Zanu-PF representative in the UK and Europe, Nick Mangwana, has called on the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa to restore the people’s confidence by arresting more criminals who are responsible for the social and economic suffering that Zimbabweans are facing. According to Mangwana, the Zimbabwe Defence Forces launched Operation Restore Legacy on the pretext that they wanted to arrest criminals around former President Robert Mugabe and need to do so. Announcing the military takeover last month, Major-General Sibusiso Moyo said:
We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice.
… We wish to make it abundantly clear that this is not a military takeover of Government. What the Zimbabwe Defence Forces is doing is to pacify a degenerating political, social and economic situation in our country which if not addressed may result in violent conflict.
Mangwana is lamenting the fact that to date only three people, have been arrested and prosecuted. Former Finance Minister Ignatius Chombo and former Zanu-PF Youth League leaders, Kudzanai Chipanga and Innocent Hamandishe are the only people to have appeared in court since the Zimbabwe Defence Forces launched the military takeover. Mangwana argues that the military could not have launched an operation of such a huge magnitude order to go after three people only, and calls on the administration to arrest and prosecute more criminals, in order to restore confidence.
Speaking on Twitter, Mangwana says:
Operation Restore Legacy’s pretext was that it was “going against criminals” surrounding RGM. Surely that cannot start and end with Chombo, Hamandishe & Chipanga. Tanks did not roll in the street for those 3 people. We need more to restore confidence.