Is the violent use of Machetes now part of our lives – Mliswa
Fire-brand Norton member of Parliament Temba Mliswa has accused the government of not taking action against the continued violent use of machetes in the country.
Mliswa lamented that little has been done by the government to curtail the increasing problem and has blasted law enforcement agents for being part of the problem.
Have we accepted that the violent use of machetes will be part of our lives? We are seeing their increased use yet little has been done to curtail the problem. The law enforcement agents are actually part of the problem because how can this continue in such wanton manner?
— Hon. Temba P. Mliswa (@TembaMliswa) December 26, 2019
The Member of Parliament continued on saying that “I have pushed this agenda in the National Assembly and have spoken about the introduction of Statutory Instrument being put in place to ban their use and introduce stringent measures against those arrested’.
He went on saying “Government can do these things anytime but they are not doing so. The President has spoken about it but there is no traction at all from the Ministers to curtail this. Are they part of this? They can only be part of this”.
By allowing this scourge we are opening way to the degeneration of our society into a lawless jungle. This is a matter of state security calling for a forceful intervention from authorities unless, by reading their reluctance to intervene, we can conclude that they are involved.
— Hon. Temba P. Mliswa (@TembaMliswa) December 26, 2019
Recently, President Emmerson Mnangagwa publicly tasked Chegutu West MP Dexter Nduna (Zanu PF), to end the chaos in the artisanal mining sector, raising speculation that the parliamentarian was partly responsible for the machete wars that have unsettled the country.
Machetes violence particularly associated with the small-scale mining industry has been on the rise country-wide. Machete-wielding gangs usually pounce on rich small-scale mines confiscating gold ore robbing and maiming even killing in the process. Experts have warned if the terror gangs are not contained the possibility of terror groups like notorious Alshabab of Somalia will be born.