BY HARRIET CHIKANDIWA ZANU PF party chief whip Pupurai Togarepi has introduced a motion in the National Assembly calling for enactment of the Patriotic Bill aimed at dealing with citizens who denigrate the country.
Critics have described the Bill as a plot by the Zanu PF-led government to destroy the country’s opposition political parties and silence all dissenting voices.
On Tuesday, Togarepi claimed that government was tolerant to all views.
He said each time the country goes for elections, some “political malcontents” speak badly about the country. His motion reads: ”Noting with disdain the deplorable and potentially explosive political gimmicks by forces of negation who always vilify the government and have the audacity in their stunts to advocate for the perpetuation and perpetration of very illegal and retrogressive sanctions on their own motherland by foreign governments; each time the country gears for elections, such political malcontents rear their ugly heads and start speaking with forked tongues wherein they advocate for sanctions on one hand and still want to participate in free and fair elections on the other hand without any repercussions for their unpatriotic and destructive utterances and call for the tightening of sanctions.”
Togarepi called on the House to condemn people who called for sanctions saying they had nothing to contribute to the nation.
“There should be ban of swearing into office of anyone advocating for sanctions against the country. If someone lies about this country, that person must be denied the right to participate in the politics of this country.
“We need to come up with an Act that defends the people of Zimbabwe, a law that will ensure that when we are dealing with politics it’s a level playground,” Togarepi said.
The Zanu PF chief whip said it was high time that those that lie about their country paid for their sins.
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