Mphoko says he does not know why soldiers and police are fighting- maybe it is over uniforms

Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko yesterday said he did not know why soldiers and the police were fighting in the capital but most fights even in people’s homes were due to attitudes.

“Maybe it is because someone thinks his uniform is more beautiful than that of the other but politically people do fight,” Mphoko who is also the Minister of National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation said in the Senate yesterday. 

“Fighting, my sister Hon. Sen. Ncube, is caused by people who think they are better than others in their parties.  I know Hon. Sen. Komichi used to fight a lot. 

“Yes, we are politicians but if we take it beyond this, we should not think that we are better than the others.  The problem is not in the Ministry but in us.”

Soldiers and police clashed in the capital this week but there has been no official explanation of what the fight was about.

Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi told Parliament on Wednesday he would only be able to explain the clashes after getting reports from the police and the army.

Whispers, however, say the fights are political and were sparked by sentiments at the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front rally at Chinhoyi over the weekend.

Q & A

*HON. SEN. KOMICHI: I am very grateful for the presence of Hon. Vice President Mphoko in this House.  We welcome you Hon. Member especially coming from the Ministry of National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation. In this country, we have people who are enemies and are always fighting.  There are also tensions within these people.  So, I would want to find out what you are doing as a Ministry to create peace and order in the country so that the next general elections will be held peacefully?

THE VICE PRESIDENT AND MINISTER OF NATIONAL HEALING, PEACE AND RECONCILIATION (HON. MPHOKO):  I would like to thank the Hon. Member for his question.  Your question is about children fighting at home.  These are attitudes because fighting comes from attitudes.  I will give you an example where members of one family belonged to two different political parties.  There were two guys from the Mvenge family.  One was in ZAPU and the other was in ZANU.  These two brothers would go their separate ways to their parties and come back home under one roof.  There was no fighting whatsoever until one of them died because of a car accident.  Fighting is caused by attitudes.

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