By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The Government of Zimbabwe on Monday charged at least 39 opposition figures to court for their alleged involvement in the “demolition” of the offices of the ruling ZANU-PF, a party that has been in power since 1980.
This comes amidst escalating tension ahead of the presidential election in the country barely three months from now.
The opposition members are accused of launching an attack on Zanu-PF party’s office last week in Nyatsime, south of the capital.
According to charge filed by the prosecutors, the opposition members “destroyed several houses and attacked members of the Nyatsime community, seriously injuring several people and destroying their property”, an allegation the accused persons have denied.
“Our clients were not even there,” Anesu Chirisa, a lawyer with the human rights NGO Forum, which is defending the 39 opponents arrested over the weekend, AFP reports.
All those arrested are all members of the leading opposition movement, the Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC).
Earlier this month, five opponents were remanded in custody on charges of assaulting ruling party supporters and “tearing up a book” belonging to them.
The parliament had also passed a”patriotic” law, which criminalises any “attack on sovereignty and the national interest” earlier inthe month.
Outgoing president Emmerson Mnangagwa, 80, is accused of muzzling any dissenting voices.
He succeeded Robert Mugabe in 2017 and was elected president the following year (50.8%) in a vote marked by violence.
In the upcoming election, he will slug it out with the CCC leader and presidential candidate, Nelson, a 45-year-old lawyer and pastor.
