HARARE – Zanu PF Secretary for Legal Affairs, Patrick Chinamasa, has launched a scathing attack on Eddie Cross, accusing the former presidential adviser and biographer of President Emmerson Mnangagwa of spreading “malicious falsehoods” about the Head of State and the First Family.
In a statement posted on his official X account (@ChinamasaPA), Chinamasa condemned what he described as an “unwholesome diet of misinformation, disinformation, false and negative narratives, rumours, malicious gossip, misconceptions, misinterpretations, targeted and unwarranted character assassinations” that has dominated the media space, especially over the past 8 to 10 months.
“Never before in the history of Independent Zimbabwe has the population been fed – in the media space (with the social media space being the main culprit) – such a barrage of misleading content,” wrote Chinamasa.
While Chinamasa did not name specific claims made by Cross, his remarks follow recent reports in which Cross allegedly made controversial statements touching on the First Family, fuelling speculation and public debate.
The former Finance Committee Chair in Parliament said he was shocked that someone of Cross’s “intellectual calibre” could be swayed by what he called street gossip.
“I thought Eddie Cross – political differences apart – was a reasonably well-grounded economist and intellectual, not one to believe, without any reservations, falsehoods peddled in the street by malcontents,” Chinamasa posted.
“Shame on Mr Cross for swallowing – hook, line, and sinker – the malicious falsehoods; and shame on Mr Cross for proceeding to broadcast the rubbish, thus giving it an aura of authenticity.”
Chinamasa revealed that the President personally confronted Cross over the matter, demanding evidence and accountability.
“The President called Mr Cross to account, and – in the presence of family members who had been maligned – asked him to provide evidence and substantiate his claims. Mr Cross had dossiers and dossiers of unsubstantiated claims, and in ignominy was compelled to make a retraction.”
According to Chinamasa, this episode underscores the importance of tackling misinformation with truth and transparency.
“From these developments, the take-home message… is that the only way to counter falsehoods is to confront such falsehoods with The Truth. And as the Bible says (John 8:32), the Truth shall set us free.”
He also called on Zanu PF’s Information and Publicity Department, along with all government information agencies, to emulate the President’s approach by proactively addressing public misinformation head-on.
In a cryptic closing remark, Chinamasa questioned whether Zimbabwe still had statutes that criminalise defamation, hinting at potential legal responses to what he views as slander.
“As an afterthought, I am wondering whether we still have on our Statute Book a law criminalising defamation.”
He ended his post with a philosophical flourish:
“Those who have eyes, let them ‘eye’; and those who have ears, let them ‘ear’. Nokuti hatigoni kurega kutaura izvo takaona neizvo takanzwa.”
(Translation: For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.)
Chinamasa’s remarks come at a time of heightened political sensitivity in Zimbabwe, with growing scrutiny of the ruling elite and increasing tensions between former allies and party stalwarts.
