Matemadanda wears another protest T-shirt

By Farayi Machamire

War veterans’ leader Victor Matemadanda — granted bail on Saturday for charges of undermining the authority of the president and causing disaffection among the defence forces — has worn another protest T-shirt.

The shirt bears the message “Elimination By Whatever Means and Methods Will Not Stop Us. 1-2=It Cant.”

Reached for comment, Matemadanda said the message contained on the shirt was not directed at any particular person.

“I just bought that shirt in Mbare mubhero rekuMozambique (I bought the shirt from second-hand clothing section of Mbare),” Matemadanda said.

Queried why it had the initials ZNLWVA — the war veterans association — Matemadanda said it was a “mere coincidence.”

“Whatever. Deduce what you want to deduce from it, it’s up to you,” he said.

“But it’s just a second-hand T-shirt.  Vakomana chimbondiregererai munoda kuti ndisungwe futi? (Please, let me be. Do you want me to be arrested again?) I have not offended anyone.  If someone finds offence in the message, then they have something to hide but that’s not my intention.”

This comes after the firebrand war veterans’ leader was released from police custody on Saturday after handing himself voluntarily to police on Thursday last week.  He was charged for contravening Section 30 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) and also undermining the authority of or insulting the president as defined in section 33(2)(a)(i) of the same law.

The war veterans’ association’s secretary-general wore a T-Shirt whose words chided First Lady Grace Mugabe for failing in her parenting duties towards her children, Chatunga Bellarmine and Robert Junior.

The arrest saw him spend two nights behind bars before he was granted bail on Saturday by Harare provincial magistrate Elisha Singano who ruled that Matemadanda was a proper candidate for bail.

The defence counsel immediately made notice that they would be making an application to challenge the grounds of their client’s arrest.

The matter was remanded to September 1. Daily News