'It Was Not A Picnic', Mixed Views Over The Killing Of Chivhu Shooters
Conway Tutani, a prominent journalist has condemned MDC Alliance spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere over her alleged comments on the shooting of two men by security forces in Chivhu on Sunday.
The unnamed men had on Saturday shot two soldiers, killing one and critically injuring the other, at a police post in Chivhu before they seized the military officers’ loaded service rifles and fleeing into the bush.
A gunfight broke out on Sunday when security forces attempted to disarm the two assailants who were now armed with a pistol and two AK47 rifles.
The two men were shot dead but not before they injured a soldier who was part of the tracking team.
In the aftermath of the shootings, Mahere allegedly said:
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These extrajudicial killings point to a breakdown of our social structure. This illegality, violence and militarisation of civilian spaces must end.
However, Tutani considered Mahere’s comments uncalled for and showed that she was ignorant of the circumstances surrounding the issue. He posted on Facebook:
Attached below is one of the most nonsensically biased, ignorant, inane, shallow, vapid and vacuous comments from any party spokesperson on Earth. Since when did Mahere become a military operations expert?
What “civilian space” is there to talk about in the middle of the bush where there are no civilians around when pursuing armed fugitives who had already shown they were dangerous by brazenly raiding a police post in broad daylight and killing a soldier in cold blood and critically injuring another?
Who shot and wounded another soldier after they were cornered? The tally of one soldier dead and two wounded and, on the other hand, two criminals dead showed this was no child’s play, this was no picnic.
Mahere is an embarrassment. She didn’t even issue a statement on Saturday condemning the cold-blooded killing of the soldier betraying where her sympathy lies. What a disgrace!
Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Nick Mangwana weighed in through a post on Twitter:
So the insurgents who had taken cover in the bush acting like some wannabe guerrillas were supposed to be invited to areas of civilians first so “there could be witnesses”? Imiwee, what kind of world do some people live in? How ludicrous can one be?
… Those terrorists did not intend to use the AKs they had stolen as toys. An AK is an assault rifle used in wars. They had already disarmed and killed the previous day and shown to what lengths they were prepared to go. I think this outcome was very predictable.
