UK MP moves to block Mnangagwa from attanding King Charles inauguration
By Agencies
In a letter written to British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, the group, chaired by Navendu Mishra MP, urged the UK government to reconsider its advice to Buckingham Palace on President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s invitation to the royal event on 6 May.
“To summarise, political violence and human rights abuses are widespread, with opposition members of parliament and party members harassed, beaten, imprisoned and murdered … corruption is rife, extending to the highest levels of government, destroying the economy and impoverishing the Zimbabwe people; and the judiciary and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and all institutions of the state have been suborned to the ruling party,” reads part of the letter co-signed by members of the group.
High-level corruption was exposed in a recent documentary, “Gold Mafia”, produced by Al Jazeera that exposed the illicit gold trade and money laundering by Mnangagwa’s cronies and foreign syndicates.
Following the exposé, the country’s information minister, Monica Mutsvangwa, announced that Zimbabwean authorities were investigating those who were singled out in the documentary, with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe freezing bank accounts and assets of the country’s ambassador-at-large, Uebert Angel.
The UK legislators added: “The main opposition party leader Nelson Chamisa is habitually denied permission to hold rallies and his political activities are frequently disrupted by violent Zanu-PF supporters and the police. The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission appointees are overwhelming Zanu-PF supporters, including the sons and daughters of key Zanu-PF officials.”
They also criticised the continued detention of Zimbabwe’s opposition legislator, Job Sikhala, who has been held in prison for close to a year since his arrest after providing legal representation to slain opposition activist, Moreblessing Ali. Ali was abducted and murdered by Pius Jamba Mukandi, a Zanu-PF party activist who has since pleaded guilty to the charges.
“It is more than 300 days since Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) deputy chairperson, Job Sikhala MP, was detained after providing legal representation to the family of murdered opposition campaigner, Moreblessing Ali. Since then, he has been held without trial in Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison and denied his constitutional right to bail.”
