Movement for Democratic Change leader Nelson Chamisa has apologised for saying those who demonstrated on 1 August were stupid.
Six people were killed when the military were called in to restore order after the police had been overwhelmed.
The military has denied killing any of the people though post-mortem reports have said they died of gun-shot wounds.
“My remarks to condemn those who killed or injured the innocent, burnt cars & destroyed property on 1 August used ‘words’ that regrettably created the wrong impression. The people have a constitutional right to demonstrate peacefully. Any discomfort caused is sincerely regretted,” Chamisa tweeted.
Most of his followers accepted the apology saying some people that had killed 25 000(sic) had never apologised up to this day.
Tatenda Zuze, however, refused to accept the apology saying Chamisa was a sell-out. When “Chief Justice” objected, Zuze said: “What pains me the most is that, most of the people that protested were MDC supporters & the people that got shot & beaten up were ordinary civilians. For him to say that it was “stupid” for them to demand HIS result resulting in innocent blood being spilled shows he is a sellout.”
Chief Justice objected to Zuze calling the results “huis results” but Zuze responded: “Lol dude, you are captured hence you will always find ways to sanitize Chamisa’s actions. As for me I choose to be objective. Chamisa tweeted that he won the election and later deleted the tweet which inspired people to protest. And now he is calling them stupid?”
Addressing journalists yesterday Chamisa said he would not testify before the Kgalema Motlanthe Commission looking into the violence because the commission should never have been set up in the first place.
He said it would have been better to set up a commission to inquire into the disappearance of activist Itai Dzamara instead of the violence of 1 August because all that was needed was to know who deployed the military and who ordered them to shoot.
Dzamara disappeared in March 2015 and has not been heard of since.
“In terms of those who demonstrated, the police were there when the people were demonstrating. They must arrest whoever was there because they were with the people who were demonstrating,” Chamisa said.
“They must not even look at so and so inciting. How do you incite a person? In fact, how do I incite people on the 31st when I was waiting for elections elsewhere to hear the elections because I was really, and I was sure that they would declare the proper results and I was ready to go to State House?
“So how does a person who is ready to go to State House find time to incite people and mobilise people to go and burn cars of a country that you want to run. Why would I do that?
“This is actually you are talking about an election which has not been declared. Why would I even react because I don’t even know the election that will be announced?
“It was very stupid even for the people who demonstrated to demonstrate for the results to be released. It was stupid because they then opened themselves for attacks and for manipulation.
“I think whoever demonstrated, they have their right but I feel that it was not called for, and that’s my view. I am not insulting them but I have a right just like any other because it was premature, it was unstrategic and open to be manipulated by the enemies of the people and the enemies of peace, the merchants of violence, the archbishops of violence.”
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