Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Nelson Chamisa has reportedly come under fire after he made a gender insensitive political banter during his recent election campaign.
According to New Zimbabwe.com, addressing his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party supporters in the United Kingdom over the weekend, Chamisa "predicted a crashing defeat for Mnangagwa".
"If Mnangagwa wins 5% in a free election, I will give him my sister. I have a sister who just turned 18 and looking for a husband.
"I am betting on this because I know it won’t happen," Chamisa was quoted as saying.
He said this to wild applause from his supporters.
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The charismatic leader's comments, however, torched a storm, with social media users saying that he did not deserve to be a leader, as his utterances reinforced "human trafficking" and "abuse against women".
In a Tweet, South African writer, Zakes Mda said that the MDC presidential candidate was a "shameless man" for thinking about such a bet.
"What crap is this? A shameless man who can think of a bet like this (even as a joke) does not deserve to be a leader of anything," he tweeted.
Other social media users said that Chamisa was reckless in his utterances, particularly in a country that was reeling under a serious human traffic scourge and abuse.
According All Africa.com, domestic violence in the southern African country increased to a staggering 45 000 cases in 2016.
Reports indicated that one in every three girls in Zimbabwe experienced sexual violence before they turned 18 years of age and 78% of women reported that their husbands or intimate partners were the perpetrators.
