The opposition party Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has denounced an assassination attempt against its leader, Nelson Chamisa, in an attack with explosives against his vehicle in the town of Chinhoyi, in northern Zimbabwe.
The CCC has indicated in a statement published on its account on the social network Twitter that the event took place when Chamisa’s vehicle was going to a political act and has detailed that hours before Molotov cocktails had been thrown in this same place.
“We condemn this cowardly act,” he said, while stressing that “this latest assassination attempt comes just one month after two similar threats against Chamisa’s life in Wedza and Gokwe Kabuyuni.”
“The attack follows death threats against Chamisa and the CCC by leaders of the (government) Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF, including Abton Mashayanyika, whose incitement to violence was recorded, despite which no arrests have taken place,” he denounced.
On the other hand, he has acknowledged that after the attack there was an “unfortunate incident of aggression” due to a “misunderstanding” between a member of the Chamisa security team and the journalist Ruvimbo Muchenje.
Along these lines, the CCC has assured that it has transferred its apologies to Muchenje, who “has accepted them”. “We are committed to guaranteeing a free and safe environment for the journalists who cover our events,” he added.
“Journalism is never a crime. Lessons have been learned from this incident and we are improving our protocols to ensure that these types of incidents are not repeated in the future,” he concluded.
Political tensions have risen in recent months in Zimbabwe, which is due to hold a general election in 2023. Chamisa, who came second in the 2018 presidential elections, created the CCC in January after the Supreme Court ruled in March 2020 that he was not legally the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Chamisa has refused since 2018 to recognize the legitimacy of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who took office after the bloodless coup that ousted Robert Mugabe in 2017, and has maintained that he won the election.
Source: Europa Press
