Zimbabwe Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo today said it was unthinkable that the government could be involved in abductions of its citizens at the very time it is sprucing up the country’s image.
In a statement following the alleged abduction of Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association president Peter Magombeyi on Saturday, Moyo said the government found it “very curious that whenever there is an impending international gathering or a high profile visit to Zimbabwe, these criminal acts are always perpetrated on our innocent citizens”.
He said the country was gripped with numerous abductions of its citizens just before the Southern African Development Community summit in Dar-es-Salaam last month “by people whose aim we can only believe was to tarnish the image of the country regionally, continentally and internationally”.
“We have no doubt that the latest abduction of Dr. Peter Magombeyi was meant to coincide with the visit to Zimbabwe by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association,” Moyo said.
“The Special Rapporteur, Mr. Clement Nyaletsossi Voule will be in the country from today until 27 September 2019 on a fact-finding mission.
“In addition to this high-profile visit, the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly also kicks off in New York today. “
Moyo said these two events provided an opportune time for the detractors of the New Dispensation to soil the country’s image.
Magombeyi’s alleged abduction has indeed been roundly condemned locally, regionally and internationally.
“As the government continues to spruce-up the country’s image, it is unthinkable that any of its security agencies would be involved in such blatant criminal acts,” Moyo said.
“The visit by the United Nations Special Rapporteur was at the invitation of the Government way back in November 2018 as we feel we have nothing to hide.”
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