‘Power-hungry’ Chamisa warned against coup statements

by DANAI MWARUMBA
HARARE, (CAJ News) – THE Zimbabwean government has hinted at legal action if opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, advocates for the removal of President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

This follows Chamisa on Tuesday appearing to rally his supporters nationwide to unseat Mnangagwa.

He still claims he won the presidential election held on July 30, despite the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) declaring Mnangagwa the winner, an outcome also upheld by courts after Chamisa appealed.

“We won, but they (ZEC) announced something different,” Chamisa said at his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party headquarters in Harare.

He said the party would not wait for the next election in 2023 to assume power.

“Now, we are in the process of organising our supporters in the country so that we all have one aim, to say ‘what we voted for should be respected; the results that were announced are your own problem, but the vote of the people should be respected,” Chamisa said.

He continued, “The voters gave me the keys to State House, but the keys were stolen. We want our keys back. But for us to get these keys, we need strategic planning of the highest order so that we can do our things in peace and quiet.”

While Mnangagwa’s government has been tolerant and extended an olive branch to Chamisa, indications are that the administration’s patience is running thin.

“This country has a Constitution which says elections are held every five years and the Constitutional Court has confirmed that elections are over,” said ruling ZANU-PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo.

“If he (Chamisa) does not want to respect the Constitution, that is lawlessness as far as I am concerned,” Moyo added.

Earlier this week, Chamisa’s former colleagues in the MDC accused him of being power-hungry.

He seized power following the death of Morgan Tsvangirayi in February amid violence against co-deputy, Thokozani Khupe, who was legally the deceased’s successor.

– CAJ News