Chamisa succeeds in bid to force Mugabe to defend speech

HARARE – Former ICT Minister and MDC-T legislator for Kuwadzana, Nelson Chamisa, has succeeded in a bid to force President Robert Mugabe to come back to Parliament and answer questions regarding his state of the nation address.

After Mugabe delivered his speech on Tuesday, Chamisa raised a point of order saying; “Mr Speaker Sir, I raise on a point of order that according to the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

“The president has to come back and answer to questions so that we may move on the same trajectory and be on the same page.”

But while the youthful opposition MP made his point Zanu PF legislators heckled him fearing that this was a plot to create another platform to heckle the 91-year-old Zanu PF leader. On Tuesday Mugabe was booed while delivering his address.

Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa and Zanu PF political commissar and local government minister Savior Kasukuwere raised objections to Chamisa’s call but in a surprising turn of events the Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda, a member of Mugabe’s party, agreed that Chamisa’s call was constitutional.

Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa could be seen shaking his head after Mudenda made his ruling while MDC legislators ululated.

“We are not here to embarrass the president but to amplify his message and help us share his said vision. Instead of heckling, the members should ululate because this is an opportunity for us to interface with the president,” Chamisa said.

It remains to be seen if Mugabe will indeed be made to come back to Parliament and answer questions about his address.

It’s reported that Mudenda will liaise with the office of the president to see if the demand by the MDC was feasible. Its not likely Mugabe could be forced to come back if he does not want though.