Politics

Zimbabwe: Tension in court as Police arraign opposition MP, Costa Machingauta, others after raid

Published

1 year ago

January 17, 2023

The Police in Zimbabwe have arraigned Zimbabwean opposition activists, including a lawmaker arrested at the weekend when the MP’s home was raided.

The political activists are seeking bail in court after last week’s raid by the police.

Their party, Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) confirmed that Riot police stormed the home of the politician who was allegedly molested with his wife and their 17-year-old daughter was beaten by police at their home in the suburb of Budiriro, south of Harare.

Spokeswoman of the party, Fadzayi Mahere. “We are continuing to see an escalation of political violence… It’s an arrest that was calculated to persecute our members.”

“We want elections, we don’t want war. This doe not bode well for a free and fair election,” she told reporters outside the court.

The hearing was marked by a media blackout as the country gears up for crunch national elections expected later this year. A tense atmosphere prevailed at the magistrates court in the capital Harare where journalists were harassed and most barred from covering proceedings by armed anti-riot police officers.

Reporters at the scene say officers armed with AK47 assault rifles, teargas canisters, and batons shoved reporters away, with one ordering them to “leave the court building or get injured”.

The media watchdog MISA-Zimbabwe, police should “not selectively apply their directives to some journalists while excluding others.”

The Law Society of Zimbabwe said in a statement, said the attack is “a new low for Zimbabwe and we are deeply disappointed that of all people, the police who have a constitutional obligation to protect the rights of all citizens have taken a front row seat to violating the same.”

The government recently approved a proposed law that will punish ‘unpatriotic” citizens who criticises the government in what opposition figures.

Related Topics:Costa Machingauta Featured Zimbabwe

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Politics

Mozambique: Ruling FRELIMO announces Chapo as presidential candidate

Published

6 hours ago

May 7, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Daniel Chapo has announced that he will run for president in the October election on behalf of the ruling FRELIMO party in Mozambique.

Since achieving independence in 1975, FRELIMO has ruled the nation in southern Africa, and the party is hoping that Chapo can lead it to another win in the election on October 9.

“The soap opera of speculation is over, including speculation about the third term,” President Filipe Nyusi said on state television on Sunday, dismissing the prospect of contesting elections again.

“We must all unite around comrade Daniel Francisco Chapo, in the demanding march towards electoral victory next October,” Nyusi said.

The president of Mozambique is limited to two terms of five years by the constitution. Nevertheless, following his reelection as party leader in 2022, there had been conjecture in the media that Nyusi may run for a third term.

Chapo, a relatively unknown person in national politics, is the governor of the province of Inhambane in southern Mozambique. As to the party announcement, he secured 225 votes (about 94%) from the central committee of the party.

“We are going to work with all social strata,” Chapo said on television after his win.

Chapo, a former radio host, was born in 1977, making him the first candidate for FRELIMO to be born since the nation gained its independence.

He has served in many governmental capacities, most notably as an administrator of the districts of Nacala and Palma. He also has a master’s degree in development management and a law degree.

Politics

Again, Rwanda denies it attacked displaced persons in DR Congo

Published

3 days ago

May 4, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

For the sixteenth time, Rwanda refuted US charges on Saturday that its troops attacked a camp for internally displaced persons in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), placing the blame instead on militants it claimed were backed by the military of the Congo.

The US State Department released a statement in which it vehemently denounced the incident that claimed at least nine lives on Friday.

There have been persistent accusations against Rwanda of providing support to the armed organizations, which has resulted in diplomatic tensions between the neighbours in East Africa.

Citing the threat that Rwanda’s surface-to-air missile systems posed to civilians, U.N. and other regional peacekeepers, aid workers, and commercial aircraft operating in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the US demanded in February that Rwanda remove its systems and all of its armed forces from the DRC immediately. Rwanda denies providing any assistance to the rebels.

According to the U.S. statement, the M23 rebel group, which Rwanda supports, and the Rwandan Defense Forces (RDF) held the positions from which the attack was launched. The United States is “gravely concerned about the recent RDF and M23 expansion” in eastern Congo.

Speaking on behalf of the Rwandan government, Yolande Makolo refuted claims that the RDF was responsible for the attack, blaming instead rebels backed by the Congolese military.

“The RDF, a professional army, would never attack an IDP (displaced persons). Look to the lawless FDLR and Wazalendo supported by the FARDC (Congolese military) for this kind of atrocity,” she said in a post on X.

Wazalendo is a Christian sect, while the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) is a Hutu organization that was founded by Hutu officials who left Rwanda after planning the 1994 genocide.

Thousands of people from the surrounding areas have fled to Goma in eastern Congo as a result of the M23 rebels’ two-year offensive, which has advanced toward the city in recent months.