Africa Press-Nigeria:<\/p>\n
OUTSPOKEN Zanu PF politburo member and ex-war veterans minister Tshinga Dube has condemned the alleged abduction and torture on three opposition activists saying the acts unnecessarily gave the country a bad name in the eyes of the outside world.<\/p>\n
He was referring to the Wednesday incident in which MDC Alliance MP, Joanna Mamombe, activists Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova were seized by alleged state security agents to be subjected to horrendous abuses.<\/p>\n
The three were being accused of attempts to topple the Zanu PF led government after they had joined other party activists to stage a flash anti-government protest in Harare\u2019s Warren Park suburb moments before.<\/p>\n
They later recounted tales of both physical and sexual abuse encountered at the hands of their captors including sexual harassment.<\/p>\n
The incident comes on the heels of another widely condemned savage police attack on two Bulawayo sisters for violating the lockdown regulations.<\/p>\n
Dube, who has just published a book in which he pours out on how the country has been misgoverned in the past, said it was unheard of for a society to brutalise its mothers and sisters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t do that to our women. They are our mothers,\u201d said the ex-military Colonel in an exclusive interview with NewZimbabwe.com.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll these things don\u2019t work well before the international community.\u201d<\/p>\n
While government has pleaded for time to allow the police to carry out investigations to establish what happened to the MDC officials, Dube said the damage has already been done.<\/p>\n
\u201cGiving time for the police to investigate does not change the perception of the people who have already got the news,\u201d said Dube, who once told ex-President Robert Mugabe it was time to leave his job.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor instance, I was going through the internet. I also saw some two women who were thoroughly beaten by policemen for nothing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey (police) gave the excuse that they had broken the lockdown rules. But it\u2019s not right. You can put them in prison if they are not able to pay fines.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we must actually know is that an image of a country is built on various things that happen in that country.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey won\u2019t show a beautiful side of Harare in other countries. They will just show those people lying in hospital after being beaten up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The ex-Zanu PF legislator for Makokoba implored government not to view the opposition as an enemy but embrace divergent views for purposes of development.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should not look at an opposition as an enemy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can give an example of a country like Botswana. They have had an opposition for more than 60 years. So, let them be. After all different opinions are always constructive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe never thought we will beat each other and these things that are happening now are just very unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Africa Press-Nigeria: OUTSPOKEN Zanu PF politburo member and ex-war veterans minister Tshinga Dube has condemned the alleged abduction and torture on three opposition activists saying the acts unnecessarily gave the country a bad name in the eyes of the outside world. He was referring to the Wednesday incident in which MDC Alliance MP, Joanna Mamombe, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":23247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[38,88],"class_list":{"0":"post-23244","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-parties","9":"tag-zanu-pf","10":"tag-mdc"},"yoast_head":"\n