JOHN MAKUMBE AT LARGE

emperature in the pits of hell. What is even more laughable is that the gullible United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Harare seems to have swallowed this grand deception hook, line and sinker much to the chagrin of legitimate civil society in this country. Sadly, a few misguided NGOs also fell for the trick when they agreed to attend the UNCT sponsored planning workshop in Kariba recently. In doing this, they effectively legitimised the illegitimate and evil Mugabe regime’s claim that it is actively consulting all concerned parties, including civil society, in the process of setting up this pretentious commission.
What befuddles the mind is that there has already been a precedent from which we could have learnt in this regard. Several months ago, the demonic Zanu (PF) regime set up the Anti-Corruption Commission while dancing to the tune “We are Fighting Corruption”, but to date, that commission has amply demonstrated lacklustre performance. Apart form a few “small fish” that have allegedly been suspected of engaging in limited forms of rent seeking, that commission is apparently doing next to nothing in fighting against corruption in high places. There is no guarantee that the proposed human rights commission will perform any better. There are numerous conditions that the Mugabe regime needs to attend to before it can be taken serious when it proposes to desire to set up a human rights commission.
First, the regime has to repeal, or extensively amend, such diabolical pieces of legislation as the Public Order and Security Act (POSA), Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA), Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act (CLCRA), and, of course, the offensive Broadcasting Services Act (BSA). There is no meaningful way in which human rights violations can be regarded as “unlawful” while these repulsive pieces of legislation are on the nation’s books. To date, there is no indication whatsoever from the rulers of this bleeding country that these evil laws might be amended or repealed. It is therefore an exercise in futility to talk about a human rights commission under the current Mugabe regime.
Mugabe himself underlined this very fact when he effectively applauded the ZanuPF Repressive Police (ZRP) for severely beating up the ZCTU leaders when they attempted to demonstrate against continued deterioration of living standards in this country. The NGO Human Rights Forum has consistently issued reports indicating that the chief perpetrators of human rights violations are the police, the army and the CIO. These are all arms of the repressive vampire state. So all this talk about a human rights commission is a deliberate attempt to hoodwink the international community, so that some may be able to justify their support for the authoritarian regime in Harare.
The UNCT ought to be ashamed of themselves for allowing so much wool to be pulled over their eyes. They behaved like they have no diplomatic wisdom. They indeed, owe the majority of the people of Zimbabwe an apology, especially after the ZanuPF regime has continued to demolish poor people’s homes all over this country, more than a year after Madame Tibaijuka’s damaging report on Operation Murambatsvina.
What human rights can the blood sucking Mugabe regime claim to seek to protect and promote? It is my persistent view that the first step in protecting and promoting human rights in Zimbabwe is regime change. Sadly, this is a subject that the UNCT will not be particularly interested in discussing with genuine civil society.