VICE-PRESIDENT Constantino Chiwenga was yesterday taken to task by Roman Catholic bishops, who demanded answers over the recent military crackdown, which claimed 12 lives following bloody clashes between citizens and State security agents.
The prolonged blitz, which followed a stayaway organised by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) two weeks ago, put the country back into the international limelight as pictures and videos of the military and police brutalising people went viral on social media platforms before government shut down the Internet.
Chiwenga, who was accompanied by Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri and Central Intelligence Organisation director-general Isaac Moyo, to a meeting held at Africa Synod offices in Harare, was grilled by the church leaders, who demanded to know what caused the recent protests as well as the state of the economy.
Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference secretary-general Reverend Father Fredrick Chiromba said the church quizzed Chiwenga and his delegation on what provoked the protests.
“We wanted to get an understanding on the current situation, what we need to do as a nation, things like national cohesion,” he told NewsDay Weekender.
“I wouldn’t want to get into details at this stage, but it was about getting clarification. In fact, we will be engaging further on these issues. It is the beginning of a process that I wouldn’t want to pre-empt at the moment. It was simply to get an understanding on what provoked this situation and get answers why we are where we are and moving on, how government and the church can collaborate so that we move beyond this situation to a Zimbabwe we want.”
Two weeks ago, violent protests erupted in the country following the decision by government to hike the price of fuel by 150%.
At least 12 people were killed by security forces, while more than 70 had gunshot wounds.
