President Emmerson Mnangagwa says Zimbabwe will never be ruled by puppets of the West that imposed targeted sanctions on some ruling party officials over alleged election rigging and human rights abuses.
Speaking at a burial ceremony of former Attorney General and Zimbabwe’s ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Johannes Tomana, and Retired Brigadier General Milton Siziba at the National Heroes Acre on Monday, Mnangagwa said the West is pursuing a regime-change agenda in Zimbabwe.
In an indirect attack on Nelson Chamisa, interim leader of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), Mnangagwa said the opposition is being used by the West in an attempt to remove Zanu PF from power.
He said, “Under our mass revolutionary party, Zanu PF, we remain a government of the people, by the people and for the people. Zimbabwe will never, ever be run by a puppet government of our erstwhile oppressors. Never. This is a position that the national heroes were are interring and heroines we are honoring today played their part and left us a legacy of resilience and unflinching patriotism.”
Zimbabwe marked National Heroes Day on Monday with thousands of people attending the burial of Tomana and Siziba at the National Heroes Acre.
In a sharp response to Mnangagwa’s remarks, Gift Ostallos Siziba, deputy spokesperson of the CCC, said, “It is surprising that Zanu PF claims that there are opposition parties which are puppets of the West. Zanu PF has plundered our national resources. Zanu PF big wigs have been caught in a gold scandal and they have covered it up. Zanu PF has invited the Chinese, Russians and others to plunder our resources. They are the ones that are sellouts and a puppet government.”
In 2008, Zimbabwe’s securocrats said they won’t allow any person without liberation credentials to lead Zimbabwe. They vowed to stop then opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, from unseating Robert Mugabe, who was toppled years later in a defacto military coup. The two passed away a few years ago.
Zimbabwe is expected to hold council, parliamentary and presidential elections next week amid political tensions in the southern African nation. Mnangagwa and Chamisa are the two front runners in the presidential race.
Godwin Mangudya and Mlondolozi Ndlovu contributed to this article