Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Former Norton MP, Temba Mliswa has expressed anguish over the arrest of his 20-year-old daughter, m’Diwa Mliswa Chanetsa last week for possession of illegal drugs.
m’Diwa and her alleged accomplice, 27-year-old Tawanda Chigudu were nabbed in Avonlea, Harare, on 22 February 2024 after they were found in possession of methylenedioxymethamphetamine weighing approximately 1.30 grammes with a street value of ZWL$195 000.
Posting on social media site X, Mliswa urged parents to stand strong with their children and not abandon them in anger. He wrote:
One of my daughters, the 3rd born who stays with her mother, was arrested over a drug charge. I have made the tough decision to lay it out here for posterity, clarity and factuality to prevail before the issue is bastardized in the social fora.
She is a brilliant kid who has done well at school but in the past has refused to abide by the roadmap I apply to my other kids.
At 18 I sat her down on her plans but she refused it, even to stay with me. This isn’t to blame her mother but to reveal how she is as a child.
Being an advocate against drug abuse and a parent again it could be a frustrating time. However, I reiterate my position that drugs are bad and we have to fight them.
If it requires arresting culprits then so be it as it may be one way to save them from themselves.
The penalties for those who sell, even politicians, should even be stiffer as they endanger other people.
Peddling drugs should be equated with attempted murder as the path of drug use is one highway to death. I have seen children in a mess because of drug use.
I commend the ZRP for a job well done in dealing with the drug problem. For her, I hope this may be the Damascene moment from which she emerges changed and ready to be transformed.
I will continue supporting her as my daughter and pray that she sees the light away from this path.
If she is a victim of friends then she must find new companions. Rehabilitation may be the way to salvation after this.
This is tough love I’m giving as I believe massaging one when they are into drugs can be ultimately fatal in the long run.
I have worked with organisations such as FASAA which rehabilitate victims and understand the need to be both loving and tough to salvage a victim.
I’m a parent not just to my children but to many others in the community. Thus my message and position remain the same.
We have to be strong against drug and substance abuse. Even as a public person I won’t abuse the access I have to many people and offices to subvert the path of the law but will allow it to work and rehabilitate her to emerge a better person.
I have seen children in a mess because systems were not allowed to function in their proper manner.
As parents, we need to stand strong with our children neither abandoning them in anger nor suffocating them with excessive love. We have to tread the path with love and principles.
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