Staff ReporterMovement for Democratic Change leader Nelson Chamisa is expected to appear before the Kgalema Motlanthe Commission of Inquiry into the killing of six innocent civilians in August this year soon after Zimbabwe’s harmonized elections.
Commission secretary Virginia Mabhiza told the independent NewsDay newspaper that Chamisa, former Finance Minister Tendai Biti and several other MDC leaders are expected to appear before the commission next week after some people, including members of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, claimed that they were to blame for the killing of the people by suspected state security agents.
“The commission will be subpoenaing all those who were implicated in inciting violence, pre- and post-election. The law empowers the commission to use legal instruments to bring these people before it so that they can answer to the allegations made against them,” Mabhiza said.
It’s not yet clear if the commission will also summon Vice President Constantino Chiwenga in view of a court ruling, which implicated him in the deployment of the army that allegedly opened fire on unarmed civilians while some political activists were staging protests demanding the release of presidential election results.
Mabhiza further said there would ask some forensic experts to give evidence on the nature of bullets that killed the six civilians with indications that police will provide the experts.
The newspaper cited an anonymous commissioner as saying the ballistic experts would give evidence on the damage an AK47 could cause. “The issues that were raised by army commanders, especially that they did not shoot anyone and that the soldier captured on video kneeling while shooting, was firing in the air at 45 degrees, the commission would want to get an expert opinion on the matter so that it arrives at a conclusion as to who shot and killed the six now-deceased.”
