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Congress of Democrats Calls on OPC to Defend CIO from \u201cNarrative Warfare\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
The Congress of Democrats Zimbabwe has issued a press statement demanding that the Office of the Permanent Controller (OPC) take urgent action to counter what the party describes as a coordinated campaign of disinformation targeting the Central Intelligence Organisation and its leadership.<\/p>\n
Signed by party spokesperson Henry Tseriwa, the statement singles out several incidents it characterises as part of a \u201cdisturbing pattern\u201d of attacks designed to destabilise national confidence in state security institutions.<\/p>\n
Among the cases highlighted is what the party calls the Knox Chivero Allegations \u2014 recent public claims suggesting CIO involvement in operations aimed at national destabilisation. The Congress of Democrats argues that without a formal rebuttal from the OPC, such claims risk hardening into accepted fact in the public domain.<\/p>\n
The statement also takes aim at what it describes as a smear campaign against former CIO Director General Isaac Moyo, who was subjected to corruption and nepotism allegations following his reassignment. The party notes that as a former DG bound by the Official Secrets Act, Moyo is legally barred from defending himself publicly \u2014 a vulnerability it says is being exploited by his detractors. A similar argument is made regarding former DG Fulton Mangwanya, with the statement naming Acie Lumumba among those conducting what it calls coordinated public attacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen bloggers and social media influencers are permitted to assault the character of serving and former intelligence officials with impunity, it does not just hurt the individual \u2014 it undermines the national security infrastructure,\u201d the statement reads.<\/p>\n
The Congress of Democrats is formally calling on Permanent Secretary Engineer Tafadzwa Muguti and the OPC to issue clear rebuttals to falsehoods threatening national stability, take legal and administrative steps to protect individuals bound by the Official Secrets Act, and send a firm signal to bloggers and \u201cnarrative setters\u201d that state security institutions are not fair game for character assassination.<\/p>\n
The party frames its intervention in constitutional terms, citing Sections 224, 225, 226 and 206 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe as the legal foundation governing the establishment and conduct of national intelligence services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe dignity of our national institutions must be upheld,\u201d the statement concludes, warning that the OPC\u2019s continued silence risks inadvertently emboldening those seeking to weaken Zimbabwe\u2019s security architecture through sustained narrative warfare.<\/p>\n
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