MDC sets record straight on why it is not participating in the Motlanthe Commission of inquiry

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change has issued a length statement on why it is not participating in the Commission of Inquiry into the 1 August violence which is headed by former South African President Kgalema Motlanthe.

It says it was invited to make written, as opposed to oral submissions to the Commission of Inquiry.

“That was totally unacceptable to us as it amounted to giving evidence in private. However, regardless of these preliminary misgivings, the party leadership met in October to deliberate on the role and work of the commission and took a well-considered and informed decision not to participate in the proceedings,” the party said.

It says it regarded the Commission of Inquiry as a perpetuation of the fruitless and wasteful expenditure characteristic of the ZANU-PF government which has brought untold suffering to our people.

“In any case there is a constitutional commission in the form of the NPRC whose terms of references are dependent on the constitution not a conflicted individual,” the party said.

Below is the full statement:

15 November 2018

1) Introduction

The Movement for Democratic Change has been following political and economic events in the country. Among other ills, we note with concern the unpalatable suffering of the masses, price hikes and currency shortages. Drugs are now either being sold in US dollars or are unavailable.

Shortages continue unabated and the government continues to intensify the suffering of people by imposing heavy, unjustified taxes.

Further to that, we have noted events at the commission of inquiry into the murder of innocent and unarmed civilians on the 1st of August 2018.

Given the clear constitutional provisions governing the deployment of armed forces in Zimbabwe, the Commission of Inquiry was largely unnecessary. The answers are clearly located in the President’s office. The testimonies of some of the leaders’ of our State institutions have exposed to the world the absolute disregard of the truth on their part.

This is, however, common in largely corrupt, irresponsible and unaccountable governance systems worldwide.

It appears to us that these leaders seem to have temporarily forgotten that these events took place in the full glare of the public and received comprehensive, fair, balanced and uncompromised reporting from the local and international media.

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