LEGAL think-tank, Veritas yesterday said the now infamous fuel price hike announced by government a fortnight ago was illegal as the prices were fixed by Energy minister Joram Gumbo instead of the fuel sector regulator as per law.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced the new prices nearly two weeks ago, torching countrywide protests that lasted the whole of last week. The protests resulted in the deaths of 12 people, according to lawyers and human rights groups, while 78 were treated for gunshot wounds and over 700 arrested as State security agents clamped down on the alleged violent protesters.
Veritas said SI 10 of 2019 was in contravention of the Petroleum Act as the new fuel prices were illegally fixed by the Energy minister instead of the Zimbabwe Energy Regulatory Authority (Zera).
Mutseyami said the meeting would discuss several issues affecting the country, and thereafter, a statement would be issued pertaining to what the MDC MPs would have discussed as the way forward.
He said the MPs that have been arrested so far included Amos Chibaya (Mkoba), Settlement Chikwinya (Mbizo), Winnie Kankuni (Sunningdale), Lloyd Mukapiko (Redcliff), Rusty Markham (Harare North) and Livingston Chimina (Chiwundura).
The MDC chief whip said several legislators, including leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Tabitha Khumalo, Godfrey Sithole (Chitungwiza North), Job Sikhala (Zengeza West), Maxwell Mavhunga (Chitungwiza South), Chalton Hwende (Kuwadzana East), Happymore Chidziva (Highfield West), Joana Mamombe (Harare West) and Mashonaland West Senator Voice Chinake, were in hiding.
“Those that have been arrested are going through trauma and have no access to food or hospitals. Our caucus meeting will map the way forward and thereafter, we will issue a Press statement. We appeal to our legislators to try to make it to Harare,” Mutseyami said.
“The relatives of those MPs that are in hiding have also suffered a lot, with their mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers being tortured to force them to disclose their whereabouts. We are under siege as MDC Alliance members, although these demonstrations were not organised by us.
“But we are genuinely with the people and send our condolences to families of those that were killed during the demonstrations. We are terribly sorry for the unjustified deaths because loss of life is the worst thing that can happen in a democracy.”
Government and the Zanu PF party have sought to pin the violence on the opposition party, despite several of its officials, a senior army and police officer being arrested for burning buses, looting, violence and leading the protests.
“These arrests are a clear clampdown on our party for no reason. It is problematic because one of our top members [Chibaya] has been arrested and we do not know how far to the top [echelons of the party] they want to go because, clearly, they are determined to extinguish the party,” MDC spokesperson Jacob Mafume said.
“It is clear that this is a strategy to just weaken the MDC,” he said, adding that they would then force them into a false interparty dialogue. The issue in Zimbabwe has nothing to do with MDC, but they are conveniently roping in the MDC because they are so scared of the MDC, they are so afraid of MDC and they literally see the MDC in everything.
“There is persecution, which is in violation of the fundamental rights of the Constitution. They have arrested over 800 people from the structures and in some cases, it’s not even the police, it’s Zanu PF activists literally leading police officers to say go and arrest there, yet it’s common cause that the people who reigned terror in Harare included Zanu PF youths.”
Khumalo yesterday petitioned Speaker Advocate Jacob Mudenda expressing her concern over persecution of MDC Alliance legislators by State security agents.
“I write this letter as the leader of the main opposition in the Parliament of Zimbabwe to express my disappointment and concern over the wanton and unwarranted arrests and persecution of MDC Alliance Members of Parliament by various State agents … our legislators have been arrested on trumped-up charges and a number of them are being hunted and victimised for their MDC membership,” she wrote.
