Zanu PF is neither government nor does it represent the wishes of the majority in Zimbabwe.
There is definitely no doubt about this fact, yet this party has arrogantly continued to behave as if it owns this country. Its leaders at cell, branch, ward, district, provincal and national levels want to believe Zimbabwe and everything in it, including its people are Zanu PF property.
Nothing exemplifies this arrogance more than our report on Saturday on the gold rush in Kwekwe following the discovery of new deposits there.
The party has decided to lay claim to the deposits. When gold panners found new, rich gold deposits in the midlands mining town last week, Zanu PF, represented by its Midlands provincial security officer Owen Ncube immediately moved in to announce it had taken over the area where the precious mineral was found.
The party did not have to go through any legal processes to acquire the land on which the gold was found. All party activists did was to call a rally and announced the takeover. This is anarchy writ large.
The lame logic that the party proffered for this shameless greed is that Zanu PF fought in the liberation struggle — as if the majority of Zimbabweans who have ditched that party did not take part in that war.
Zanu PF henchmen believe that they must benefit from this natural resource, make themselves rich as they have always done while other Zimbabweans can only watch.
Those who dare challenge this grab-all attitude are chased away or threatened with violence which is sometimes unleashed via state security apparatus who have lent themselves to this project of infamy.
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The police, who are expected to take control of the gold rush that gripped Kwekwe last week, seemed to have folded their arms and allowed Zanu PF to take charge — compiling registers of people that would be allowed into the “gold fields”.
But then, what would one expect the police to do, given their boss, Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri has publicly declared his allegiance to Zanu PF.
Chihuri was on Thursday at the Harare Central Police Station where he threatened to deal with anyone who dared challenge the takeover and conversion by the police of a parking space into a flea market.
The flea market is reportedly occupied over 60% by senior police officers. Harare City Council who say they own the land say the takeover is illegal.
But because flea markets are little gold mines, the police, who are supposed to be custodians of the law, have joined in the “rush” and their leader has come out to protect their activities.
This is the sort of behaviour that has earned Zanu PF many bad names and cost them votes. They deny it but it is known that Zanu PF has used violence to coerce people to vote for them — it has grabbed, by force, anything that makes money and used those things to buy votes.
In many urban areas, the party has grabbed flea market stalls, car parks, bus termini, vegetable markets, and in some instances residential stands.
This strategy — which is an extension of the chaotic land grab of over a decade ago — has created an environment of lawlessness in the country.
It is this culture of anarchy that has wreaked havoc on set policy. Warlords have taken charge and we cannot help but blame the party for most of our misery.
