Cape Town – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s spokesperson has reportedly said that the disappearance of human rights activist Itai Dzamara does not deserve the veteran leader’s attention.
According to media reports, George Charamba was explaining Mugabe’s silence over Dzamara’s disappearance and stated it was the responsibility of the investigating arms of government to take a leading role in establishing the missing activist’s whereabouts.
Dzamara, a father of two, was abducted by five men who stormed a barbershop in Glenview, Harare, while he was having a haircut on March 9.
The former journalist had been staging protests in Harare’s Africa Unity Square calling on Mugabe to step down.
Charamba told the state-owned Heraldnewspaper: “I dismiss calls for the president to pronounce himself on the matter as pre-eminently political and thus not worthy of his attention. People go missing here and elsewhere in the world.”
Regrouping and strategising
According to New Zimbabwe.com, Western embassies in Harare have been vocal about Dzamara’s disappearance, expressing concern over the lack of progress in police investigations.
The report said various political leaders, including ousted vice president Joice Mujuru, have condemned Dzamara’s abduction, while Mugabe remained mum.
Another Herald report seemed to suggest that Western countries were using Dzamara’s disappearance “to prop up the fortunes of opposition political parties ahead of the 2018 elections”.
The report claimed that the country’s detractors were regrouping and were strategising to influence the process leading to the next elections.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) led by Morgan Tsvangirai rubbished Charamba’s remarks as “ridiculous, odious, utterly insensitive and completely repugnant”.
It’s shocking’
MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu told News24 on Wednesday that Charamba’s comments offended public morality and common decency.
The MDC believes and maintains that Mugabe’s government was behind Dzamara’s abduction.
“The MDC is not running Zimbabwe. The party that is running the country is Zanu-PF. It doesn’t take rocket science for one to appreciate that Itai Dzamara was abducted by state security agents.Robert Mugabe and the Zanu-PF regime control the state security apparatus in Zimbabwe. They should tell us, promptly, what happened to Dzamara,” said Gutu.
Gutu said Charamba’s statements were a clear indication that Mugabe did not care about the safety of those opposed to him.
“It is shocking that a whole head of state can abdicate one of his core responsibilities of ensuring that all Zimbabwean citizens, regardless of their political affiliation, are safe and protected in their own country,” said Gutu.
PH
