By A Correspondent- MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has fired back at President Emmerson Mnangagwa and told the Zanu PFleader that the opposition would win the 2023 election and attain power contrary to the belief that the ruling ZANU PF will rule forever.
Chamisa told NewsDay that the era of leaders who abuse State institutions to stay in power illegally was over, warning President Emmerson Mnangagwa that opposition supporters would defend their vote against rigging.
He responded to Mnangagwa’s utterances in Mutare on Thursday, where he said recent events in Zambia where opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema won against incumbent President Edgar Lungu would not happen in Zimbabwe.
“That is Ian Smith’s not in a thousand years mentality.
No abuse of electoral bodies, police, military and intelligence services shall be accepted or tolerated. Our liberation struggle was about one-man-one-vote and we the people meaning power to the people. We are next (to) win Zimbabwe for change.
The people shall govern. In our own traditional wisdom, there is an idiom that says ubukhosi ngamazolo or ushe madzoro literally meaning that leadership occurs in turns. The era of strong men or those who refuse to go and abuse State institutions is over,”said Chamisa.
Mnangagwa told scores of people, including his supporters and government officials in Mutare during the commissioning of a Verify Engineering gas plant in Feruka that those wishing for an opposition victory in Zimbabwe were dreaming.
He spoke amid optimism that change was coming to Zimbabwe after Zambian opposition leader Hichilema of the United Party for National Development defeated Edgar Lungu of the Patriotic Front in elections held in Zambia on 12 August.
The former opposition leader will be sworn in on Tuesday in Lusaka, Zambia.
In Zimbabwe, the opposition has often said the ruling ZANU PF was manipulating election results to stay in power.
Chamisa rejected the outcome of the 2018 presidential election saying the ruling party in connivance with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, had manipulated results in favour of ZANU PF candidate, Emmerson Mnangagwa.