Opposition politician Nelson Chamisa has dismissed President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s address at the official opening of the Fourth Session of the Tenth Parliament and the State of the Nation Address (SONA) as a “state of deception and pretence.”
Chamisa said what was presented as the state of the nation no longer reflects the lived reality of citizens.
“The ‘State of the Nation’ has become, in my view, a state of deception and pretense, ZPF apparatchiks singing words they themselves do not appear to believe,” Chamisa said.
The former CCC leader said his recent intervention on social media under the hashtag #NoTo2050 had been misinterpreted by some critics.
“When I tweeted #NoTo2050, some critics missed the point. I was warning about something much bigger: the danger of normalising the indefinite extension of political power and weakening the citizens’ right to choose their leaders,” he said.
After his SONA, Mnangagwa was serenaded by ZANU PF MPs and Senators singing “2040 Ndeya Emmerson” as he left Parliament, in a show of support for his stay until 2040.
Chamisa argued that Zimbabwe’s governance crisis cannot be reduced to party dominance alone.
“The crisis is not merely a one-party-state problem. It is, and has always been, a one-man-state problem…from Smith, RGM to ED,” he said, in reference to former Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith, former President Robert Gabriel Mugabe and President Mnangagwa.
He said the core of the country’s political challenge was the need to shift from personalised rule to durable democratic systems.
“It is about building strong institutions, not strong men. It is about constitutionalism, not individualism. It is about the right of citizens to choose, and to change, their government,” he said.
Chamisa said the current political moment required a focus beyond immediate political exchanges.
“The fight ahead is bigger than the noise of today. We have a big fight on our hands. And we will win the fight!” he said.
Pindula WhatsApp Channel
Facebook Page
Leave a Reply