The government has warned the MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa against using words like Hyena when referring to President Mnangagwa because they qualify as hate speech and have no place in civilised politics, The Sunday Mail reports. This was communicated by the Information Ministry’s permanent secretary Nick Mangwana who said this to the publication:
Government has noted with concern statements published in a local daily newspaper where opposition leader Mr Nelson Chamisa labelled the Head of State and Government, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, as a ‘hyena’. The language used by the opposition leader qualifies to be called ‘hate speech’ and has no place in civilised politics
Mr Mangwana also said such speech also undermines the office of the president:
Free speech is meant to benefit society and we struggle to see how an effort to diminish the dignity of a seating President can be of benefit to society.
The President’s detractors are oblivious of the fact that the freedom of expression they are abusing is a product of the President’s policy of opening up of the political space. In the spirit of democracy, the New Dispensation headed by the President has ensured that people are free to express themselves without persecution.
This came after MDC leader Nelson Chamisa likened the actions of his party members’ abductors to those of hyenas.
More: The Sunday Mail