By Tichaona Sibanda
29 May 2010
MDC-T MP for Makoni South in Manicaland, Pishai Muchauraya, has been summoned to appear in court over a case the state claims took place eight years ago.
Police officers from the Law and Order section in Mutare have visited his home twice since Wednesday, with an order for him to present himself to the Murambinda magistrate court on 4th June.
‘To be frank, I cannot recall any police case against me dating back to that period. This is pure harassment by ZANU PF using state resources,’ Muchauraya told SW Radio Africa on Friday.
The MP, who is also party spokesman for Manicaland, claimed there is a plot being engineered by ZANU PF to open fresh dockets against MDC MPs ahead of the constitutional outreach programme.
‘One way or the other, almost every MDC MP has faced trumped up charges since the formation of the party. Most of the cases against the MPs were thrown out by the courts, but ZANU PF wants to revive them in the belief there would be convictions this time around.’
In February, Douglas Mwonzora - the prominent MDC MP joint head of the parliamentary commission which is drafting a new constitution - was charged for allegedly calling Robert Mugabe a ‘goblin.’
Mwonzora allegedly made the goblin reference at a political rally before presidential and parliamentary elections in 2008, but was only charged in February this year.
Muchauraya believes he’s being targeted for exposing the crackdown on MDC supporters by armed soldiers, youths and war veterans in the province.
‘There is lot of violence in Manicaland at the moment, waged by armed solders who are intimidating villagers to attend ZANU PF meetings. From Chipinge, Chimanimani, Nyanga and Makoni there is massive intimidation by ZANU PF for people to support the Kariba draft,’ the MP added.
Crisis Coalition in Zimbabwe reported on Friday that families have been fleeing the escalation of violence in Chiweshe and Murehwa in Mashonaland Central and East provinces.
In Epworth, closer to the capital, ZANU PF thugs are threatening to mete out violence to anyone who defies their formula for the constitution-making process.
A statement from the advocacy group, The Union for Sustainable Democracy, tells of how people in Epworth have been ordered by ZANU PF to report for political meetings against their will.
Residents are being told that during the outreach programme they should leave the task of answering questions to those selected to do so.
‘In the unlikely event of ordinary residents having to respond to questions, they are to answer in a particular fashion. In particular they have been instructed to emphatically state that the new constitution must not put any limit on a president’s term of office. Clearly, the intention is to confirm Mugabe as president for life, the statement said.
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