By Mugove Tafirenyika
Former Vice President Joice Mujuru, now Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) interim leader, has called for more demonstrations and stay-aways against President Robert Mugabe whom she said must immediately resign.
In a statement yesterday, Mujuru lauded organisers of Wednesday’s crippling mass action that shut down Zimbabwe.
Mujuru hailed hard-pressed citizens for exercising their democratic and constitutional right “in showing and telling Mugabe the truth obtaining on the ground regarding the untold economic suffering of Zimbabweans”.
“In essence, your successful stay away is a vote of no confidence in Zanu PF leadership. Clearly there is no longer a social contract between Mugabe and Zimbabweans,” Mujuru said.
“As Zimbabwe People First, we urge the church, civic society, democratic activists and all Zimbabweans to continue exercising your constitutional right to demonstrate and air your grievances peacefully against Mugabe’s clueless and failed leadership”.
On Wednesday, Zimbabweans staged the biggest general strike ever mounted in the country’s history against the deteriorating socio-economic conditions which they blame on Mugabe.
So successful was the strike that law enforcement agents responded with their usual brutality, wantonly beating up and arresting people, including some who were attending a funeral.
And Mujuru had no kind words for the police rapping the law enforcement agents for their heavy-handed methods notwithstanding that “the peaceful demonstrators are also fighting for the cause of all the state security forces who also want to be paid on time, they want to pay rent, send their children to school and above all, they want to have decent livelihoods”.
“We, however, get saddened as Zimbabwe People First by incidents of law enforcement authorities’ brutality on unarmed civilians.
“We plead with the law enforcement authorities to exercise maximum restraint when dealing with civilians. In the same vein; we continuously urge demonstrators not to attack our security forces in the course of their work”.
The ZPF leader expressed concern that Zimbabweans are living under serious economic difficulties and called for Mugabe to resign immediately.
“To that end we insist and demand as a matter of yesterday that Mugabe and Zanu PF leadership call for fresh elections which must usher new and fresh leadership with capacity to extricate Zimbabwe from the unpleasant and saddening social, economic and political quagmire,” Mujuru said.
She said the current cash crisis, the inordinate delay in the payment of civil servants’ salaries and the ban of basic commodities imports by government “all point in the one direction of a failed and clueless national leadership”.
Mujuru also thanked Zimbabweans in Diaspora for showing solidarity with locals as they also took to the streets demonstrating from their respective countries of residence. Daily News
