Zimbabwe Home Affairs Minister Kazembe Kazembe yesterday urged politicians not to clothe offences with political parties adding that despite concerted efforts to paint the country in bad light, Zimbabwe would never become ungovernable.
He said the country’s police will ensure that anyone who commits an offence is arrested and the law will take its course.
He was responding to a question in the Senate about what his ministry was doing in view of the violence that erupted in Chitungwiza following the death of Moreblessing Ali who is said to have been a Citizens Coalition for Change activist.
Police say her murder was not political and may have been a squabble between lovers.
Q &A:
HON. SEN. TONGOGARA: Thank you Mr. President. My question is directed to the Minister of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage. We are aware that you are responsible for law and order in the country but we saw in Chitungwiza people’s houses being burnt. People were going berserk on the streets. As the Minister responsible for law and order and our security in this country, is anything being done in terms of such an incident so that peace is maintained? I thank you Mr. President.
THE MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE (HON. KAZEMBE): Let me thank Hon. Sen. Tongogara for such a pertinent question that she has raised that as the Government of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage which is responsible for the police and maintenance of law and order and peace, what are we doing to ensure that such incidents do not reoccur. First and foremost Mr. President, it is something that we do not expect to happen from Zimbabwean citizens in a free and independent country with its own Constitution, as has been earlier on referred to by my colleague, the Hon. Minister.
Before I say where we are going, it is important to explain so that everyone gets to know where we are coming from or where we stand. As has been referred to by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, we have a problem with people that whenever there is an offence that is alleged to have been committed, they politicise the issue. An offence is just but an offence regardless the stature of the person, whether tall or short, thin or fat and belongs to a certain religion or any political party; that is neither here nor there. The law will take its own course. The people that were there have said this was a case between lovers which went bad and the offence will be treated just like that.
As leaders of political parties, I urge you not to clothe any offence that has been committed with a political party. The case is being investigated to get to the bottom of what happened. As has been correctly pointed out by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, whenever there is a gathering that is going to occur; as has been pointed out, we have people that have an anti-Zimbabwe agenda and that everyone should look down upon Zimbabwe and label us as the bad guys. They do it every year whenever there is an international gathering, whether it is the United Nations or anything. Before we get there, there will be allegations of abductions and certain things. The script is the same.
What I want the Zimbabwean citizens to know is that Zimbabwe is not a banana republic. Zimbabwe has its own laws. If there were others that used to do that and get away with it, that was in the past. Our Government and police force has people that do their work diligently. When I get to the question that Hon. Sen. Tongogara has asked, it is a case that is under investigation and we are not going to leave any stone unturned. We know that they are reading from the same script that they would want to cast Zimbabwe in bad light as a lawless nation.
We want to tell this House that the alleged offender who was a fugitive from justice as we speak now is now in police custody. The truth will come out and I will not go deeper into the case because it will now be appearing before the courts. The alleged murderer or suspect has now been arrested and is in the hands of the police. He is already giving a narration of what transpired. Hon. Sen. Tongogara and the Zimbabwean citizens should be free to live well because this country abides by the law. We have a police force that is responsible for law and order. This country will never become ungovernable. Those that committed arson, it does not matter whether they belong to any political party or whether they are tall or short, whoever falls foul of the law shall be arrested and the world over, we are renowned as police officers that do their work diligently.
We carry out our investigations with a tooth comb and 2023 is now by the corner. Everyone should go and freely vote. The President is on record urging everyone to ensure that we conduct free and fair elections that should be conducted peacefully. There are some that would want Zimbabwe to be painted as a bad and hence, they would want to incite outsiders or the international community. Those that have committed offences are going to be arrested. Any likeminded person who would want to commit such offences should know that the police will be out there. No one is above the law. I thank you.
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