Non-constituency legislator Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga has described Herald journalist Zvamaida Murwira as sexist and said he and the paper must be charged with contempt of Parliament for misrepresenting what happened in Parliament on Tuesday.
She said Murwira wrote that she gave flowers to Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa for his sterling wok to try and steer the economy, when she gave the flowers to Chinamasa to pass on to Mrs Mhini for her work.
“Mr. Speaker, this is not only malicious but it is sexist in the highest order,” Misihairabwi-Mushonga said. “I will tell you why I think it is sexist. If you go into the entire article, this particular journalist makes a point of quoting every other person that he wants to write in his article and quotes them verbatim. Ironically, all these people that he quotes verbatim are males. He quotes Hon. Chakona, Hon. Maridadi and Hon. Chinotimba. When he comes to the reference about me, he deliberately puts a misrepresentation on what happened.”
“This cannot be a mistake. It is somebody who deliberately wants to undermine, not only the debate that is here and this is why I am standing up. If this had been any other political debate, in spite of the fact that I would have known that I am in the legal right, I would not have raised it in this manner. This is because I was raising something that some of us really think is fundamental and it is an issue of human dignity to quote yourself. I seriously think that he needs to be taken in for Contempt of Parliament. It is not new for that to happen Mr. Speaker.”
She cited the example of the Financial Gazette which she said was found to be in contempt of Parliament in November 2 000 when Emmerson Mnangagwa was Speaker.
“I am asking not only for the publication to be in contempt of Parliament. I am asking for the individual particular journalist to be in Contempt of Parliament. Section 21 of our Privileges and Immunities Act is very clear, that the offences that are defined in the Schedule of the Privileges and Immunities Act are an offence,” she said.
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