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By James Muonwa l Mashonaland West Correspondent
MAIN opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa has taken a swipe at President Emmerson Mnangagwa for accepting a helicopter from Russian President Vladimir Putin and openly supporting his invasion of Ukraine.
Putin recently gifted his Zimbabwean counterpart a chopper as Moscow cements ties with the Southern African country, which is also under heavy sanctions.
The Information Ministry confirmed through Twitter the aircraft will soon be delivered to Zimbabwe.
Addressing thousands of CCC supporters at Gadzema Grounds in Chinhoyi on Monday, Chamisa said the Zanu PF leader had taken an ill-advised stance in support of Putin in the devastating war.
"My brother (Mnangagwa) was in Russia the other day and was over the moon with joy after receiving a ramshackle helicopter, and he unashamedly declared we, as Zimbabwe, support Russia in its invasion of Ukraine. You and who, whom did you consult?
"A proper leader of Zimbabwe must not support or side with any country, but side with peace, side with unity, side with progress and side with multilateralism and unite the belligerent nations, Russia and Ukraine," said Chamisa.
The aircraft will soon be delivered to Zimbabwe.
The CCC president chastised Mnangagwa saying he must stop acting like a puppet of the former Soviet Union.
"Don't be a puppet, be a person who respects the norms of peace across the whole world and not side with aggression, which is not acceptable," he said.
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A new CCC government ushered through the ballot will pursue non-aggression and promote world peace, he added.
"CCC supports peace and harmony of all nations. We support global peace because joining a certain side is against facts and truth and lacks objectivity...there we don't agree with my brother."
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Chamisa expressed confidence in annihilating Mnangagwa, derogatorily describing the 80-year-old Zanu PF leader as a "customer" so easy to beat in the upcoming presidential election.
In a wide-ranging address to his supporters that lasted close to an hour, Chamisa promised to stamp out corruption bleeding the country of potential revenue, job creation and improving welfare of civil servants as well as restoration of basic social services like water and roads.
He also took the opportunity to introduce aspiring CCC Chinhoyi MP, Leslie Mhangwa, who pledged to "energise" the once vibrant town, which had the now defunct Cold Storage Commission (CSC) and mining giant Golden Kopje, among other key economic players.
Mhangwa, an engineer by profession, unveiled a manifesto to address myriad challenges facing Chinhoyi, which has lately witnessed exponential population growth burdening existing infrastructure resulting in service delivery collapse, particularly water provision.
