By MacDonald
Dzirutwe, HARARE Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s Catholic bishops and the law society have criticised the government for alleged human rights abuses and a crackdown on dissent, adding to growing concerns over authorities’ treatment of opponents amid a worsening economic crisis.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government
swiftly hit back, saying the “evil” accusations were baseless.
Inflation running at more than 800% is the
clearest sign of the worst economic crisis in over a decade and has evoked
memories of hyperinflation under Robert Mugabe, whose 37-year rule was ended by
an army coup in 2017.
The Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference said
in a pastoral letter that the country had a multi-layered crisis, including
economic collapse, deepening poverty, corruption and human rights abuses.
“Fear runs down the spine of many of our people
today. The crackdown on dissent is unprecedented,” the bishops said in the
letter, read out at Catholic churches on Sunday.
“Is this the Zimbabwe we want? To have a
different opinion does not mean to be an enemy.”
In response, information minister Monica
Mutsvangwa criticised the head of the bishops’ conference, Archbishop Robert
Ndlovu, and described the pastoral letter as an “evil message” meant to stoke a
“Rwanda-type genocide”.
“His (Ndlovu’s) transgressions acquire a
geopolitical dimension as the chief priest of the agenda of regime change that
is the hallmark of the post-imperial major Western powers for the last two
decades,” Mutsvangwa said in a statement.Archbishop Robert Ndlovu
Critics accuse Mnangagwa, Mugabe’s former
deputy, of resorting to authoritarian tactics like those seen under his
predecessor. Like Mugabe, Mnangagwa says Western countries are funding the
opposition to topple his government.
The Law Society of Zimbabwe said in a statement
that the human rights situation was deteriorating and that lawyers were also
under attack from government agents.
“The law society further condemns the abduction and torture of citizens across the country by state security agents and individuals allegedly unknown but aligned to the state,” it said.
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