Outspoken Norton legislator Temba Mliswa (Independent) the Zimbabwean government is behaving worse than the Rhodesian regime which allowed relatives and colleagues of political prisoners to visit them in jail.
Mliswa made the remarks after CCC leader Nelson Chamisa was on Thursday barred from seeing jailed Zengesa West MP Job Sikhala and his Chitungwiza North counterpart Godfrey Sithole as well as 14 other CCC activists who are in pre-trial detention at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison. Said Mliswa:
The blocking of Nelson Chamisa from meeting with Sikhala and others is most unfortunate. We don’t expect such in a liberated country.
Our own liberation fighters when imprisoned by the Rhodesians were allowed visitors.
Why do we have to go so low? We can’t be worse than Rhodesia.
Chamisa told reporters on Thursday that he was made to wait at the jail for more than two hours before the officer in charge, one Hukurume, informed him that he had been instructed by Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi that he (Chamisa) will not be allowed to see Sikhala and the other CCC activists.
Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet (Presidential Communications), George Charamba, said Chamisa should visit his colleagues at their next court appearance.
Charamba said the government will not compromise national security just to please Chamisa.