(HERALD) Prof Moyo spits venom at Biti

Prof Moyo spits venom at Biti
Sunday, 18 December 2011 19:32
Sunday Mail Reporter

Zanu-PF Politburo member and MP for Tsholotsho North Professor Jonathan Moyo has written to the Zimbabwe Media Commission requesting formal investigations on the MDC-T’s “growing abuse of its Global Political Agreement status” following a letter written by the party’s secretary-general, Mr Tendai Biti, to the Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JOMIC) alleging abusive language and hate speech.

In his letter, dated December 17 addressed to the ZMC and which was also copied to The Sunday Mail, Prof Moyo requested the investigations following the December 7 letter by Mr Biti to JOMIC which alleged that the Professor had used abusive language and hate speech in an article that he wrote for The Sunday Mail edition of the 4th-10th of December entitled “Morgan’s open zip and shut mind approaches”.

Mr Biti wrote that the article by Prof Moyo “hits below the belt” adding that Article XIX.1 (e) of the GPA obliges that the public and private media shall refrain from using abusive language . . .”

The MDC-T secretary-general said it was disturbing that the article had been authored by a member of JOMIC, “the very same body that in Article XXI of the GPA is tasked with ensuring full and proper implementation of the letter and spirit of the GPA”.

He went on to ask JOMIC to “confront The Sunday Mail on this issue” adding that Prof Moyo as a member of JOMIC should be “asked to account for the vituperation”.

Mr Biti went further to suggest that the moment Prof Moyo decided to join JOMIC “he forfeited his right of freely expressing those opinions in respect of the political parties to the GPA”.

“If he wishes to continue to enjoy his constitutional right then surely he must resign from JOMIC. If he wishes to remain in JOMIC, then he cannot breach the very same agreement that he is supposed to enforce."

In his scathing letter to ZMC, Prof Moyo hit back saying: "It is very notable and quite instructive that although the MDC-T letter to JOMIC purports to be about ‘abusive language and hate speech' as per its heading, it does not contain even one reference to any abusive language or one hate speech in the article I wrote for The Sunday Mail."

He said the MDC-T allegations were "apparently for political purposes" adding that the record "will show that the MDC-T and its media mouthpieces have routinely labelled anything critical of them to be abusive . . ."

He said even Sadc had not been spared "as a recipient of all manner of dossiers full of blatant falsehoods elevated to alleged systematic hate speech and violence against the MDC-T".

Said Prof Moyo: "It is for this reason that I am requesting the Zimbabwe Media Commission to formally investigate this matter with all the seriousness it deserves not least and particularly because ‘hate speech' is neither a laughing matter nor just everyday political propaganda to be left alone.

"For the same reason, and by copy of this letter, I am hereby making a formal complaint of criminal defamation against Tendai Biti and the MDC-T to the Zimbabwe Republic Police because their December 7 letter to JOMIC alleging that the article in question has ‘hate speech' is in fact false and defamatory in a very criminal way that is inexcusable.

"In the same vein, and also by copy of this letter, I am asking my legal practitioners to institute appropriate civil litigation with commensurate claims of damages against Tendai Biti and the MDC-T party."

Prof Moyo maintained that the MDC-T leader, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, had acted immorally by sleeping around with several women adding that "he always has somebody else to blame even in private sexual matters . . ."

Referring to the MDC-T leader, Prof Moyo said: "When he opens his mouth, he is unscrupulous and when he opens his zip he is promiscuous and in both instances he does so with a shut mind.

"There's more than enough evidence on the record to substantiate this but a formal and impartial investigation would be most useful to verify the submission once and for all."

He said it is very curious that a lawyer like Tendai Biti had "no shame or qualms about abusing his position" in the MDC-T to "approach JOMIC with a criminally defamatory complaint when he knows only too well that JOMIC is only a political arrangement between three political parties . . ."

Said Prof Moyo: "The expectation that JOMIC can or should, as requested by Biti in his December 7 letter about the matter in question, ‘confront The Sunday Mail' is illegal jungle-stuff and is therefore a nullity of no consequence at law since JOMIC does not have a legal basis from which to confront The Sunday Mail."

He said ZMC is the legal body that was created to deal with the media and not JOMIC which he went on to describe saying:

"In other words, JOMIC is a monstrosity of the GPA Government which remains in power on stolen time and needs to be terminated by yesterday to allow for elections whose time has come."

Prof Moyo said contrary to what Mr Biti wrote, "I am therefore not a member of JOMIC but I am a member of Zanu-PF seconded to JOMIC on behalf of my party.

"I am in JOMIC to represent Zanu-PF and not to represent three irreconcilable things called Zanu-PF, MDC-T and MDC-N or whatever.

"While the idea of trinity is strong in Catholicism, it does not exist in politics . . .

"I cannot and will not resign from a secondment, which is an assignment, by my party . . ."

He continued saying Mr Tsvangirai should not contest the forthcoming presidential election without having a professionally credible public HIV test given his "sexual promiscuity in which he has impregnated more than one woman outside wedlock".

Prof Moyo called on the MDC-T leader to "come clean about all the allegedly fatherless children he has out there and take responsibility for them as a parent before Zimbabweans can consider him for presidency . . ."

He maintained that he stood by his article and called on the ZMC to give his request for formal investigations "the attention it deserves".

The letter by Prof Moyo was also copied to the Zanu-PF secretary for administration, JOMIC co-chairpersons, Commissioner-General ZRP, his lawyers and to Mr Biti.