Mugabe’s provincial party offices damaged in bombing
Zimbabwe President and leader of ZANU PF Robert Mugabe arrives at the party's 12th National People's Conference in Bulawayo on December 8, 2011. PHOTO/ AFP/ Jekesai Njikizana.
HARARE, Thursday
A suspected bomb attack partially destroyed offices of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF party in the city of Gweru, state media reported on Thursday.
Police have refused to disclose the cause of the explosion but The Herald newspaper said Zanu PF was blaming its political opponents for the attack.
“We are still waiting for police investigations to be completed but we strongly suspect that this was an act of aggression by our enemies especially the MDC (led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai,” Zanu PF spokesman Mr Passmore Washaya was quoted as saying.
“It looks like the suspects missed their target and the explosion ended up shattering windowpanes without causing further damage.
“We are, however, still waiting for the police to complete their investigations so that we can ascertain the extent of the damage.”
But MDC dismissed the allegations that it was involved in the bombing, saying it does not need to use violence against President Mugabe’s party in urban areas because it enjoyed popular support. “These are unfounded allegations and if the suspects were from the MDC party, by now there could have been a number of arrests,” said MDC spokesman Mr James Tsuro.
“There is no reason why MDC would bomb empty offices and besides our party is not violence oriented.
“There is no point for us to resort to violence when it is a known fact that virtually all the urban dwellers are MDC supporters.”
The incident has raised suspicions of an internal job with critics claiming that Zanu PF is trying to justify a crackdown against opponents ahead of elections expected next year.
Petrol bombs at Zanu PF offices and police posts followed by massive arrests of President Mugabe’s opponents have become a common feature ahead of elections in Zimbabwe.
However, despite the arrests no one has ever been convicted, raising suspicions that Zanu PF would be trying to justify its claims that its opponents were behind political violence.
What has made the latest incident more intriguing is that the Zanu PF offices are housed in the same building as the police and the feared Central Intelligence Organisation.
