Journalist Hopewell Chin’ono says the recent arrest of two CCC MPs is a brazen attempt by ZANU PF to whittle down the opposition’s numbers in Parliament and attain a two-thirds majority to enable the ruling party to push for constitutional amendments.
CCC’s Maureen Kademaunga (Sunningdale), was arrested on charges of attempted murder and malicious damage to property, while Gift Siziba (Tshabalala Pelandaba) was also arrested, accused of inciting the football violence at a football match.
Kademaunga was arrested on Tuesday and spent the night in police cells before the charges were dropped in court on Wednesday.
Siziba was arrested on Wednesday and released on the same day but was ordered to appear before a magistrate on Friday.
Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Chin’ono warned CCC MPs to avoid saying things that will get the government to craft “false charges” against them.
He said ZANU PF is planning to arrest “as many CCC MPs as possible” and then call for by-elections which it will rig to achieve a two-thirds majority necessary for constitutional amendments. Wrote Chin’ono:
The attempt to keep opposition MPs in courts on flimsy and comical charges continues with the latest victim being Gift Ostallos Siziba the CCC MP for Tshabalala-Pelandaba in Bulawayo, and its Deputy spokesperson.
ZANU-PF is desperate for a 2/3 majority in parliament that will enable it to remove term limits after Mnangagwa’s consolidation of power which culminated with a mediocre cabinet of cronies and relatives.
Siziba was arrested for posting a message which said, “We fear fokol” which was accompanied by a picture of himself wearing a Highlanders football club jersey. It was football banter on a football day!
The police said that he was Inciting public violence at a football match by saying that his team feared nothing. He will be in court on Friday to answer these charges.
CCC MP for Sunningdale, Maureen Kademaunga was also arrested in Harare 2 days ago on false charges of malicious damage to property and attempted murder.
The prosecution service dropped the charges in court because these cases were politically motivated and there was no basis for arresting and charging her.
There are other CCC election candidates who are in prison pending bail, and of course, former CCC MP Job Sikhala has been in prison for over 500 days without bail, something that is a constitutional right.
So CCC MPs must trade carefully and avoid saying things that will get the regime to craft false charges against them.
ZANU PF wants by-elections that it will rig in order to get the desired 2/3 majority in parliament, their plan is to arrest as many CCC MPs as possible.
CCC should not allow this, its MPs should be tactful and stay alert to the prevailing political realities, otherwise, they will spend years in courts to the detriment of their political programs!
The last five years saw journalists arrested and jailed for exposing corruption, opposition members jailed for doing their work and critics jailed for doing and saying what is allowed under our constitution.
The man who presided over this abuse of the court system is Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi.
He has been retained as Justice Minister without a parliamentary constituency in the recently appointed government of cronies and relatives, so we should expect more abuse of the court system.
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