IT is mind-boggling that Information secretary Ndavaningi Mangwana has chosen to mislead the world into believing that Peter Murphy is a former prime minister of Australia. For the record, Murphy has never been a prime minister, let alone a legislator in Australia.

He is one of those Australians who are gullible enough to accept Zanu PF propaganda as fact, a position many believe is influenced by Sekai Holland with whom Murphy is closely associated. The two have worked together for many years.

Holland, who had been in opposition politics since the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change at the turn of the millennium, is suspected by many to have been bribed by the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa to turn against the opposition at the height of the November 2017 coup in Zimbabwe.

The government of Zimbabwe has long been accused of dishing out money to high-profile personalities to curry favour.

Shortly before the 2023 elections, High Court judges were given US$400 000 each disguised as loans.

Permanent secretaries were also given similar amounts.

Each of 22 government ministers was given US$500 000 as “loans”, while their deputies got US$350 000 each.

Chiefs in Zimbabwe receive new cars shortly before every election as they are used to coerce their subjects, through the village heads, to vote for Zanu PF.

How does the Australian government feel when a senior government of Zimbabwe official lies that Murphy is a former prime minister?

How does Murphy himself feel when a government official in Zimbabwe peddles such lies?

The whole idea of inviting Murphy to Zimbabwe was to give credence to the sham election that took place in the country.

Unfortunately, Murphy seems to be ignoring the findings of all election observer missions, notably the African Union, Sadc, Comesa and the Commonwealth, which noted that the elections did not meet the requirements of the Electoral Act, the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Sadc Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.

In its assessment, the Commonwealth observer group noted a number of issues that “could impact on the credibility, transparency and inclusivity of the process”.

While the process appeared peaceful in the urban areas, it was a different story in the rural areas away from the election observers, where a group called Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ), which is linked to Zanu PF, set tables and deployed its officials to entrances to polling stations, where villagers who had been intimidated prior to voting day, and told they should record the serial numbers of their ballot papers and present them to FAZ officials on leaving the polling stations, did as they had been instructed.

The villagers had been told that because their serial numbers would be recorded, Zanu PF was going to check the ballots and see who they voted for, and those found to have voted for the opposition would have their hands chopped off.

This is really unacceptable. If Murphy is still in Zimbabwe, he should contact officials of the opposition parties that contested the elections, and he will be told the stories about the way citizens in the rural areas were intimidated.

He may also be shown footage of FAZ officials on tables decorated with Zanu PF regalia.

It is illegal to campaign 24 hours before voting begins, but FAZ officials on entrances to rural polling stations displayed Zanu PF regalia, a few metres away from the polling stations.

Would Murphy still call this a free and fair election as he is recorded saying on video? Was he in Zimbabwe during the elections?

Did he visit rural and urban polling stations? If he visited rural polling stations, did he ever hear about FAZ?

I call upon Murphy to be objective and do two things. Firstly, he should check the facts from as many stakeholders as possible before come to a conclusion.

Secondly, he must ask himself why all of a sudden a senior government of Zimbabwe official decided to label him as a former prime minister of Australia.

I will be engaging Murhpy on this issue to get him to understand what he is dealing with.