By- Zanu PF in Harare has caused the arrest of the main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change, senior official Munyaradzi Kufahakutizwi, who was running as the party’s candidate for the Mabvuku-Tafara constituency in the 23-24 August 2023 harmonised elections.
Kufahakutizwi was arrested by the Police Tuesday and charged with assault and malicious property damage, according to Prosper Mkwananzi, the party’s spokesperson. Said Mkwananzi on X:
Alert: Hon @KufaMunyaof Mabvuku-Tafara constituency is currently held at Harare Central Police and will soon be taken to Rotten Row Magistrates Court on trumped-up charges of assault and malicious damage to property.
Kufahakutizwi who was elected Member of Parliament for Mabvuku-Tafara Constituency in the 23 August 2023 harmonised elections recently called on Zimbabweans to defend themselves against Zanu PF’s disregard for the constitution.
He was commenting on the High Court order which barred him from contesting in the Mabvuku-Tafara constituency by-election to fill the vacant post which became vacant when he was recalled from Parliament by Sengezo Tshabangu. He said:
They are squeezing us to the bone and pushing us towards a One-Party State.
We believe that they did this to attain a two-thirds majority so they amend the constitution and allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to be a life president.
As Zimbabweans, it is high time we stand up because we cannot continue being ruled by this heartless government. People are really angry.
They took away the life of an innocent pastor who was campaigning; if they had known that they would just take the seat they should have spared his life because now they have destroyed his family’s future.
He was referring to the murder of Tapfumaneyi Masaya, a clergyman and activist for the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party, who was abducted and later found dead in Harare. The CCC claims that Masaya suffered severe injuries and his body had decomposed due to the injection of a harmful substance.
Masaya was abducted while campaigning for Kufahakutizwi who had been recalled by Tshabangu who claims to be the CCC’s interim secretary-general.