Dispute With Ruhanya: Mwonzora Apologises For Harsh Remarks

MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora on Sunday apologised for “harsh” remarks that appeared to attack the quality of education at the Harare Polytechnic he uttered in response to Pedzisai Ruhanya’s criticism.

Mwonzora was responding to a tweet by MDC Alliance activist Ruhanya who had suggested that the MDC-T leader was a sellout. Ruhanya’s tweet read:

In Zimbabwe’s modern, contemporary history, there is no person and political party that beats Douglas Mwonzora and MDC-T in selling out and betraying the cause of the masses..

Ruhanya also claimed that Mwonzora was closely associated with the ruling Zanu PF while also accusing him of “democratic subversion.”

In his response, Mwonzora equated the Harare Polytechnic where Ruhanya studied journalism before going on to university in Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom to Morogoro, a Tanzanian primary training camp for freedom for fighters during the war of independence. He said:

My brother that is why they say you have to directly go to university not via Morogoro. Poly ruined you my brother.

Mwonzora’s remarks attracted criticism from some quarters, including exiled former minister of higher education, Professor Jonathan Moyo who described Mwonzora’s views as corrupt. Moyo said:

Your views on education are so demented and corrupt that no parent or guardian would want to be your neighbour, let alone to have you as a leader in their political party.

The National Electoral Reform Agenda (NERA), a group of political parties, said in a brief statement:

Such insensitive mockery of lived experiences of many people is uncalled for.

Mwonzora later took apologised saying adding that he was not attacking the quality of education at the institution. He said:

I apologise unreservedly to the good Zimbabweans who may have found this tweet offensive. I was attacking the type of student politics at the Polytechnical college during Mr Ruhanya’s time and not the quality of education there. Once again sorry.

More: ZimLive