‘It was a waste of jet fuel’ – Mathuthu on Ramaphosa’s special envoys visit

By Nyashadzashe Ndoro

ZimLive editor Mduduzi Mathuthu who is in hiding in fear of his life has described the South African special envoys’ visit to Zimbabwe as a waste of jet fuel.

Mathuthu dismissed Sydney Mufamadi and former National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete’s visit on Monday to Zimbabwe as a diplomatic smokescreen with no genuine intentions to remedy the engulfing human rights violations crisis.

In an interview with South African publication News24 Mathuthu bemoaned that the envoys pursued a partisan policy of consulting President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration without consulting the victims.

“If you are going to embark on a fact-finding mission, it is pointless to go to the government but not the victims; they must visit Tawanda, myself, Hopewell and many others.

“There are a lot of people that went through the abuse, meeting in an office to hear denials is not efficient enough – if they are serious about what is happening on the ground, they cannot be meeting in offices,” he said.

Mnangagwa reportedly barred the envoys from meeting the main opposition MDC Alliance and civil society in Zimbabwe.

The envoys were expected to engage Mnangagwa on alleged human rights violations in Zimbabwe where over 60 people have been arrested and some of them brutalized by suspected state security agents following the 31st July anti-corruption protests.

Zimbabwe is currently experiencing massive human rights violations perpetrated by Mnangagwa’s regime which is battling an economic crisis partly blamed on corruption and mismanagement

Political activists took to social media to expose state sponsored arrests, rape, torture and abductions. Nehanda Radio