MTHWAKAZI Republic Party (MRP) has expressed deep concern on the alleged torture, assault and raids on residents by the military and police in Bulawayo.
The party claimed the crackdown reads like a Zanu PF script meant to confuse the masses and justify political instability in order to involve the military in the governance of the country.
MRP said it has received chilling testimonies from residents of how the army and riot police conducted door to door raids in suburbs such as Mpopoma, Sizinda and Iminyela in Bulawayo.
Reports of the military crackdown have continued in other parts of the country while in Bulawayo, Wednesday, locals claimed soldiers had conducted raids in Nkulumane, Pumula and the City Centre, with commuter omnibus operators becoming the latest victims.
In an interview with CITE, MRP president Mqondisi Moyo claimed the military involvement was part of Zanu PF infighting, which is not different from the November 2017 coup where Zimbabweans celebrated the army`s role in the power transition.
He believed the aim of the crackdown was to cause confusion within the masses so that there is justification of political instability and hence the involvement of the military to prop a side of Zanu PF against its perceived enemies.
“Zanu PF used people in 2017 in their coup and don’t forget that some members of the same military and police are the ones who were instructing people to loot and stay away during the #Shutdown,” he claimed.
MRP’s Information and Publicity Department official Njabulo Ngwenya added that the government was slowly projecting itself as a fully blown military regime.
“We invite our members and supporters to stay away from this Zanu PF programme that seems to be similar to that of the removal of Robert Mugabe in November 2017. This programme is an internal Zanu PF programme and must not be assisted in any way.
“The soldiers are disturbing peace in Bulawayo and we need them out of our lives. We urge all progressive formations that is civic society organisations, human rights organisations and foreign embassies to come to our rescue and lobby the world against this political evil,” he said.
Ngwenya said MRP managed to visit some of victims who were badly assaulted but afraid to seek medical attention for fear of further persecution.
“The victims of this vicious act by the army are living in fear. Those that spoke to the party leadership vowed that they would not be sleeping in their houses until the situation normalises,” he noted.
The MRP is advocating for secession as an answer to the underdevelopment of Matabeleland region.
