Bulawayo 24 News
By Stephen Jakes
7 January 2017
MDC-T senior official Job Wiwa Sikhala has related on how the Zimbabwean government resorted to harassing and oppression white Zimbabweans leading most of them to leave the country resulting to the economic crisis currently rocking the nation.
“The incident that made me feel pity for white Zimbabweans, is that it was sometime in the 2000s when the toxic Zanu PF politics of racial discrimination and incitement of hatred against white Zimbabweans was at its peak that I was one of those who sat silently in Parliament listening to Paul Mangwana who was chosen to be the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee to investigate on the misconduct of Roy Bennett after his altercation with the then Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Patrick Chinamasa,” Sikhala wrote on his Facebook post.
“The altercation is sometimes reported with exaggerated superlatives to paint a picture of a rogue Boer in Roy Bennett even though Roy is not a Boer. The scuffle having been provoked by Chinamasa’s derogatory answer to Bennett’s question in parliament on how the former white commercial farmers will be compensated for the improvements made in commercial farms and how far the government has gone to complete the investigations on the murder of several commercial farmers such as Stevens.”
He said rather than answering the question Chinamasa went all over the place insulting Bennett and his ancestors that he had no right whatsoever to ask him such a question which Chinamasa described as silly because Bennett’s ancestors were murderers and that this government had no business to protect descendants of murderers.
“Bennett was told by some other MPs seated next to him that Chinamasa’s insults have gone beyond normal expectations that if ever such words were uttered to them they would have long assaulted him. In a blink of an eye Bennett aggressively left his seat charging towards Chinamasa. On his way charging to Chinamasa, Didymus Mutasa kicked Bennett by the buttocks and Bennett pushed Chinamasa and told him off. The push was extremely minimal. The joke of what we used to see in the Sri Lankan Parliament or Indian Parliament or even the South African Parliament since the emergency of EFF,” he said.
“Few days later Chinamasa moved a motion in Parliament for the institution of a Parliamentary Committee to investigate whether Bennett’s conduct had violated the Parliamentary Rules and Orders. Paul Mangwana was appointed the Chairperson of the Committee which was congested with Zanu PF persons. The MDC was represented by Prof Welshman Ncube and the Parliamentary Chief Whip Innocent Gonese.”
Sikhala said Paul Mangwana after a long time of about 8 months came back to present the verdict of his Committee to Parliament where his Committee asked Parliament to sit as a court to pass a custodial sentence to Bennett.
“Mangwana spoke as if Bennett was responsible for all the deaths and violence that took place in the country since 1890 to that day. Bennett was portrayed as the villain of all. Mangwana was in an overzealous and pompous mood on the day in question. He retrieved all superlatives to describe how evil Bennett was and the need of our society to confine him to prison with hard labour so as to send a clear message to would be white offenders of Bennett’s mental disposition,” he said.
“We might hate him or like him, Tendai Biti on this particular gave one of the most polished legal presentation. In his contribution when the debate was brought to the floor Biti presented a long narrative of our history and the position of law when an institution like Parliament is faced with such a problem. It was a refined oral mitigation that brought the best out of the man. His presentation is one of the best I heard from him. When David Coltart came in to give a passionate narration of the history of violence in our country since 1890 through to the Smith regime via Gukurahundi and the 1999 to 2000s violence the House kept quiet for sometimes to ponder. The two lawyers gave memorable defence to Bennett while in the same vein where explicitly exposing Zanu PF hypocrisy.”
He said despite pleas of justice to be exercised in the matter, the hard hearts of Zanu PF could not be turned.
“They wanted the man to be eliminated from the political radar. They wanted him nowhere except behind bars. When we final went for the vote Zanu PF was already singing and ululating. Some where already demanding for his labour in their seized farms. Some were saying he should die. Others started to mock him. I saw and personally witnessed Pauline Gwanyanya, Priscilla Misihairambwi Mushonga and Edith Matamisa crying. We silently moved out of Parliament to our homes in anger and anguish,” he said.
“It was difficult and hard to take. I have never witnessed such anger in my life. Words that were said by Zanu PF against Zimbabwean whites are unprintable to this day. Even their mother ‘s private parts were described in jubilation. They were swearing that they will not rest until all whites were driven out of Zimbabwe. Some were even saying that they will have a good time with Bennett’s wife or rape her while he is in prison. Others said they will never ever allow him to be brought food in prison. Some saying boys will ravage his back in prison. Others urging him to prepare napkins as he will be impregnated in prison. I have never come across such. Even the worst sinner has rights.”
Sikhala said having fought for equality in modern Zimbabwe he wonder where Roy is?
“Is there anyone with information where this brave man is? What is in his mind? Has he paid his back on Zimbabwe?” he said.
My postscript – Roy Bennett is alive and well. He is farming in Zambia with his family and by all accounts is very productive. Zambia’s gain and our loss