Clayton
Shereni
First
lady Auxillia Mnangagwa had to spring to the defence of security forces after a
villager publicly told her they were responsible for returning citizens who are
dodging quarantine.
During
an engagement with hundreds of people who turned up at the Masvingo
Agricultural Show Grounds on Thursday, July 16, a villager from Chivi North
stood up and blamed soldiers and police officers at the border for taking
bribes from border jumpers that want to avoid mandatory quarantine.
The
First Lady is on a nationwide ‘Covid-19 awareness campaign’ and Masvingo was
her fourth destination with Bulawayo being her next stop.
“The
cause of the increase in Covid-19 cases is corruption at border posts where
illegal crossing activities are happening.
“After
crossing into the country illegally, border jumpers go to the rural areas and
stay there. Please mother, the security should be tight and they must desist
from accepting bribes, the security is hurting us,” said Madziva.
In
her response Mnangagwa, who was moderating the discussion, had to stop Madziva
from making further accusations and told him not to divert from the subject matter
of the day to further his own agendas.
“A
mother won’t speak like that because security officers are her children. Can a
mother say that her children are being given bribes? Zvinotaurika izvozvo?
These children are hardworking, do you know how long Limpopo (River) is?
“These
children are not sleeping. When you are sleeping in your blankets, they are
walking, even when it’s cold they walk so that is not how we want to appreciate
their efforts.
“What
we can do is to encourage them and thank them for enduring hard times to keep
us safe. We can’t say you are being hurt by the security forces.
“Recently,
they did a good job and intercepted border jumpers. My visit is not about that,
I don’t want such issues to be discussed here. Don’t try to divert the subject
of the day by coming with a hidden agenda,” said Mnangagwa.
Her
statements came at a time when President Emmerson Mnangagwa has issued a
recorded video statement saying his government did not tolerate corruption at
any level.
Her
visit to Masvingo saw many people benefiting from her Angel of Hope Foundation which
donated hampers to hundreds of people living with disabilities and the elderly.
