Charamba Admits Manyeruke Is A Zanu-PF Supporter, Justifies Her Appointment As Commissioner
Presidential spokesperson George Charamba has admitted that one of the members of the Commission of Inquiry into the August 1 killings, Charity Manyeruke is a Zanu-PF supporter.
There has been criticism that some of the commissioners especially Manyeruke and presidential aspirant Lovemore Madhuku were biased. At one time Allison Charles and Counselling Services Unit approached the High Court challenging the appointment of Madhuku and Manyeruke as part of the Commission of Inquiry into the post elections violence. However High Court Judge Justice David Mangota said allegations that the two are compromised was not substantiated.
Charamba defended Madhuku and Manyeruke’s appointment saying President Mnangagwa appointed them because of their expertise and not their political affiliations. Said Charamba:
The Commission has international commissioners. It also has local commissioners and the locals are three and out of the three locals one was a presidential candidate (Professor Lovemore Madhuku) in the just ended elections, the other was a past president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe (Mrs Vimbai Nyemba) and the third is a Zanu-PF supporter (Professor Charity Manyeruke). When you look at the first and the third, it is clear that the criteria for appointing commissioners was not restrained by political considerations because if they were, then certainly a 2018 presidential candidate would have been disqualified on those grounds. Its rank dishonest to slit a commissioner merely for being a member of Zanu-PF who is not even an office holder, while turning a blind eye on another commissioner who was not just a politician, but a candidate in the 2018 elections. What this all means is that least of the President’s worry was the political choices or identities of the commissioners. His concern was the expertise which these commissioners would bring to the inquiry. Madhuku is a constitutional professor and Manyeruke is a political science professor. That is what makes them appointable and not their politics. Really, this idea of rubbishing the Commission on the basis of who the commissioners are simply betrays a certain anxiety which is traceable to the role played by individuals and parties in the run-up to the August 1 conflict.
Also Read:
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High Court Defends Mnangagwa’s Appointment Of Madhuku And Manyeruke In Motlanthe Commission
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Biti Urges Manyeruke To Resign From Motlanthe Commission
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Motlanthe Says He Is Not Worried About Madhuku, Manyeruke’s Presence On Commission Of Inquiry, Says They Are Honourable
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She Is Qualified Despite Zanu-PF Links: Mangwana Defends Inclusion Of Charity Manyeruke In Motlanthe Commission
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Madhuku And Manyeruke Are Compromised To Act Independently In Commission Of Inquiry – Welshman Ncube
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Biti Questions The Integrity Of Some Of The Motlanthe Commissioners
More: Chronicle
