Mugabe’s recent pronouncements about peace sit uneasily atop his well-earned “degrees of violence” and it is all too obvious that the grassroots of his party either know that he is not serious, or are obeying instructions from somebody else. His message is being treated with utter contempt by people like self-styled war veteran leader Jabulani Sibanda, who this week told MDC-T supporters in Chipinge that they would be killed if they vote against Zanu (PF) at the next election.
That party has destroyed Zimbabwe and has no ideas about how to get the country working again. They have looted and pillaged the means of production throughout the country and mortgaged our considerable mineral resources to the Chinese. They have no solution to offer to the suffering of the millions who are not on their gravy train, but are desperate to protect their ill-gotten gains at any cost.
The so-called community development trusts being set up to give locals a stake in mining endeavours are nothing but an extension of the gravy train – offering only crumbs to the people while the fat cats cream off the real wealth yet again.
It is a well-documented truth that the vast majority of the violence is perpetrated by the military, the police and the CIO – all state institutions – together with party thugs masquerading as militias. For example we have well-known terror gangs operating with offices in the urban areas – Chipangano, Al Shabab, Top Six, etc. They are known to the police. They work for Zanu (PF). If there was any shred of political will, it would be easy for the police to smash these gangs and put an end to their activities.
Mugabe’s recent plea for tolerance rings particularly hollow in the light of police bans on MDC rallies and harassment of party supporters. This takes many forms: abduction and beatings, arbitrary arrest and imprisonment on flimsy charges that never stand up in court, arson attacks, rape and intimidation.
With elections around the corner, we will now see a resumption of disruption of the activities of NGOs – most of whom are committed to relieving poverty by fostering democracy in one way or another. The recent arrest of ZimRights Director Okay Machisa and two other officials on spurious charges is just the beginning.
If Mugabe was serious about peace, it would be easy for him to send a clear message to his supporters. All he needs do is instruct Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri to arrest all those reported for political violence. For as long as he does not do this, nobody will take him seriously.
Post published in: Editor: Wilf Mbanga
ZANU has to live up to its name and ” ZANU ndeye ropa.”That means it
leaves a trail of deaths wherever it has operated.
There are things that used to happen during the war that nobody had an
explanation of.I think answers are just coming up.
The devilish Rhodesian Army had a seems to have concentrated their
attention on commecial farms.But ZANU ‘s stategy, especially after the
Genever Conference was based on drawing the fighting into the communal
areas by stealing cattle from the commercial farms (makabichi) into
the rural areas.Also by holding noisy all night pungwes.How can you
dance on the front line?
Every time there was a contact with the security forces some poor
villager was accused of having sold out.Punishment varied from death
to having ears and lips cut off.
A trained soldier did not really need an informer to track his
opponent.He had binoculars, the time and patience to wait.
ZANU strategy was to bring the fighting to the people.When people were
put in “protected villages” the guerillas would break the fences or
something.
Most of my friends who went to war,on ZANU side, just would say they
operated in a rural area like Gutu.
They would get angry if you asked them how they won the war against
whites by operating in Gutu where there were no whites.
The war killed more blacks than whites.
Our geurillas boys were pushed enmass as canon fodder against a better
equiped, better trained enemy with more support systems like air,
artillery, horses,motor cycles and armoured cars.
Our leaders’ respect for life has always been very low.
They can kill 200 Zimbabweans to demonstrate their hatred of the
British or Americans.
So people will always die as long as thugs are in authority.
Blacks who had no farms died at hondo yeminda.
List is endless.
Thugs respect violence, whoever can dispense of it is the boss.
I cant imagine ZANU without violence.It will not survive 1 hour.
When they came into power in 1980 they promised free education,health
and housing for all by 2000.
Come 2005 they demolished the people’s small houses that we had build
under more difficult conditions like less jobs,no loans etc.
Most of us lived a better life before Independence.
So let ZANU kill that the norm.I heard of a peaceful demonstration
were 400 people died