Clueless Mnangagwa Must Step Down
6 July 2020
Spread the love

By Prince Njagu

Zimbabwe is in a humanitarian meltdown; cases of corrupt officials and torture of citizens have become the talk of the day.

The once breadbasket of Southern Africa has been reduced to begging for food aid from the international community.

Corrupt governance and mismanagement of government funds has exacerbated the current humanitarian crisis in the country.

As the national crisis continues to deepen in Zimbabwe, Mnangagwa and his ZANU PF administration remain clueless.

Instead of focusing on reviving the economy, they are busy pointing fingers at the opposition, and working tirelessly to dismantle the MDC Alliance.

Citizen driven protests in Mbare and Goromonzi are outcries from the Zimbabweans populace.

Zimbabweans have endured four painful decades under the ZANU PF administration.

After the recent protests in Goromonzi, an MDC Alliance activist and Youth Chair Davison Chamisa was targeted, abducted, tortured and left for dead in Norton.

How can these things be happening in a democracy? Citizens expressing their disgruntlement is no grounds for torture. The Zimbabwean constitution provides its citizen with the right to freedom of expression, and freedom of expression includes these peaceful demonstrations.

“These abductions are an attempt to silence and intimidate the opposition and citizens from speaking against the national crisis”, said Advocate Fadzayi Mahere

Mahere issued a statement on behalf of MDC Alliance in which she was strongly condemning these abductions and abuse of protestors.

“As the MDC Alliance we condemn the continued torture and abduction of our members”, said Mahere.

Legislator Joana Mamombe, youth leaders Cecilia Chimbiri and Netsai Marova were the first victims. This has been followed by several cases of abductions and torture of activists within the country.

The most worrying thing is the way in which these cases are going unaccounted for. The law enforcers are turning a blind eye to all these inhuman acts. The global community seems to have turned a deaf ear to the current crisis in Zimbabwe.

These abductions and torture will continue to take place as the perpetrators are now aware that they can get away with it. The local law enforcers save their masters; it is time for external intervention.

Zimbabwean citizens are protesting about the hunger and suffering within the country. The government should be working on providing solutions to the problems which their citizenry is facing.

Suffering have been exacerbated by a corrupt political system. Government official continue to plunder from the government coffers, and they are never brought to justice.

A recent case to take note of, is the case of ZANU PF Health Minister Obadiah Moyo who was involved in illegal dealing in the procurement of coronavirus tests and equipment.

The Minister was granted bail, but it is rare for such charges to stick especially when the case involves a high-profile cabinet minister.

Corruption by government officials has crippled the Zimbabwean economy and it has resulted in endless industrial actions from workers.

Nurses, doctors and other civil servants are always protesting poor working conditions and the Emmerson Mnangagwa led administration always points a finger on the opposition political party for all the problems being faced in the country.

The reality of it all, and the root cause of all the problems which Zimbabweans are facing now are as a result of corrupt leadership and poor governance.

Government office bearers should be held accountable for their actions. Politicians should accept criticism and work on improving were they are falling short.

Abductions and torture are not the solutions. There will come a time when everyone will be fed up with the corrupt system and no one will be intimidated by abductions.

Corruption has always been an issue in Zimbabwe and since Mnangagwa came to power, there has been many high-profile corruption cases, but many, if not all have ended in acquittals.

A time when torture and abductions will no longer intimidate the citizens will come and Zimbabweans will stand up for what is right.

Emmerson Mnangagwa