OUTSPOKEN Zanu PF Buhera South MP, Joseph Chinotimba Tuesday called for the arrest of MDC-Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa alleging that he continued to call for renewed sanctions against the country.
During a heated debate in Parliament in which he teared into Chamisa accusing him of destroying Zimbabwe by allegedly calling for sanctions in the opposition leader’s recent foreign trips. However, Chinotimba’s speech was drowned by MDC Alliance MPs who booed him.
“Nyika yaita mamvemve (This country has gone to the dogs). A senior politician (not named) goes to United States of America, Britain and Germany calling for sanctions,” Chinotimba said in Parliament.
Chamisa has recently been on what he calls a diplomatic offensive, which has seen him travelling to Sweden, Germany and the UK. “Time has come for a law to be passed in Parliament to prosecute anyone who calls for sanctions. Why do people vote for such a person?
“Authorities in this country must investigate this matter,” said Chinotimba.This drew a lot of criticism from MDC MPs who felt their president was being attacked by Chinotimba. The Buhera South MP appeared infuriated by a 13-second video that has since gone viral on social media in which Chamisa seems to be saying he recently visited some Western countries to call for more sanctions to be imposed on Zimbabwe.
“Why would one opt to concentrate on a 13 second-clip rather than watching the whole clip?” Binga North MP Prince Dubeko Sibanda asked Chinotimba while defending Chamisa. This is not the first time that Zanu PF politicians have called for new law to prosecute people who call for the imposition of sanctions against Zimbabwe
On a point of privilege Madam Speaker, I think we have come to a point where Parliament should do its job. This country is now in tatters because of some people. To be honest with you, a senior who was once a Parliamentarian left Zimbabwe and went to Germany, Britain and America to ensure that this country suffers economically. We have been quiet but it is now time that we come up with legislation with a mandatory sentence for people who go out of the country and advocate for sanctions that economically harm the nation to be arrested. People are suffering and they are living in poverty yet they are the same people who are supposed to vote for them. It is time that as authorities of this nation we interrogate these issues, especially countries like America
We go about and say we want free and fair elections when free and fair elections were not done by the opposition party. She (Khupe) was harassed as the Vice President of the MDC, now she does not move freely because she is afraid."Buhera South MP Joseph Chinotimba has accused MDC-T President Nelson Chamisa of lacking sincerity in his demands for the Zanu PF led administration to deliver clean polls when the latter had stampeded party Vice President Thokozani Khupe off the MDC-T top job.The Zanu PF legislator also slammed the opposition for being too fixated with how the public media covered elections while withholding the same scrutiny on private media.
