By Nomusa Garikai- Zimbabwe’s culture of political violence is real and it is affecting real people!
“Zanu PF councillor for Ward 24 Gutu, Mathias Takamira Rashai has threatened to withdraw food and other Government aid from mourners who attended the funeral of an MDC activist killed during political violence last month,” reported Masvingo Mirror, 14 December 2021.
“Rashai called a meeting at Mawungwa Township a week after the burial of Nyasha Zhambe where he told villagers that he had a list of people who participated at the funeral.
“He allegedly said that all those who were seen singing at the funeral or chanting MDC slogans are banished from getting Government aid of any form.”
On 14 October 2021 Zanu PF operatives set up a roadblock near Mpandawana Growth Point in Gutu, Masvingo Province for the purpose of identifying the people who had attending any rally held by MDC A leader Nelson Chamisa who was visiting the area on that day. Nyasha Zhambe was identified as one of the MDC rally attendees and was assaulted. He died of his injuries, a few weeks later.
Nyasha named his assailants. “An aide of a prominent Gutu MP and Cabinet Minister was the commander at the roadblock, according to video footages,” reported the Mirror. And yet to date, no one has been arrested. No one!
This bespeaks of something Zimbabweans already know only too well – that Zanu PF operatives intimidate, harass, beat, rape and even murder innocent Zimbabweans for sole purpose of keeping Zanu PF in power with total impunity. And state institutions like the Police, judiciary, etc. are Zanu PF departments in all but name; doing their uttermost to keep Zanu PF in power too.
When it comes to violence, Zanu PF has laid its marker; the party will be as ruthless as ever in carrying out its acts of intimidation, harassment, beatings, etc. The party’s vote rigging activities in other areas such as denying the 3 million plus Zimbabweans in the diaspora; that is done!
Zanu PF is rigging the 2023 elections well in advance, just as the party has done in the past. By participating in these flawed and illegal elections, the opposition are giving credibility to the flawed process and legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF regime. What is so, so infuriating is the opposition know the “obvious” thing to do would be to boycott elections until democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections. They stubborn insisting in participating in the flawed elections out of greed, as David Coltart as admitted in his book.
“The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious – withdraw from the (2013) elections,” wrote Senator Coltart.
“The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility.”
Following the 2018 rigged elections Mnangagwa created the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) to reward all those who participated in the presidential race giving him legitimacy. There were 23 presidential candidates alone in 2018 and, no doubt, there will as many contestants in the 2023 elections regardless of all the evidence the elections are done!
Nelson Chamisa and his MDC A friends are contesting the 2023 knowing fully well Zanu PF is rigging out of greed. They will not withdraw and let the POLAD lot win the few gravy train seats Zanu PF is giving away as bait.
As noted above, the 2023 elections are done but Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies are a ruthless and greedy lot, they are very easily spooked. Once spooked, they will resort to the use of wanton violence to be absolutely certain the party wins a landslide victory.
The intimidation, beatings and cold-blooded murder of Nyasha Zhambe that greeted Chamisa on his campaign trail could be the warning shot. It took over 500 political murders, hundreds of thousands beaten and/or raped, etc. to force Morgan Tsvangirai to withdraw from the 2008 presidential runoff. One only hopes that the violence will never soar to the same dizzying heights.
In 2018 Zanu PF secured 2/3 parliamentary majority plus the presidency and it is certain to repeat this in 2023. And by participating the opposition is giving Zanu PF legitimacy for the sake of the bait, few gravy train seats, share of the annual Political Party Finance Act pay out and the POLAD perks!
The nation has been stuck with the corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging Zanu PF dictatorship for 41 years and counting, forfeiting the chance to implement the reforms and have free elections and good governance; all because the MDC leaders sold out the national cause of free and fair elections for thirty pieces of silver!
In the long run, nations get the government they deserve. We in Zimbabwe certainly deserve this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship complete with its entourage of equally corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless opposition parties.
We, the people, are naïve and gullible lot; we have clamoured for democratic change, for example, and yet have no clue what changes we wanted much less how they were to be implemented. Hence, we continue to support MDC leaders giving them political legitimacy regardless they sold out by failing to implement reforms and are selling out by giving Zanu PF legitimacy for thirty pieces of silver!
Zimbabwe is in this economic and political mess because the ruling party, Zanu PF, is a party of corrupt, ruthless and vote rigging thugs who have taken full advantage of the corrupt and incompetent opposition to cloak itself with a modicum of political legitimacy.
However, the Zanu PF dictatorship would have never taken root much less survive all these years if the people of Zimbabwe had been informed and diligent lot capable of thinking for themselves. The day the people of Zimbabwe show the first signs they are thinking for themselves will be the start of the climb out of the mess. Until then we will continue to blunder from pillar to post!
Nyasha Zhambe was a real person and he was murdered in cold blood for selfish political gain. All he wanted, like so many others before him, was to exercise his right to have a meaningful say in the governance of the country. Unless there is a paradigm shift in our society, we start thinking for ourselves, the culture of violence will continue and there will be many more lives lost.
Of course, very live lost in these mindless political murders is a great tragedy but the real tragedy is that by failing to think for ourselves and be master of our own destiny we have become slaves to fate!
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