THE Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) does not take lightly attempts by some media organisations to drive a wedge between Zimbabwe and Zambia, President Mnangagwa’s spokesman Mr George Charamba has said.
As such, the OPC yesterday called on Alpha Media Holdings’ NewsDay newspaper to retract its malicious and damaging article misrepresenting and intentionally maligning President Mnangagwa.
The local daily paper yesterday falsely claimed that President Mnangagwa had described Zambia as posing “a security threat” to Zimbabwe and as a “client state” of the United States of America during his bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia three weeks ago.
In a statement, Mr Charamba, who is also Deputy Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet (Presidential Communications), said such unwarranted falsehoods were a demonstration of “sheer recklessness” and should thus be retracted.
“Today’s issue of AMH’s NewsDay carries on its front-page an offensive story titled, “US scoffs at ED”, which grossly and maliciously misrepresents and maligns the President of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Dr ED Mnangagwa.
“Purporting to draw from the President’s recent remarks during a bilateral meeting in St Petersburg with the President of the Russian Federation, His Excellency President Vladimir Putin, the paper falsely claims that President Mnangagwa told President Putin that, “Zambia posed a security threat to Zimbabwe as its [Zambia] security sector was heavily funded by the US government. “Further, the paper falsely added that, “He [President Mnangagwa] also claimed that Zambia had become an American client-state and was bent on destabilising the region,” he said.
Mr Charamba said the OPC did not take such intentional malice lightly as it was bent on soiling relations between Harare and Lusaka, which are sister Republics.
The NewsDay’s unwarranted provocation, he said, reeked of unprofessionalism as the President’s true and undistorted remarks were in the public domain.
“The Office of the President and Cabinet takes very strong exception to both misrepresentations cited above, which are intentionally malicious, and which are meant to drive a wedge between the two sister Republics of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
“President Mnangagwa’s remarks were very clear and are in the public domain; they pointedly referred to, and abhorred America’s hostile activities in the SADC Region, which activities are calculated to isolate Zimbabwe, and to undermine peaceful inter-state relations, good neighbourliness and cohesion which all member States in our Region are sworn to, continually cherish and jealously guard,” he said.
President Mnangagwa, said Mr Charamba, stood by his comments on the US’ increasing military presence in the SADC region as it posed a security threat, a position collectively held by the regional bloc and continent at large.
“For the record and for the avoidance of any doubt, President Mnangagwa stands by his remarks in St Petersburg which raised well-founded fears for Zimbabwe regarding American intentions and activities in our Region, and which voiced and defended Zimbabwe’s sacrosanct security interests, while echoing the collective position of SADC and the African Union, AU, against any foreign military presence and/or activities on African soil.
“The threat which President Mnangagwa raised with his Russian counterpart in St Petersburg, comes from American military activities in SADC, which continue to escalate and which must be roundly condemned.
“At no point did the President of Zimbabwe describe the sister Republic of Zambia as posing “a security threat” to Zimbabwe, or as “a client state” of any power, including America,” he said. The Presidential spokesperson said the NewsDay had violated the country’s Constitution which provides for freedom of expression but not “refuge to publishers and vendors of falsehoods and malicious misrepresentations. In view of the abundant malice and the sheer recklessness in the NewsDay story, the Office of the President and Cabinet demands that the Editor of the offending publication unconditionally retracts the misleading story without any delay. Section 61 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides no refuge to publishers and vendors of falsehoods and malicious misrepresentations.
“To that end, the Office of the President and Cabinet reserves the right to seek repair, and to ensure enforcement of professional standards in newsrooms and in publications where these fall short,” said Mr Charamba.
