Politics

Zimbabwe: Body of opposition activist, Masaya found after abduction

Published

1 year ago

November 14, 2023

Zimbabwe’s opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has confirmed that abducted activist, Tapfumaneyi Masaya has been found dead.

Masaya was kidnapped on Saturday after being bundled into a vehicle by unknown men while campaigning just outside Harare, in what was the second high-profile abduction in weeks of an opposition party member. Two weeks ago, armed men kidnapped, tortured, and dumped CCC lawmaker Takudzwa Ngadziore approximately 50 km north of Harare.

Political activists have been killed and disappeared from Zimbabwe for a very long time; this history dates back to the 1980s, and the ruling ZANU-PF party has frequently been accused by the opposition of torturing its activists and causing their deaths.

The party’s spokesperson, Promise Mkwananzi told journalists on Tuesday that Masaya was tortured and dumped on the outskirts of Harare. His body was later moved to a mortuary at Parirenyatwa Hospital, about 5 kilometres from central Harare, where it was identified by CCC members who had been searching for him.

“We urge the police to do their work and ensure that all these abductors are promptly and effectively brought to justice,” said Mkwananzi.

Meanwhile, the police said an investigation had been launched after a body was discovered in the vicinity where the CCC said Masaya was found, but that the victim’s identity was yet to be established.

In a recent dispute with the ruling party, opposition parties had faulted the election that gave President Emmerson Mnangagwa a second term in August. Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the CCC, called the voting exercise a “gigantic fraud,” but the ruling ZANU-PF party refuted the accusations.

Related Topics:Featured Tapfumaneyi Masaya Zimbabwe

Click to comment

Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

1 day ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.

Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

2 days ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.