The Kgalema Motlanthe led Commission of Inquiry into the 1 August 2018 post election violence’s public hearings at Cresta Lodge in Masasa Harare enters a third day with witnesses appearing before the commission to testify.
263Chat has observed some intriguing points from Professor Charity Manyeruke one of the commissioners to keep the public in the loop on what is transpiring from the peripheral eastern side of the capital. Below are some of the questions Professor Manyeruke asked witnesses and the responses from witnesses too.
Manyeruke: Did you see soldiers in a shooting position
Witness: Yes, they were in a shooting position
Manyeruke : What do you mean?
Witness: They were pointing their guns at people
Manyeruke : Did u see a bullet coming from the gun coming directly at people?
Witness: Not Sure. I was running away
Manyeruke vs Zanu PF Witness
Charity Manyeruke: Water cannon spray – was it pure water?
Zanu PF driver (Johanes Raire Mutanda) Witness: My view is that it was pure water. Had it been chemicals the protesters would have dispersed
Manyeruke: Did the water have forceful pressure?
Witness: The water sprayed on protesters had no force.
Professor Manyeruke’s questioning approach did not sit down well with some human rights defenders, academics and the general public. United Kingdom based lecturer Alex Magaisa said Manyeruke’s approach was inspired by her political party affiliation therefore seeks to sanitize the military operation on the fateful day.
“That’s what happens when you have party cheerleaders on a Commission of Inquiry. Witness should have said, “No ma’m, the soldiers were just playing cops and robbers with the people,” Magaisa posted on his twitter late yesterday.
Meanwhile, MDC deputy chairperson and Harare East legislator Tendai Biti, who Zanu PF members acting as witnesses allege was the chief organizer of the protesters has fired back, saying the ruling party’s diversionary tactics will not be accepted.
Writing on his micro blog twitter today, Biti said the critical area that needs to be unpacked is to establish who deploy the army into the streets and the ground in which the deployment was made.
“The real issue about 1 August is who gave the order to deploy the army and on what basis? Who gave the order to shoot an unarmed civilian population? We will therefore not accept ZANU’s diversionary attempts to create fake news and to defame victims. We reject #State Capture and lies,” he said.
The Commission of Inquiry public hearings that have entered third day end today. – Source: 263Chat
