We would like to initially commend and applaud the work that is being done by our Members of Parliament in one of the theatres of the struggle, in this instance the Parliament. We have seen our MDC legislators holding to account and exposing massive corruption loosely practised by particularly one of the branches of the State, the Executive, led by Zanu PF President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.

Notwithstanding this apparent set back, MDC MPs have maintained an unparalleled decorum, strongly standing against the threats to recognise Mnangagwa as the people’s elected President. The MDC maintain unequivocally that Mnangagwa’s presidency is a product of the 2018 Constitutional Court ruling not the people’s outright will.

This has been evinced by gross insubordination by many with the factional ridden Zanu pf. Mnangagwa continues to even lose more and more essential-people support on his side, that would allow him to stubbornly hold on to power.

Unmindful to the reality of majority Zimbabwean voters, having put their trust in the youthful MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa, Mnangagwa shamelessly continues to trudge against the tide of a collapsing economy, unemployment and rampant corruption among his rank.

It’s non debatable, as the manifestation that the ‘power’ handed over to him by hugely ‘compromised’ ConCourt judges gives Mnangagwa the conference, despite the country perrenially descending into the abyss, wherever one looks.

But what Chief Justice Luke Malaba and his entire ConCourt did for this country was to set us as a people on the road to a legimacy crisis. But the Zanu PF President thinks the crisis can easily be wished away. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Meanwhile, Zanu PF thinks it has a strategy to bury the illegitimacy crisis it has plunged the country into by refocusing our attention as a country away from the bread and butter issues.

For instance, the recent summoning of MDC Alliance youthful MP, Hon Godfree Sithole, by the Privileges and Parliamentary Committee to investigate him on alleged acts of misconduct vindicates our suspicion of the desperation the Zanu PF government is currently entangled in.

In other jurisdictions like neighbouring South Africa, the Julius Malema-led opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party has done ‘worse’ things in Parliament, but nothing drastic has ever been done against them, an indication of the mature democracy the country is enjoying.

We would like to put it on record and tell the Zanu PF-led government to stop abusing MDC Alliance MPs but rather focus on nation building.

Ian Sean Hamandishe
MDC National Deputy Secretary for constitutional and Parliamentary Affairs