ZCTU: Killing Us Will Not Make Hunger Go Away

Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) president Peter Mutasa says killing citizens when they agitate for their rights will not make the myriad of challenges the country is facing go away.

Mutasa was speaking in an interview with the Daily News after he has received several death threats together with ZCTU secretary-general Japhet Moyo. Said Mutasa:

Killing us will not destroy starvation, poverty and the general need that every citizen is facing. The government is wasting time, it just has to reform and seek a new inclusive, fair and just social contract with citizens.

The bottom line is workers are going to stop working and protest in various non-violent ways against economic mismanagement, oppression, exploitation and other forms of social injustices. We also call upon the international community to protect citizens and activists under threat.

The ZCTU in January this year called for a nation-wide workers’ stay away after President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced on national television the hiking of fuel prices by over 150 per cent.

Since then, union leaders have been charged with treason and threatened with death through anonymous calls and text messages.

More: Daily News