Political analyst, Ibbo Mandaza, believes that although fear has become part of the country’s political fabric it is dissipating.
“I think this is because of the current political situation. The country is continually under international scrutiny. Zimbabweans are increasingly able to express themselves more freely. Sometimes I think the fear is exaggerated,” he said.
Mandaza argued that the emergence of different media houses had created platforms for multiple voices in the political sphere. “The media has helped create space for pluralism. Journalists and academia have helped create this space,” he said.
Social media has made significant inroads in recent times and, according to Mandaza, this has taken over the role of electronic media. “The role of social media is growing. Electronic media has not played its full role. There is no plurality of voices in electronic media in the country,” he said.
1980’s fallout
Fear has been part of the country’s socio-political existence since the time of independence. The fallout of pre-independence allies Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo in the early 1980s was succeeded by a period of intense hostilities, which resulted in the loss of thousands of lives in the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces. President Robert Mugabe has described this era in the country’s history as a moment of madness. However, the culture of violence continued. The formation of Edgar Tekere’s Zimbabwe Unity Movement in the early 1990s was another intense period.
The formation of the MDC at the turn of the century provided the strongest opposition to Zanu (PF) in its history. Supporters of the party have for most of the last 13 years endured various acts of violence and intimidation.
Former Zanu (PF) politburo member and now President of Mavambo/Kusile, Simba Makoni, is of the opinion that nothing has changed.
“It is still the same; there is no change whatsoever. It’s affecting us. The rest of us are not able to campaign because people are not able to associate freely,” he said.
GNU-defined
Makoni said what needed to be done was clearly defined in the Government of National Unity. He said people were still afraid to exercise their right to free association and assembly.
“All reforms stipulated in the Global Political Agreement on the media, the security sector must be implemented to enable people to have clear relationships,” he said.
The GNU is credited with ushering in a semblance of sanity in the country. Zimbabweans are used to looking to polls with trepidation because of the violence and intimidation of past elections. With elections on the horizon, some analysts are cautious. Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe general secretary, Reverend Lindani Dube, said elections would show if the country had turned a corner.
“To some degree the environment has changed for the better. The GNU has been a positive development. It has managed to bring a bit of sanity and an environment of stability. However, elections have now been announced. When political campaigning starts, that will be the proper litmus test,” Rev Dube said.
Niggling insecurity
To some the apparatus of repression is still intact. Analyst Rejoice Ngwenya said there was still “that niggling sense of insecurity”. “There are still restrictions. Once or twice the security services will assert themselves, especially when direct insults are made on the President,” he said.
Ngwenya, however, felt that in public places people were able to express themselves freely.
Regional leaders have vowed to closely monitor the situation for any poll violence. The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition said the prevailing peace was a result of Mugabe’s Zanu (PF) trying to re-invent itself. Findings from a recent Freedom House poll showed that the lingering fear of violence in the run up to elections still exists.
Post published in: News