Mugabe declares war on his people
An independent judiciary process and democratic elections stand as the only two most acceptable effective modern means of challenging any government of the day. It is ironical that one President Robert Mugabe has taken possession of these two integral processes of nationhood to ensure that he is not seriously challenged, thus enabling himself the power to bequeath the nation’s presidency to his own wife or his preferred successor.
By threatening judges against presiding a duly constituted political challenge in our courts, he is breaking the very constitution he swore to abide by, and to protect and also directly telling the world he will kill any and every Zimbabwean citizen today and will get away with it. But the judiciary should not be afraid to do its constitutionally enshrined duty because of threats from the executive arm of the state. By blatantly threatening the judiciary, President Mugabe has declared war against the law of the land, in effect, that is a declaration of war against his own fellow citizens who see the courts as their own means of getting fair justice from any raw deal by the state or fellow countrymen.
Courts are supposed to be the only means by which grieved citizens can get wrongs against them put right. We are all required by the law of the land to resort to our courts if we are grieved by the conduct of our fellow citizens or agencies; be they thieves, abusers, wife bashers, political thugs and cheats, unscrupulous employers, and other such law breakers. Why would then a man elected and sworn to protect the national constitution take it upon himself to declare a war against his own fellow grieved citizens like Mutasa and others? By telling the judges not to dare preside over their grievance, he has in effect rubbished the constitution and all laws of the land. What choice then if any, is left available for the citizens to ensure that they get their rights reinstated by those they feel have wronged them?
Since 1980, the president has always been rumoured to have had his henchmen temper with general election results whenever they did not favour him. Without mentioning the emotive Gukurahundi, we all know that the controversially 2008 elections led to a GNU after a thorough beating and killing of several opposition figures. The president and his political thugs had then chosen to disregard and rape a constitutionally enshrined peaceful political competition so that they stay in power. In 2013, we all know the MDCs were politically buttered by the conduct of our president through NIKUV.
By disregarding elections’ results, the president was blatantly declaring war against his fellow citizens. He was in effect telling them that their political choices are useless and he and his party are the law of the land. An election is meant to usher into power a party and a leader chosen by the majority of the nation, not to force a leader on us by any means deemed by those currently in power.
An election is the only democratic means of choosing a president, and if its results are cause for concern, the aggrieved turn to the courts to have their grievances heard. So why is the president declaring war on these two most important democratic and judiciary processes used for seeking leadership and justice in society? By declaring war against them, the president has effectively declared war on his own people. Challenging him means challenging his declaration which means the executive is at war against the judiciary and against the citizens of the country. Why has President Mugabe declared war on us? What course of action are we being left to choose from if not also to declare war on our own executive? By closing the democratic route and judiciary process, Mugabe is leaving the aggrieved citizens with no other option to get wrongs put right. Your guess is as good as mine as what other option the Mutasas, you and I are
left with to challenge Mugabe.