Innocent Sibonginkosi Ncube | Zim GBC Ne<\/p>\n\n\n\n
HARARE \u2013 A Christmas Eve address by President Emmerson Mnangagwa has drawn sharp criticism from political analysts and citizens, with many labeling the speech a blunt assertion of party supremacy and a threat to political dissent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking on December 24 at the Mayor\u2019s Christmas Cheer Fund event in Harare\u2014a function hosted by the opposition-led city council\u2014President Mnangagwa told supporters,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNever shy to say you are ZANU-PF wherever you are. Let us see who will dare you for that in this country that we rule \u2014 then we will see where that person will be by sunset.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He concluded with the statement,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNyika inovakwa, igotongwa, nekunamatirwa nevene vayo. Vene vayo ndivanani? Tisu muZANU-PF.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This translates to:
\u201cThe country is built, ruled, and prayed for by its owners. Who are the owners? We are ZANU-PF.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Political analyst Reason Wafawarowa, in a searing commentary, argued the statement was a deliberate articulation of a dangerous worldview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis was not a slip of the tongue. It is a typical statement made by a first-class dictator,\u201d Wafawarowa stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDemocratic leaders speak the language of citizenship. Strongmen speak the language of ownership. Mnangagwa did not say Zimbabwe belongs to Zimbabweans. He said it belongs to ZANU-PF,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The analyst highlighted the menacing tone of the President\u2019s words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c\u2019Let us see where that person will be by sunset.\u2019 That sentence was not metaphorical. It was a threat of state-backed ruthlessness, delivered casually, publicly, and without consequence,\u201d Wafawarowa wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The setting of the speech amplified its message, he noted. The event was in a city governed by the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy declaring ownership of the country at that venue, Mnangagwa was not celebrating unity \u2014 he was asserting conquest. It was a reminder to local authorities: You may govern here, but we own you,\u201d the analyst contended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wafawarowa further suggested that the call for ZANU-PF supporters not to be \u201cshy\u201d revealed a party grappling with diminished legitimacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy would ZANU-PF supporters need encouragement not to be shy? Because being associated with ZANU-PF has become morally embarrassing,\u201d he argued, pointing to pervasive corruption and a lack of development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The commentary concluded with a broader warning:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen a President says only one party \u2018builds, rules, and prays\u2019 for a nation, he is excluding millions of citizens from belonging\u2026 Zimbabwe does not belong to a party. It belongs to citizens \u2014 equal, diverse, protected by law. And any leader who forgets that is not defending the nation. He is confessing his fear of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The President\u2019s office has not issued a clarification or response to the growing criticism of the Christmas Eve remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Zim GBC News | Global News From An African Perspective\u00a9\ufe0f2025<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Innocent Sibonginkosi Ncube | Zim GBC Ne HARARE \u2013 A Christmas Eve address by President Emmerson Mnangagwa has drawn sharp criticism from political analysts and citizens, with many labeling the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[109],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11547","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11547","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11547"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11547\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11549,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11547\/revisions\/11549"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}