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We know Chamisa more than you do- Charamba tells Mkwananzi and Ostallos

Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesman George Charamba has posted a loaded statement on his twitter handle saying that they know more about Citizens Coalition for Change leader Nelson Chamisa than his two spokesmen, Promise Mkwananzi and Ostallos Siziba. 

Charamba was commenting on statements by Mkwananzi and Siziba rubbishing the call by Roman Catholic priest Father Fidelis Mukonori on Chamisa to concede defeat and talk to Mnangagwa so that the country can move forward. He did not elaborate on what little more they knew about Chamisa.

Mukonori was quoted by the State-owned media as saying that it took wisdom and courage for one to accept defeat.

Chamisa was beaten by Mnangagwa in last month’s elections but has rejected the results claiming that he won but was robbed. He is calling for fresh elections and the establishment of a transitional authority to run the country pending the elections.

Mukonori was quoted as saying:”It is essential, the two to sit down and discuss. Discussions are more difficult than toy-toying on the streets and it will get people killed. They are more difficult because they require thinking and it is an exercise which has no text book and thinking requires someone who has to know how to think.” 

But what irked Mkwananzi and Siziba was Mukonori’s statement that Mnangagwa won the elections and Chamisa should now seek ways to engage him.

“We need that humility. It is only a lawyer who is called an educated person but there has to be a display to say indeed we are learned and therefore let us sit down and discuss.  I believe it is necessary, it is not too late to request the two sides, the winner and loser to say please can you sit down and discuss. There is a need for serious discussion,” Mukopnori said. 

Mkwanazi, who is on the run as he is wanted by the police for offences dating back to 2019, rubbished the statement by Mukonori saying he was partisan as he had sided with Mnangagwa in the 2017 “coup” which saw Mnangagwa taking over from former President Robert Mugabe.

Noting the statement from Father Mukonori, it is essential to put things into perspective before responding to his call. While Father Mukonori, has for years been a respected Father figure of the church in Zimbabwe, his conspicuous role in the events that led to the deposing of President Robert Mugabe through a coup by Mr. Mnangagwa diminished his societal standing and respect he once enjoyed,” Mkwananzi said.

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Charles Rukuni

The Insider is a political and business bulletin about Zimbabwe, edited by Charles Rukuni. Founded in 1990, it was a printed 12-page subscription only newsletter until 2003 when Zimbabwe's hyper-inflation made it impossible to continue printing.

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