G40 calls for ‘popular revolution’ against ED

Exiled former G40 kingpins, Jonathan Moyo and Saviour Kasukuwere have said the only option available for suffering Zimbabweans in getting rid of the current Zanu PF government was staging “a popular revolution”.

Moyo said mass uprisings remained the only viable option under the circumstances given that pursuing legal options to challenge the legitimacy of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who rose to power through a military coup in 2017, would be an exercise in futility.

Speaking on Thursday during a public debate organised by Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) titled Operation Restore Legacy: Unpacking the Democratic Transition in Zimbabwe, Moyo described Mnangagwa’s government as an unconstitutional military State.

“The matter of challenging it (legitimacy of the current government) in court is a dead one because it has been dealt with although controversially by Chief Justice Luke Malaba in July 2018,” Moyo said.

“We all know that a military coup is unconstitutional, its essence is to overthrow the Constitution.

“The only way of dealing with a military government is through a popular revolution. You cannot have reforms that are progressive or democratic in a military State.”

He said Zimbabweans find themselves in a difficult position given the fact that the military coup of November 2017 was supported by opposition political parties and civic society organisations.

Kasukuwere, the former Zanu PF national commissar, said there was an imperative need for Zimbabweans to organise, not agonise.

“The time has come. It is a fact that they will use any means necessary to silence the masses but that is the nature of any struggle. We need freedom; we need a better country and let’s fight this struggle from every angle,” Kasukuwere said.

“Let us take the battle straight to the administration. Each and every day, they must start to understand the pain in our society. The collective aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe will be much greater a force than any other thing; whether they are guns or arrests. Either we organise or we agonise forever.”

Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions president Peter Mutasa said Zimbabwe was now “a military State”.

National Patriotic Front spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire called for regional and international support in facilitating dialogue in Zimbabwe, adding that security sector reform was equally important.

Mawarire blasted Mnangagwa for surrounding himself with corrupt individuals.

Civic organisations under the banner of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition are on record calling for “a genuine all-stakeholders dialogue” as a way of addressing the myriad of challenges currently confronting Zimbabwe. NewsDay