Chamisa inauguration postponed- MDC accuses government of abusing cholera epidemic for political purposes

The Movement for Democratic Change’s 19 anniversary celebrations scheduled for tomorrow, at which party leader Nelson Chamisa was expected to be inaugurated as the people’s president, have been postponed because of the cholera outbreak in the capital which has so far killed 25 people.

MDC spokesman Jacob Mafume, however, accused the government of abusing the cholera outbreak for political purposes arguing that the ban of the commemoration was not out of genuine concern of the spread of the cholera outbreak.

He said this was demonstrated by the fact that the government had declared a “fake” state of emergency as this had not been gazetted.

Mafume said police issued the party with permission to hold the anniversary only to withdraw it after seeing record street crowds that lined the streets of Glen View to greet Chamisa.

“The government cannot claim an epidemic that affects only specific events. If this is truly a serious situation, it would be important to close all areas where large crowds meet, including schools, football matches etc,” he said.

“The deployment of military helicopters yesterday indicates that the government is more concerned about politics than it is about Cholera.”

A graduation that was supposed to take place at the University of Zimbabwe today was also postponed indefinitely.

When Chamisa visited Glen View on Wednesday he said “My visit to Glen view left me so harassed and challenged. The scale of the cholera crisis is severe. A collective national approach is necessary to contain and stop any loss of life.”

Several companies and international relief agencies have joined in the fight against the outbreak.

The country’s largest mobile phone network, Econet, has contributed $10 million.

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