortened President Zuma’s term of office but we have not sought to interfere on such issues which are foundationally internal by all standards. The Nkandla-gate came and ended with re-payments without Zimbabwe uttering a single word, knowing fully well that our brothers and sisters in the ANC are capable of handling their own internal matters.
This we have done, in the spirit of respect for states’ sovereignty in dealing and handling internal matters whenever they arise. ZANU PF is extremely disappointed that Cde Magashule has sought to become a collusive player in support of those scathing to undermine this Republic and its constitutionally elected government. ZANU PF is extremely disappointed that as secretary general of a sister revolutionary party keeps company with fugitives from justice.
We remind Cde Magashule, that the ANC is pretty aware of the standoff between Zimbabwe and the USA and its allies following our successful land reform program which has seen the US and its allies imposing illegal sanctions on this country. We also bring to his attention that the USA has earmarked and primed this pandemic to increase its onslaught on our people and their government, having falsely caused regrettable publications that Zimbabwe’s government was hiding Covid19 causalities despite as releasing statistics daily. We further bring to his attention, the fact that the USA is now running a variety of media houses, faceless twitter accounts and paid journalists for the sole purpose of demonising this country and its leadership in its desperate attempt to bring about illegal regime change.”
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