Tag Archives: Mnangagwa

Zimbabwe’s Opposition Alleges ‘Gigantic Fraud’ In Vote That Extends The ZANU-PF Party’s 43-year Rule

By Burnett Munthali

Zimbabwe ‘s main opposition leader alleged Sunday there had been “blatant and gigantic fraud” after President Emmerson Mnangagwa was declared the winner of another troubled election , with international observers reporting an atmosphere of intimidation against voters.

The results were announced Saturday night, two days earlier than expected. Opposition leader Nelson Chamisa promised to address the country soon as his Citizens Coalition for Change party said it would reject the results as “hastily assembled without proper verification.”

“They stole your voice and vote but never your hope,” Chamisa wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, in his first public reaction to the results. “It’s a blatant and gigantic fraud.”

People in the country of 15 million are bound to view the results with suspicion.

International election observers have noted problems with the election, held Wednesday and Thursday, citing an atmosphere of intimidation against Chamisa’s supporters. In the buildup to the vote, international rights groups reported there had been a crackdown on opposition to Mnangagwa and the long-ruling ZANU-PF party, which had used the police and courts to harass and intimidate opposition officials and supporters, the rights groups said.

Before the election, Chamisa alleged in an interview with The Associated Press that his party’s rallies had been broken up by police and his supporters had often been intimidated and threatened with violence.

The actual election was also problematic and voting was extended into an extra day Thursday because of a shortage of ballot papers, especially in the capital, Harare, and other urban areas that are opposition strongholds. People slept at polling stations to make sure they were able to vote.

Mnangagwa’s victory meant ZANU-PF retained the governmental leadership it has held for all 43 years of Zimbabwe’s history since the nation was re-named following independence from white minority rule in 1980. Mnangagwa, 80, was re-elected for a second and final five-year term with 52.6% of the vote, according to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. Chamisa, 45, who also lost to Mnangagwa in a very close and disputed election five years ago, won 44% of the vote this time, the commission said. ZANU-PF also kept its parliamentary majority.

“This is a very happy occasion indeed,” said Ziyambi Ziyambi, an election agent for Mnangagwa and a Cabinet minister. “Zimbabweans have shown confidence in our president and ZANU-PF.”

Zimbabwe has a history of disputed and sometimes violent elections in the more than four decades of ZANU-PF rule, most notably under autocratic former president Robert Mugabe, who was leader for 37 years and oversaw a period of economic collapse that gained Zimbabwe international notoriety.

Mugabe’s regime also resulted in the United Stations and European Union applying sanctions on Zimbabwe for alleged human rights abuses. Those sanctions are largely still in place.

Mugabe was removed from power in a military-led coup in 2017 and replaced with Mnangagwa, his former vice president. The coup was widely popular and celebrated as a new dawn, but while Mnangagwa promised an era of freedom and prosperity, critics have alleged the former guerrilla fighter nicknamed “the crocodile” has become as repressive as his predecessor.

Zimbabwe has had just those two leaders in more than four decades of independence.

The 2023 election results were released around 11.30 p.m. Saturday night at the official results center in Harare, taking many by surprise. They came just 48 hours after polls closed in the delayed elections, when election officials had planned to announce the results five days after voting ended.

“We reject any results hastily assembled without proper verification,” said Promise Mkwananzi, a spokesperson for Chamisa’s CCC party, minutes after the results were announced. “We will advise citizens on the next steps as the situation develops.”

While the outcome likely will be closely scrutinized, Chamisa’s party didn’t immediately announce if it would challenge them through the courts. Chamisa challenged his 2018 election loss to Mnangagwa, but that was rejected by the Constitutional Court.

The election observers said they had specific concerns in this vote over a ruling party affiliate organization called Forever Associates of Zimbabwe that they said set up tables at polling stations and took details of people walking into voting booths. The head of the African Union observer mission, former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, said the FAZ activities should be declared “criminal offenses.”

More than 40 local vote monitors also were arrested on allegations of subversion that government critics said were trumped-up charges.

Ahead of Saturday’s announcement of the results, dozens of armed police with water cannons guarded the national results center. It was the scene of deadly violence following the election five years ago, when soldiers killed six people during protests.

There was no sign of unrest early Sunday. Streets in Harare that would normally be bustling with late-night vendors were empty soon after the announcement Saturday night as people were digesting the results and another ZANU-PF victory, which would take the party’s rule to nearly half a century.

“It’s done. It never changes,” said Gerald Chosawa, a security guard at a grocery store. “I had some hope.”

“Now it’s better to prepare to join the others who have left the country. That’s the best option.”

Source: The Independent

Zimbabwe: Mnangagwa, Kasukuwere, & Chamisa aim for presidency

Zimbabwe’s president, the country’s main opposition leader and a former ruling party stalwart exiled following a coup are all seeking to run in the presidential election scheduled for August. The three registered to run on Wednesday, and the national electoral agency is to announce the final list of confirmed candidates.

The August 23rd vote is expected to be another closely watched affair in a country with a history of violent and disputed elections. Along with the presidential election, Zimbabweans will also vote to decide the makeup of the 350-seat parliament and close to 2,000 local council positions on the same date.

If no presidential candidate wins a clear majority in the first round, a runoff will be held on Oct. 2.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ruling ZANU-PF party is seeking what would be the 80-year-old’s final five-year term. He is expected to be closely challenged by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, whom he narrowly beat in a disputed election in 2018.

Saviour Kasukuwere, a former Cabinet minister and top ruling party official who fled to neighboring South Africa after a 2017 coup that deposed longtime leader Robert Mugabe and brought Mnangagwa to power, also registered as a candidate. It was not immediately known if Kasukuwere had returned to Zimbabwe.

“The process is going very well. I am happy that Zimbabwe is now a mature democracy,” Mnangagwa told reporters at the nomination court. He appealed for peaceful elections, even as he and his party have been accused of adopting repressive tactics to stifle any opposition to their rule.

Chamisa, the 45-year-old leader of the Citizens Coalition for Change, said he was confident of victory, but alleged there were voters’ roll irregularities and repeated his claims that his supporters have been intimidated.

Source: Africanews

AU chairman calls for lifting of sanctions on Zimbabwe

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The African Union chairman and president of Senegal President Macky Sall has called for the lifting of sanctions placed on Zimbabwe.

Mr. Sall told the 77th UN General Assembly in New York that current sanctions against Zimbabwe were destructive and aggravating the suffering of citizens.

For over two decades Zimbabwe has struggled to rebuild its economy and sanctions have been blamed largely for this.

The US and the European Union (EU) have maintained sanctions on Zimbabwe. They both cite a lack of progress in democratic and human rights reforms as well as restrictions on press freedoms as reasons for maintaining the sanctions.

The sanctions have targeted specific individuals including President Emmerson Mnangagwa and some companies.

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Last year the Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat also called for the removal of sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.

Zimbabweans led by their president, Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2019 embarked on a march to demand an end to foreign sanctions.

The government launched that campaign to make unpopular what it considered at the time foreign sanctions that have crippled the economy.

Government officials including the President insisted that sanctions particularly from the United States of America have made it impossible for any major progress to be achieved in growing and rebuilding the Zimbabwean economy.

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Source: Africafeeds.com

Source: Africa Feeds

Zimbabwe arrests couple for claiming Mnangagwa died of Covid-19

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Authorities in Zimbabwe have arrested and detained a Zimbabwean couple reported to have sent a message on WhatsApp claiming that President Emmerson Mnangagwa had died from Covid-19.

Devine Panashe Maregere (20) and wife Vongai Nomatter Chiminya (20) were arrested and detained as part of a crackdown by the government.

The two were arraigned with the court denying them bail before remanding them in custody to March 5.

According to prosecutors the couple from Beitbridge, a town on the border with South Africa, sent a message to WhatsApp groups claiming President Mnangagwa had died of Covid-19 on January 25.

The couple have been charged with publishing or communicating falsehoods, as the government says it is trying to deal with the rife in fake news publication.

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Home Affairs ministry secretary, Aaron Nhepera said “Let us be reminded that such acts have the effect of causing alarm and despondency, not only to the individuals affected and their families,  but to the nation at large.”

“This has a destabilising effect at a time the nation is grappling with the Covid-19 pandemic,” the Nhepera added.

There have been rumours about the health of top government officials, including Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, following the death of three ministers, killed by Covid-19 this month.

Several other persons have fallen victim to the law being used to prosecute the couple.

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Anytime citizens make comments deemed unfavourable to the government, they could be arrested and charged for communicating falsehoods.

Some bad and unromantic attitudes of African couples

Source: Africafeeds.com

Source

Zimbabwe’s President questions US democratic credentials after riots

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Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has questioned the democratic credentials of the US following the violent protests which killed at least four people.

The riots occurred after supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol Building which is the seat of the legislature.

They were acting on the advice of Mr Trump to scuttle a process to confirm the election of President-elect Joe Biden.

Four people died in the attack with several others sustaining injuries.

President Mnangagwa tweeted that the US “has no moral right to punish other nations under the guise of democracy”.

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He said that the US has subjected Zimbabwe to “painful” economic sanctions.

“I’d like to again congratulate President-elect Joe Biden, on his confirmation as the 46th President of the United States.

“Zimbabwe is, as it always has been, ready to work together as friends and partners with the US for the benefit of both our peoples,” Mr Mnangagwa said.

The US and the European Union continue to maintain sanctions on key Zimbabwean officials including Mr. Mnangagwa.

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Zimbabwe is said to lack democratic and human rights reforms as well as restrictions on press freedoms.

4 dead after rioters stormed US Capitol to block Biden’s win

Source: Africafeeds.com

Source

Zimbabwe’s ED bomb; real or another “sympathy symphony”?

There are many unanswered questions around what transpired today in the very province where ED was allegedly poisoned.

I maintain that he was never poisoned, he was just looking for probable cause and enough public sympathy from the people such that when he eventually usurped power from Mugabe, they would not resist his actions and disown his illegitimate regime.

When Jonathan Moyo presented that Blue Ocean document in that famous or infamous politburo meeting, a lot of people, probably including the then president Robert Mugabe actually thought he was lying and just clutching at straws in a bid to force out Mugabe’s former right hand man.

The now infamous “sympathy symphony” began with endless talk of unsanctioned intrusion into ED’s office at Munhumutapa by “unknown” culprits. Unknown even to this day.

The story just did not add up. There was one break-in after another. Nothing was reportedly stolen, yet the “thieves” kept breaking in. The plot was in motion.

The thread of the whole scheme was enlisting public sympathy towards Mnangagwa and portraying an image of a soft vulnerable scared man.

To make the countless break-ins story stick, they even went a step further and poisoned Mnangagwa’s secretary and she ended up in hospital.

There was a large possibility that she might even have lost her life, because cyanide is a very potent poison. Such is the treachery of these men. They do not really care who they sacrifice, as long as their end result is achieved.

The plot to remove Mugabe, was well known amongst service chiefs but they were tight lipped about the whole thing. But as shrewd as Jonathan Moyo is, he managed to sniff it out and expose it, and that is was the prologue of the “sympathy symphony”.

Mnangagwa initially had no need to remove Mugabe. He had nicely positioned himself as the next in line, after he eliminated Joice Mujuru and her husband, the latter dying a sorry and painful death in a mysterious fire that engulfed part of his farmhouse.

What jolted him into action to remove Mugabe was none other than Grace Mugabe, after she, with the help and possible instigation and persuasion from people like Saviour Kasukuwere, Jonathan Moyo, Ignatius Chombo, Patrick Zhuwawo to name but a few, realised that there was too much power vested in her husband, and he was thus untouchable.

If she could manage to eliminate, with the support and protection of her husband, everyone else and position herself as the next in line, she would also inherit a throne that had absolute power and she would rule with an iron fist just as her husband did til she died or decided to hand over power to any one of the men surrounding her.

There was no way Mnangagwa could easily do away with Grace, she was, after all, “his” creation. But she had now amassed too much and there was just no way he could do away with her without enraging her husband.

After the professor’s revelation in that politburo meeting, the die had been cast, Mnangagwa et al had no other option but to remove the first family from Zimbabwean politics.

We all know what happened after the “poisoning scare” part of the sympathy symphony and it is exactly what has led us to where we are now.

Mnangagwa now seeks to gain legitimacy. His plan was progressing well without hiccups as the main opposition leader Morgan Richard Tsvangirayi was ailing.

Suspicion is rife that he was poisoned by ZANU Pf, and some might call it mere coincidence but the timing of Mnangagwa and Chiwenga’s visit to Tsvangirayi at his house was ultimately their farewell to the democrat.

They probably knew that his time had run out and thought, well, why not bid him farewell and score cheap political points in one swoop. He eventually passed on in February at a hospital in South Africa. May his soul rest in eternal peace.

The plan seemed to have succeeded, except for one thing, or rather person, Advocate Nelson Chamisa. Morgan Richard Tsvangirayi lived just long enough for Nelson Chamisa to turn 40, thereby making him eligible to run for presidency.

The flames of democratic change were suddenly reignited and now burned ever so brightly. The young man (by African political standards) truly hit the ground running and became a game changer.

He has galvanised the country with charisma and energy matching that of his predecessor in his prime. He presented a masterpiece of an election manifesto and roadmap for Zimbabwe.

Mnangagwa, having blocked out all other opposition players, in particular Chamisa, from state media, realised that the 40 year old lawmaker was getting unmitigated coverage on social media, deployed intelligence officers across social media platforms to proffer his advance towards a permanent stay at state house for the next 5 years and counter the bullet train crusade that has engulfed social media circles.

They have tried their best but Chamisa’s popularity with his #Godisinit mantra has exponentially grew regardless. Chamisa has not disappointed, keeping his eyes on the ball.

First arm-twisting the electoral body to allow for the opposition parties to also inspect and oversee the manufacture of ballot papers to be used in the election, he has now upped the ante and shifted to the voters’ roll. ZEC had tried its best to stall releasing the voters’ roll.

True to its antics of being a partisan electoral body, gave the British embassy the roll before they gave it to opposition parties just to cast aspersions on lamentations by opposition parties about ZEC’s conduct.

It backfired, and ZEC was left with egg on face. When they did eventually release the roll it did not contain photographs of voters. But as resolute as he has proved, Chamisa is living no stone unturned to get a proper document which will be audited to weed out ghost voters.

In light of this, Mnangagwa has realised that it is becoming increasingly difficult to rig this election because Chamisa and team are out in full force to thwart any chances of rigging the election.

Over and above Chamisa employing a robust election campaign strategy that has seen him campaigning in almost every district in Zimbabwe, election observers keeping a keen interest on all that is taking place here have also made it difficult for Emerson to rig his way to state house.

Chamisa has largely been endorsed by the largely youthful electorate and will no doubt land the top job come July 30. Saturday 23 June and Mnangagwa shockingly pulled out the big guns.

He has gone back to the “sympathy symphony” of his and this time he has used a “bomb”, yes, a real bomb. Lets suppose someone out there wants to kill him, a head of state for that matter, it baffles logic why he/she would take his/her chances by using “that” bomb which, by any stretch of the imagination, judging by the way it blew up, is definitely not the best way to eliminate an individual.

Everything is too amateurish. Maybe if it was a parcel bomb, yah that would work way better than that “bomb” that did not even leave him with a scratch. And if you think about it, how did anyone smuggle a bomb and place it where it was placed without being noticed by the many military and intelligence attachés that are involved in everything that the president does and everywhere he goes?

It is public knowledge that dictators fear death because they have killed too many people and thus have too many enemies, and everyone knows, even the grass at the venue of a rally is carefully scrutinised to ensure there is no hope of anyone or anything threatening the life of the president.

But, in spite of all that security, a “bomb” was smuggled nonetheless, placed somewhere very close to where the VIP were to sit, undetected, missed by all the army and intelligence personnel when they conducted a sweep of the venue before the president arrived, and remained there for who knows how long, only to be detonated just as Mnangagwa was passing.

If it really was an assassination attempt it definitely was the poorest I have ever seen. We have seen way better assassinations on many television shows. Would it not have been easier and more effective if they (the people who want him dead) had just hired a professional sniper to do a clean and perfect job?

Too many questions people, which only points to the fact that this is yet another Mnangagwa “sympathy symphony”. Noo Mr. President, Zimbabwe is sick and tired of your childish antics.

Grant us our reforms, level the playing field and we will obliterate you and your party into oblivion once and for all.

Zimbabwe does not need all this unnecessary drama from you trying to divert attention from the election and gain public sympathy.

From signing deals with shelf companies to detonating bombs at your rallies, we have had enough iwe mhani.

My fellow Zimbabweans, we should not let these clueless manipulative despotic tyrannical evil men play Russian roulette with our lives. Let us vote them out once and for all. I rest my case. This Mnangagwa