. . . disowns hooligans, blames partners
IN a dramatic turn of events, MDC-Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa, who has been priming his supporters to engage in acts of violence if he loses elections has disowned rowdy activists who wreaked havoc leading to loss of life in Harare’s Central Business District yesterday.
In a telephone conversation with ZANU-PF secretary for Administration and Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Dr Obert Mpofu yesterday, Mr Chamisa said the hooligans were not members of his party and “we did not arrange that as a party.”
Mr Chamisa said the police should arrest “those people”.
Dr Mpofu called Mr Chamisa after the hooligans went on overdrive, destroying property in Harare and attacking the ZANU-PF headquarters and the revolutionary party’s Harare provincial offices where they torched vehicles and destroyed campaign banners.
In an audio conversation in possession of The Herald, Dr Mpofu could be heard trying to persuade Mr Chamisa to restrain his supporters and stop the provocations.
In his response, Mr Chamisa vehemently disowned the hooligans.
“I am talking to you as the leader of our main opposition and I am appealing to you,” said Dr Mpofu in the conversation.
Mr Chamisa responded: “What are they doing?”
To which Dr Mpofu responded: “They are destroying vehicles inside ZANU-PF headquarters (and) how do you expect us to react?”
Mr Chamisa then said: “ZANU-PF headquarters? Are they MDC people?”
Dr Mpofu said: “VaChamisa you know the respect I have for you. This is unacceptable. The problem is your people have besieged our head office, they have besieged roads, they have stopped vehicles from moving and they are being violent destroying vehicles in the ZANU-PF headquarters yard and as I speak they are there.”
Without mincing his words, Mr Chamisa boldly declared: “But why don’t you just ask the police to arrest those people.”
Dr Mpofu said: “You want us to move, because we have been restraining action since morning so if you say go ahead I am going ahead.”
Again Mr Chamisa repeatedly denied any link with the hooligans saying: “You know what Baba Mpofu, I have no link with those people.
“If they are doing whatever they are doing its criminal and has to be treated as criminal.”
In the same conversation, Dr Mpofu could be heard explaining to Mr Chamisa that there were people walking up and down, towards HICC and ZANU-PF while throwing stones, destroying banners and vehicles.
Asked if he was certain that they were MDC-Alliance, Dr Mpofu said: “Whoever it is we are going to move now. They are wearing MDC regalia and chanting MDC slogans and saying things in favour of you.”
Mr Chamisa said he checked with his party structures and was informed that they had not planned an event.
“I don’t know who those people are, but I am also going to check with Harare province,” he said.
“I have checked with structures in Harare. ‘Have you ever organised a meeting or an activity in Harare’ and they said ‘no’. I called the office and they said we are just working on the collation of the results.”
Mr Chamisa’s responses were not in conformity with his campaign message which was characterised with undertones of violence. In one of some of his inciting messages during his campaign, Mr Chamisa said: ““Hakudyiwi rinopisa muno . . . mukaita zvokutamba ndinodira jecha muupfu, hamuridyi sadza iroro.”
In another message during a press conference Mr Chamisa said: “We have the capacity to take instruments of violence, but that is not in our DNA.
“Our DNA is peace and working together. If they rig or cheat, they will face the music that they must know, it is not a threat, but a good promise of exercising our instruments of peace to make sure that we are able to move together as a country, so that we build a one united nation.”
In one of his tweets Mr Chamisa said: “Zec seeks to release results to buy time and reverse the people’s presidential election victory.
“The strategy is meant to prepare Zim mentally to accept fake presidential results.
“We’ve more votes than ED. We won the popular vote and we will defend it!”