President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday said claims made by Zimbabweans on social media that there is a crisis in the country border on subversion (the undermining of the power and authority of an established system or institution).
President Mnangagwa made the remarks while delivering his opening remarks at the principals executive meeting of the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) in Harare today. He said:
In the wake of the arrest of some elements whose actions sought to not only incite the public to gather against the set rules but also bordering on subversive allegations of a crisis have been made mainly in social media circles.
Mnangagwa added that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe as he was declared the winner by the Constitutional Court in the aftermath of the contentiuos 2018 presidential election. He said:
I wish to unequivocally state that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe as elections were held in July 2018 and a winner was declared in terms of the country’s Constitution.
All contestants were invited to join this dialogue in the national interest.
MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa challenged Mnangagwa’s victory at the Constitutional Court but the judges threw out his challenge citing lack of evidence of rigging.
However, Chamisa has maintained that electoral officials and the ruling ZANU PF party “stole” his victory and he has since refused to join POLAD.
The South African government has accepted that there is a crisis in Zimbabwe and is prepared to broker all-inclusive dialogue among the country’s stakeholders.