Malema calls for removal of Zim embassy in SA over Mnangagwa abuses
By Staff Reporter
Outspoken South African opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema has called for the “removal of the Zimbabwean Embassy in South Africa” until President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government has restored basic human rights in the country.
Malema took to twitter on Monday and first promoting the #ZimbabweanLivesMatter hashtag tweeting “We stand in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe. #ZimbabweanLivesMatter”
“We call for the removal of the Zimbabwean Embassy in SA until they restore the human rights in that country. Failure to do so, we will prevent any official from the Zimbabwean government from participating in any gathering in SA until they respect ordinary Zimbabweans,” Malema tweeted.
Adding his voice to the protest was EFF Deputy President Floyd Shivambu who re-tweeted his party’s message; “We cannot keep quiet while a military regime wages war on people in Zimbabwe. #ZimbabweanLivesMatter.”
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/1N1xssI9pJ
— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) August 3, 2020
We call for the removal of the Zimbabwean Embassy in SA until they restore the human rights in that country. Failure to do so, we will prevent any official from the Zimbabwean government from participating in any gathering in SA until they respect ordinary Zimbabweans.✊🏿🇿🇼
— Julius Sello Malema (@Julius_S_Malema) August 3, 2020
We cannot keep quiet while a military regime wages war on people in Zimbabwe. #ZimbabweanLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/KwNFzj8rNW
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) August 3, 2020
Two weeks ago, political commentator and investigative journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono, the one who exposed Zanu PF officials in massive corruption, the latest being the Drax Covidgate scandal that saw the arrest and dismissal of Health Minister Obadiah Moyo, was arrested together with opposition Transform Zimbabwe leader, Jacob Ngarivhume.
They were arrested ahead of the 31st July protests against corruption and charged for allegedly “inciting violence”.
On the day of the protests, the Zimbabwean police arrested scores of people who tried to hold peaceful demonstrations.
When President Emmerson Mnangagwa took over power from late former president Robert Mugabe through a military coup in November 2017, he promised economic recovery based on respect of human rights and subsequent removal of sanctions.
Three years down the line, the international community is condemning his regime for failing to respect human rights.
On Saturday, the Dutch embassy in Harare ratcheted up pressure on the Zimbabwean government to expeditiously compensate families of the six people who were shot dead and those injured on the streets of Harare by the military two years ago.
Shortly after Zimbabweans cast their votes in a disputed poll that was later narrowly won by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on 31st July 2018, the military deployed soldiers who opened fire on unarmed civilians protesting what they perceived as a delay by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) in announcing the presidential results.
The protestors were also marching against the alleged rigging of the polls by ZEC.
The commission was set up by Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa following the violent presidential election in which six people were killed and 35 injured.
The commission was headed by former South African president Kgalema Motlanthe and included a British human rights barrister and a former Commonwealth secretary-general.
The commission’s key recommendations included reforming Zimbabwe’s laws and prosecuting those responsible for the violence.
Saturday marked two years since the the recommendations were passed by the commissioners but the international community is worried that Mnangagwa’s administration has not bothered to implement them.
Recently, Malema described as treasonous, Mnangagwa’s agreement to a US$3.5 billion payout to white farmers whose farms were expropriated under the controversial land reform programme in the early 2000s. Nehanda Radio
