Prev: MDC-T pins hopes on Sadc summit
Next: Jorges fantastic motor/generator
From: as on 13 Aug 2010 05:00
Outreach suspended over war vets� terror in Masvingo

http://www.thestandard.co.zw

Wednesday, 11 August 2010 15:27

WAR veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda allegedly brewed violence in
Bikita
South on Friday, stalling the constitution outreach process.
MDC-T officials said 10 meetings to gather villagers� views on the
constitution had to be suspended following Sibanda�s activities in the
area.

�Jabulani Sibanda addressed a meeting in the morning at Mashoko centre
where
he used inflammatory language including threats that the country can go
back
to June 27, 2008,� MDC-T Zaka legislator Harrison Mudzuri said.

�Later in the evening, the homestead of MDC-T youth chairman David
Hollman
was burnt down.�
The violence unleashed by the war veterans ahead of the ill-fated
presidential runoff left about 200 MDC-T supporters dead and thousands
displaced.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai was forced to pull-out of the election
leaving President Robert Mugabe to run alone.

Sibanda is alleged to have told Bikita villagers that the MDC-T must be
punished for calling for sanctions.
MDC-T spokesperson Nelson Chamisa yesterday said Sibanda should be
arrested.

�The police should immediately arrest Jabulani,� he said. �They should
not
sit back and watch such elements committing crimes with impunity,�
Chamisa
said.
�Fighting in the liberation struggle is not a licence to persecute
villagers.�
But a laughing Sibanda yesterday said he was shocked that anyone would
link
his activities to criminality.
He said the meetings held in Bikita were part of a war veterans�
programme
to engage citizens which has been going on for a long time now.

�We never intimidate anyone in the meetings and we have no hand
whatsoever
in the burning down of homesteads,� he said. �Our meetings are for
unity as
they bring together people from various parties.

�Nobody in this country is uniting the people like us and at the
meeting
which is now being linked to violence, we had two MDC-T MPs who sat
through
the meeting and left after the closing prayer without any intimidation.
They even gave a lift to some of the participants.�
He said the war veterans� meetings were for uniting the people against
colonialists.

The meetings were put on hold on Friday because of the Heroes� holidays
and
will resume this week, he said.
The incident followed another in which the process was shelved in
Manicaland
after a Zanu PF outreach team leader caused the arrest of an MDC-M
rapporteur following a disagreement.

Constitution Parliament Committee (Copac) co-chairperson Douglas
Mwonzora
(MDC-T) confirmed receiving both reports and said the police and Zanu
PF
should intervene and stop the new wave of political criminality
threatening
to destabilise the process.

�I have discussed this issue with my co-chairpersons and we are agreed
that
Sibanda should be unconditionally removed from Masvingo as his presence
in
the province is not helping the programme,� Mwonzora said.

�The teams on the ground feel that the atmosphere obtaining at the
moment
because of Sibanda�s presence is not conducive for them to get free and
voluntary comments from the villagers.�

BY JENNIFER DUBE

 | 
Pages: 1
Prev: MDC-T pins hopes on Sadc summit
Next: Jorges fantastic motor/generator