Mudzvova protests over corruption

By Farayi Machamire

Protest artiste and fierce anti-President Robert Mugabe campaigner, Sylvanos Mudzvova, yesterday staged a one-man demonstration at Parliament against government’s silence concerning corruption, abductions and human rights violations.

Spotting a helmet, prison garb, handcuffs and leg irons, Mudzvova presented his new theatre play titled Silenced in front of the Parliament building.

The act comes just little over a month after he was discharged from hospital where he was treated following his reported abduction and assault by unknown assailants.

During the protest, Mudzvova yelled at legislators that “you will be lucky if any of you are re-elected in 2018 because you have forgotten the mandate we gave you to defend our rights!”

Uncharacteristically, riot police, who usually pounce on protesters, appeared to maintain their distance, with only one confronting him.

Although Mudzvova refused to budge, the police detail did not force him into submission, as they usually do, allowing him to continue his protest.

He later vowed to be back again next week Wednesday to confront legislators for their alleged failure to represent the electorate’s will.

Mudzvova limped his way through his protest and later admitted he was “not 100 percent fit” to continue.

He, however, said his “desire to see a free Zimbabwe where people can express themselves freely” had driven him to protest.

The veteran actor has been arrested several times for his involvement in protest plays and political satires.

In April, Mudzvova was arrested in Harare for staging a one-man play “Missing Diamonds, I Need My Share” in front of the Parliament building.

This was after Mugabe had said that $15 billion raised from diamond sales was missing and blamed the Chinese for it.

Mudzvova intended to also stage the play at the Chinese Embassy in Harare but his plan flopped after he was arrested five minutes into his play at Parliament.

At that time, he claimed he had been warned that he would “disappear” like fellow one-man demonstrator and pro-democracy activist Itai Dzamara, if he continued with his demonstrations.

Earlier in 2007, Mudzvova and Tongani Anthony Tongani were arrested at the premiere of the controversial satire titled The Final Push.

The play, written by the actor, is about the chairman of a building called Liberty House (Mugabe) and his political challenger (presumed to be opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai) who were trapped together in an elevator during a power failure. Daily News