Never again

The national security objectives of Zimbabwe must reflect the resolve of Zimbabweans to live as equals in liberty, peace and harmony, free from fear, and in prosperity- Constitution of Zimbabwe 11.1 (1).

    Words that give hope to an ordinary countryman. They reflect what a democratic nation should be and be governed at any given point. But is it the still smarting people of Zimbabwe's experience? The above words certainly mean good, all the good under the sun but were they followed since the advent of major political opposition to the traditional political party in Zimbabwe? You bet they were! Obviously, the ZANU (PF) led government failed to abide by the words that govern our nation; and why on earth would we still want them to continue occupying the offices they do except to perpetuate the misery and destruction they brought to all the provinces of Zimbabwe?

   While a lot of folks may have differing opinions pertaining to this and to talk about the extent of unfairness in the politics of our country is like the song of a broken record; it seems like the problems have become part of our lives and we accept to live with them. Part of this is true and part of it is not. Since the elections of 2008 and the prior years, there has been lots of suffering of the ordinary citizens caused by unethical practices of the men in the high offices. I remember there was a lot of manipulation prior to the 2008 general elections. There were shortages of basic commodities and the government had to step in and alleviate  the problem, but it turned out that they only did to promote their political agenda. Mealie-meal and other basics were used as an incentive to win supporters although people developed a way of faking to support ZANU (PF) which was the main party that provided these basics at subsidized prices and when they actually voted, they did not for them, but for the opposition. The not so Patriotic Front lost and they results got rigged! Then were those in the rural areas who were scared to vote for candidates of their choice after being lied to that they would be watched if they voted against ZANU. Such lies were told to the unenlightened folks even in the cities. Now, the responsibility therefore is upon all of us today, to enlighten each other about the process of elections and do away with lies that may stop some from voting for parties of their choice.

    Still on that, we were quiet when the beatings occurred.  I remember in the countryside, prior to the 2002 election, when the fury of the Green Bombers was unleashed on helpless villagers. A lot of homes were torched, a lot of folks were killed or maimed. Many young people stopped going to school because they were required to attend to the hapless invaders of their societies. Then the 2005 elections came and went, still the same pattern. People accepted the defeat of the MDC despite the fact that there could have been foul play. ZANU (PF) made its own promises but never followed through. They actually followed through by unleashing one of the most brutal exercises they had ever embarked on since Gukurahundi. Murambatsvina was one nasty occurrence that saw about 700 000 people being displaced and about 220 000 children being disturbed in their studies. The government had explanations for this but they never made any sense except that many people were left out in the cold by a government, elected by the people, to serve the people. It is such a shame and again, the majority of the people never spoke. We only spoke in hushed tones of voices for fear of reprisal. Now countrymen, is it freedom when we are afraid to bring to the table issues that help develop our nation? Is it not like Rhodesia? I am not saying that Rhodesia was better or should come back but I am saying why the efforts to replace it with yet another system that is a spitting image of the former? Mugabe took the place of Smith and all the horrible stories we heard about him. How long can we continue to let the cankerous wound fester? How long should we continue to suppress creativity of young people just because the president has some personal issues with being questioned or being held responsible for the state of affairs in our nation? In 2011 we heard of the youths who were arrested for laughing at the caricatures of the first lady and the reserve bank governor, we heard last year of men who were arrested in different incidents for possessing or drawing caricatures of the president. While they are busy chasing the artists, they are letting the real criminals who are stealing from the nation's coffers walk Scot free. 

      It is a pity and shame that even with a clear cut role of the law maintenance unit of a country, we still get abused by the same who are supposed to protect the people by application of the law. What has happened is totally unacceptable. We cannot let it happen all over again and the people do nothing about it. Chihuri and his crew are just but an extension of the ZANU machine meant to keep the people under suppression. Speaking about the unruly operations of a ZANU (PF)'s arm of violence among civilians, Amnesty international reported;

There have been consistent reports of human rights violations by security forces against perceived political opponents and members of the public. Similarly the police have been accused of handing criminals over to Chipangano gang members who have subjected them to torture before they were taken back into custody and charged.

    Should we continue to take the sidelines and be observers while the gang-men run away with our future? As he future generation, I believe it is the time to take the stance and start being seriously involved in the affairs that matter. The beatings of our parents and us, the dogma and the laws all have to be done away with. The permission to approach has been granted, all it needs now is to act and most assuredly, things are going to change for the better.