Self-exiled former ZANU PF Politburo member and Local Government Minister Saviour Kasukuwere on Monday accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government of using the law as a weapon against critics saying the practice should stop.
Lawfare is the use of the law or courts to damage or delegitimise an opponent, or to deter individuals’ usage of their legal rights.
In a statement marking the country’s 42nd Heroes Day Commemorations on 8 August 2022, Kasukuwere said it was wrong for the government to hound citizens out of the country because of political differences. Said Kasukuwere:
No Zimbabwean should be imprisoned without charge for lawfully and rightfully taking part in our politics, no Zimbabwean should be persecuted because of political differences and no Zimbabwean should be exiled because of personal or political differences.
Ours is no longer a war of canons and guns, it is a war to deliver economic independence. We are no longer pressed with racial inequality, but we see economic inequality all around us.
Let us seize the opportunity to be the heroes of future generations and present. Let us rise to our generational calling. Out of us, heroes must emerge.
Kasukuwere also bemoaned the country’s seemingly unending economic challenges that have pushed millions of Zimbabweans out of the country in search of greener pastures. He said:
As we celebrate and remember, let’s not forget the Zimbabwean child toiling because of a lack of employment, lack of empowerment and lack of services.
Let us not forget the millions of Zimbabweans who have been forced to live as second-class citizens in other countries, sometimes subjected to degrading and inhumane conditions and discrimination in these foreign domiciles.
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