HARARE - Zimbabwe's main opposition leader
told an official inquiry on Monday he had not incited supporters
to take to the streets in post-election violence that killed six
people in August.
Nelson Chamisa lost the July 30 poll to President Emmerson
Mnangagwa, in the first election after Robert Mugabe was forced
to resign following a coup in November 2017. In the aftermath of
the vote, civilians died in an army crackdown on protests.
Chamisa lost a legal challenge to the election results but
still maintains the vote was rigged and that Mnangagwa lacks
legitimacy.
"For the record, my hands are clean. My conscience is very
clear and my resolve is unbreakable. These hands that you see
have not spilled blood," the 40-year-old politician said.
Chamisa said his party had not called for the protests and
the demonstrations could have been hijacked by the ruling party
to smear his party.
The commission of inquiry, led by former South African
president Kgalema Motlanthe, has heard evidence from security
chiefs who denied soldiers had killed civilians and blamed
Chamisa and other opposition leaders for inciting violence.
Video from the Aug. 1 protests showed soldiers, some with
their faces obscured by camouflage masks, opening fire with
automatic weapons.
Chamisa said his party would hold peaceful protests on
Thursday against a deteriorating economy, which he said was a
result of lack of confidence in Mnangagwa's government.