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The Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) has called on youths to shun politically motivated violence as the country heads towards the crunch 2023 general elections.
ZCC said this last week Saturday when they held a church communicators workshop in Harare which was meant to equip church communicators with digital technological skills so that they disseminate correct information to society.
Addressing journalists at the event, Communication Director of the United Methodist Church Reverent Taurai Maforo updated the media on ZCC’s recent engagement with journalists. He added that ZCC will use it’s election observers across the country to capacitate a transparent election this year.
He said, “As ZCC we also engaged with the media to ensure that they don’t write stories that will cause violence. We told them to capture story angles that don’t incite violence.
“The ZCC also observes elections, we have our people going around polling stations that is also a way around that we do in order to ensure that we have free and fair elections in Zimbabwe. ”
ZCC General Secretary, Reverent Wifred Dimingu also told journalists that the church additionally engaged with all political parties and the youths lately to ensure peaceful elections suffice this year.
He said, “We had engagement with the Zanu PF leadership, CCC leadership and MDC T leadership trying to talk with them on how we can work together so that we have a peaceful election in Zimbabwe.
“We are also encouraging the young people not to be used in acts of violence during the electoral processes and to the generality of our population we are saying an election is just a contestation of ideas, it’s not time where people have to be violent against each other.”
Although the church is making an effort to encourage Zimbabwean to holds a peaceful election this year, the past and present dreadful politically motivated violence by some political parties point to a likely resurgence of violence as temperatures rise ahead of the crunch polls likely to be held between July and August.
In the aftermath of the 2018 general elections at least six people were shot in cold blood and others suffered serious injuries after the security forces clamped down on post election protests in Harare in which the then MDC Alliance party by Nelson Chamisa accused ZEC of vote rigging by failing to announce results for five days.
On 27 February 2022, during the by-election campaigns a machete-wielding gang allegedly sponsored by the ruling party Zanu Pf, appeared at Mbizo 4 shopping centre in Kwekwe, and attacked CCC supporters attending the rally, resulting in the passing away of CCC activist Mboneni Ncube, who succumbed to the injuries he sustained from the attack. He was 30-year-old. 22 others were seriously injured.
The attack came a few days after Vice President, Constantino Chiwenga said the ruling ZANU-PF party would “crush the CCC party like lice”.
Last year December, National Housing and Social Amenities minister Daniel Garwe, also told party supporters in Seke that the ruling party will do anything to ensure President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s re-election this year.
Zimbabwe will hold general elections later this year on a date to be announced by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.