(TALKZIMBABWE) MDC-T violence during Sadc summit in SA

MDC-T violence during Sadc summit in SA
Posted by By Our reporter at 12 June, at 04 : 43 AM

THE MDC-T’s culture of violence took centre stage here yesterday morning ahead of the extraordinary Sadc Summit on Zimbabwe and Madagascar that began last night, severely embarrassing the MDC-T leadership. Summit deliberations were adjourned at around 10pm last night with only Madagascar having been discussed. Zimbabwe will be discussed after the Tripartite Comesa-EAC-Sadc summit today.

Yesterday’s demonstration, which was meant to get Sadc leaders to press President Mugabe to postpone elections likely to be held later this year or early next year on account of alleged State-sanctioned violence, backfired spectacularly when the accusers turned villains.

The protest march, organised by the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition under the banner of the Zimbabwe Civil Society Initiative, degenerated into chaos just a stone’s throw from the Sandton Convention Centre when the leaders of the disparate opposition groups disagreed on both the content and purpose of the demonstration culminating in fistfights that forced police here to move in to disperse them.

The demonstration, that lasted no more than 20 minutes, brought together the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, MDC-T activists, the flag-burning Mthwakazi Liberation Front (MLF), and Zapu.

Fights soon broke out between MDC-T activists and the civil society activists with MLF members tearing and burning of MDC-T T-shirts and flags.

A report by Bulawayo24 website read: “When the program director resumed by calling upon the leaders of the Civic society to address the demonstrators, MLF broke out with a song accusing the Zimbabwe Crisis Coalition of tribalism as out of 11 people called up front only one was Ndebele speaking. Anger expressed by MLF was out of the ordinary and seemed like it will turn into unbearable violence.”

“MLF Youth chairperson Dumie Ngwenya said ‘the Zimbabwe Crisis Coalition is arousing the warrior within us and if they continue like this we will unleash something they will never be able to handle’,” added the report.

Running battles ensued that forced the police to intervene.

In an interview soon after the abortive demo, Dhewa Mavhinga of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition tried to play down the chaotic scenes, saying their march had been affected by “violence exported (sic) from Zimbabwe”.

“I want to set the record straight that as Zimbabwe Civil Society Groups we had a successful march to push forward our message. After the march we had a short rally before two drunken youths came to disrupt proceedings. About a thousand people attended the march . . . The police intervened to stop the skirmishes.’”

The scores of demonstrators had alighted from four buses close to the Convention Centre.

Mavhinga said they had completed their protests but could not explain why demonstrations intended to put a message across to Sadc leaders had “ended” before the leaders even convened the summit.

“Our objective was to get a message to the leaders of Sadc. There were people there (at the demonstration) to receive our message plus we are talking to you guys in the media,” he quipped.

However, a member of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition who travelled from Harare said there was no love lost in the NGO ranks.

However, two white girls —Samantha Evans and Charlotte Stevenson who said they were from a Scottish NGO and had flown into South Africa for the protests — said the demonstrations broke down after fights erupted among the demonstrators.

“People just began fighting and the police broke up the demonstration, we are going to compile a report to forward to our bosses back home,” said Samantha who, like her colleague Charlotte, was holding a banner inscribed: “President Zuma is right to INSIST on free and fair elections in Zimbabwe.”

Early last week MDC-T activists viciously assaulted two senior Zanu-PF Johannesburg district officials at a Press conference organised by the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition.

Zanu-PF Johannesburg district chairperson Ndabezinhle Nyoni and political commissar Abednego Nyoni were beaten up by MDC-T activists at Devonshire Hotel.

A report was filed at Hillbrow Police Station while the pair is receiving medical attention after sustaining varying degrees of injuries.

Like other Zimbabweans living in Johannesburg, the Zanu-PF officials had attended the Press conference on political developments at home.

The theme of the conference was “Sadc: Set Out Clear, Time-Bound and Enforceable Zimbabwe Elections Roadmap” and meant to tell the world that conditions were not conducive for the holding of elections.

On realising the presence of Ndabezinhle and Abednego, the rowdy MDC-T activists became unsettled, as any false claims they would make on Zimbabwe would not go unchallenged.

They then pounced on the pair and chucked them out of the Press conference.

This was not the first time that MDC-T activists in Johannesburg had attacked Zanu-PF officials and supporters.#

Last month, scores of Zanu-PF supporters sustained serious injuries after MDC-T activists assaulted them during an anti-sanctions march here.

Again the matter was reported to the police but no arrests have been made as yet. There is a culture of violence within the MDC-T, whose youths declared an open season against their Zanu-PF counterparts.

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition was demanding the deferment of elections when Zanu-PF and MDC negotiators have already agreed on a road-map.

The Secretary for Sadc Affairs, Advocate Eureka Ndhlovu, noted that the intra-party violence confirms the statement by the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (Jomic) which apportions blame to political parties for the sporadic and isolated acts of violence in Zimbabwe.

The Herald/TZG