Chamisa says he has no regrets about saying he can marry his sister off to Mnangagwa

Movement for Democratic Change Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa has once again put his supporters in a corner when he said he had no regrets about saying he can marry his sister off to Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front leader Emmerson Mnangagwa if Mnangagwa wins 5 percent of the vote in the coming polls, if they are fair and free.

Chamisa told party supporter in the United Kingdom at the weekend: “Ngwena tikaita election iri fair and free, akawana five percent ndinondomupa kana sisi vangu. Ndina sisi vakaita 18 manje manje vari kutsvaka murume. Akaigona Ngwena ndinondomuti huya utore sisi vangu ivavo.”

Although the people listening to him cheered him up, some argued that his statement was sexist.

His supporters argued that this was said as a figure of speech to emphasize that there was no way Mnangagwa would get 5 percent or win the coming elections.

“We will not be distracted by partisan distortion, exaggeration and outright fiction. We note with concern the political spin of a hyperbolic statement made by President Nelson Chamisa at a U.K rally by political mal-contents who wish to abuse public sentiment for selfish end and for their political expediency,” said one group of Chamisa’s supporters.

“We wish to clarify to the public that President Chamisa’s statement was taken literally when it was intended to be a hyperbole. In a very clear statement, President Chamisa said that if the impossible situation of Mnangagwa getting 5% in a free and fair election happens he will also do the unthinkable of marrying off his sister. In this way, he is implying that both are unimaginable and unacceptable things.”

But Chamisa himself told the British Broadcasting Corporation today that he was struggling to see what he did wrong.

“What's disrespectful? She is the one who is looking for a husband. She is my sister, there is no sexism there. As far as I am concerned, it is part of our culture. When your sister is about to get married, as a brother you must help her," he said.

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