Third Force at it again?: July 31 demos organiser Jacob Ngarivhume threatened with death

President of Transform Zimbabwe (TZ), Jacob Ngarivhume, who is also the organiser of the planned July 31 anti-corruption protests, said he has received deaths threats from suspected State actors.

Ngarivhume has accused State agents of having sent the threats, saying it is sickening for the government to pretend to care about coronavirus while it is threatening to eliminate him and his family. Ngarivhume posted on Twitter:

“When I proposed a national demonstration I knew the risks. But it is sickening for the state to pretend to care about COVID 19 lives yet send me messages threatening to kill me and my family.

“Speaking out against corruption is not a crime. It is certainly not a crime deserving death. As a people, we have lived in fear for too long. There is something seriously wrong when citizens live in fear.”

Speaking to NewZimbabwe over the weekend, Ngarivhume said he was unfazed by threats issued by the Zanu PF youth league to disrupt the protests.

He insisted that the planned protests will be peaceful and it was in fact, the Zanu PF youths who were planning to cause violence on the day.

In the recent past, dissenting voices have been silenced by abductions. The government has often blamed an imaginary third force for kidnapping opposition and human rights activists and has also at times accused the victims of faking abductions.

— NewZimbabwe