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President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government has tarnished the credibility of the upcoming 2023 elections by failing to reform the security sector which is responsible for the shooting of six civilians during post election demonstrations in Harare on August 1, 2018.
By Luke Tamborinyoka
“The Commission’s finding on a balance of probability from all the evidence received is that the deaths of these six people and the injuries sustained by 35 others arose from the actions of the military and the police .” ( Mothlante Commission Report )
Today is August 1, yes that blood-soaked day. The month of August is called Nyamavhuvhu in Shona, a reference to our own slow and laid-back version of the harmattan. August is the month of strong breezy winds that often sweep across the plains and savannah grass of this our beloved homeland during this time. Nyamavhuvhu is a nuanced reference to these breezy and gutsy winds ( mhepo inovhuvhuta ) that characterise the month of August in Zimbabwe.
But exactly four years ago to the day on 1 August 2018 following a disputed election, it was the murderous and malignant winds of State-sanctioned violence that swept across Harare when citizens took to the streets to protest the delayed announcement of the Presidential election result. Six people were callously murdered by State-security agents in broad daylight and 35 others were seriously injured. August, the month of heroes instantly became the month of villains when those who claim to have liberated the country brazenly killed the very citizens they claim to have liberated all those years ago.
By Luke Tamborinyoka
There is no doubt that the abductions and violence currently taking place are State-sanctioned. Below are some of the violent incidents and murders that have been committed, even while high profile meetings were taking place. The facts below put paid to statements by officials in Mnangagwa’s administration that the Zanu PF government’s hands are clean.
By Stephen Sarkozy Chuma (Eye Witness to August 01 Killings)
The first of August brings with it a flood of kaleidoscopic sad memories of savage human butchery at the hands of the military.
In broad daylight, the Emmerson Mnangagwa administration unashamedly unleashed rogue soldiers dressed in balaclavas on a deleterious human massacre mission which left a stinking trail of death and plunder.
By Nelson Chamisa
Today marks yet another very important day in the recent history of the Zimbabwean people’s struggle against dictatorship, oppression, tyranny and theft of elections.
This day we remember fellow citizens who lost their lives at the hands of the State on 1/8/2018. They had names & families behind them:
Silvia Maphosa 53 years
Ishmael Kumire 43 years
Gavin Dean Charles 45 years
James Chikandira 21 years
Brian Zhuwao 26 years
Challenge Tauro 20 years
We can’t forget & we will never forget.
Harare magistrate Rumbidzai Mugwagwa on Wednesday removed from remand 36 opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) activists who were jointly charged for public violence that occurred during protests on the 1st of August 2018.
A flurry of behind-the-scenes consultations that took place before the August 1 army killings has lifted the lid on who actually authorised the military deployments that quelled demonstrations which rocked the capital city on that fateful day.
The release of the much-awaited Commission of Inquiry report on the August 1 politically-motivated violence that culminated in the death of six innocent civilians when the army was drafted to help the police break protests in central Harare is commendable.
However, it is important for President Emmerson Mnangagwa — who presented the report to the public — to ensure that whoever was responsible for the killing of the six is brought to book.
Zimbabwe’s president Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Friday that a report probing deadly election violence when soldiers opened fire on protesters would be released next week.
The Commission of Inquiry probing the politically-motivated violence of August 1 has turned down a request by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa to cross-examine witnesses who testified against him.