In an ironic development, Zimbabwe’s Defence minister Oppah Muchinguri Kashiri, who infamously celebrated the coronavirus as God’s punishment against western nations is reported to be battling Covid-19.
According to the local publication, Zim Morning Post, Muchinguri-Kashiri is one of the senior government officials who have been struck by Covid-19. The Minister is reported to be battling Covid-19 in the capital.
The publication reports that other senior government officials who are currently battling Covid-19 include, Manicaland Provincial Affairs Minister Ellen Gwaradzimba and former Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) boss, retired Major-General Paradzai Zimondi.
Muchinguri-Kashiri shocked the world and went viral for all the wrong reasons back in March 2020, when she appeared to celebrate the disease. The Defence Minister gleefully proclaimed that the disease was God’s divine retribution against western countries for imposing economic sanctions on Zimbabwe. United States President Donald Trump was singled out in the minister’s bizarre tirade.
When Muchinguri-Kashiri made the startling claims, the disease was yet to hit Zimbabwe. Addressing supporters of the ruling Zanu PF party at a political rally in Chinhoyi, the Minister said,
“Coronavirus is the work of God punishing countries that imposed sanctions on us. They are now keeping indoors. Their economies are screaming just like they did to ours. Trump should know that he is not God.”
It must be noted that when Muchinguri-Kashiri celebrated the coronavirus as God’s punishment on the West, many Zimbabweans blasted the minister for her insensitive and ill-thought assertations on social media platforms. If fact, most people were at pains to make it clear that Muchinguri-Kashiri’s sentiments were not representative of the Zimbabwean people.
Zimbabwe has since recorded 17,194 Covid-19 cases and 418 deaths. The government has also imposed a 30-day national lockdown following a spike in Covid-19 cases, which have been termed the “Second Wave.”
