DOZENS of Zimbabweans based in the United Kingdom (UK) yesterday protested at the Zimbabwe and United Arab Emirates embassies in London demanding the arrest of all those implicated in a recent gold smuggling and money laundering documentary produced by Al Jazeeranews.com
The placard-waving protesters accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa of being reluctant to arrest his allies implicated in the alleged scam.
“Arrest the Gold Mafia,” one of the placards read.
Co-ordinator of the protests, Patricia Chinyoka, told NewsDay that they will continue piling pressure for the arrest of the ’Gold Mafia’ kingpins.
“We are expecting the UAE to investigate all those implicated in the Al Jazeera documentary. Tomorrow we are going to have a vigil for Hon (Job) Sikhala where we will be joined by the British MPs,” Chinyoka added.
Opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere hailed the protesters for shaming Mnangagwa.
“While we honour Independence Day, we are mindful that the 43-year-old bad governance crisis has rendered the liberation promise empty,” Mahere told NewsDay.
“The #GoldMafia exposé continues a sad pattern of a rich nation being poorly managed and looted by political elites at the expense of the citizens. This is not the Zimbabwe that the citizens had hoped for.
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“We urge every citizen to ensure that they perform their civic duty by voting en-masse in the coming election for ethical, competent leaders who will usher in a new great Zimbabwe with dignity, prosperity and freedom for all.”
Zanu PF UK executive member Xavier Muneyi Muzukuru Zavare said the protesters were not patriotic Zimbabweans.
“What they are doing is very shameful and embarrassing. It’s like desecrating the graves of their and our ancestors. That’s mocking the great job done by the ancestors,” Zavare said.
“You can’t choose one’s wedding day or to remember a late person to introduce your own story. Nowhere in the world do you find people not respecting their country’s independence day.
“We are quite surprised if these people are Zimbabweans or Rhodesians. It's shameful because most of these Zimbabweans are led by a Rhodie who recently said on Twitter and their Change Radio that there is no Independence.”
Government has since indicated that it would investigate the allegations made by Al Jazeera.
