I WRITE this letter with my head bowed, sullen faced, in remorseful anguish and and not in a celebratory mood. The level of brutality, intolerance and backwardness displayed by the police last week when they tried to quell the National Electoral Reform Agenda (Nera) demonstration is a crime against humanity. The behaviour of the police was like a scene from the zoo characterised by chaos and pandemonium.
By Nyasha Machimbira,Our Reader
How can you deploy teargas at pregnant mothers, old, the disabled and baby-carrying mothers. That’s not quelling the demonstrations — it is in fact inflamming it. The Zanu PF regime ought to take cognisance of the fact that the tree of liberty is watered with the blood of martyrs and cries of the Fanonian “wretched of the earth”.
It is for this reason that we persistently call for the establishment of the Truth and Justice Commission (TJC) in this country such that the nation can go through a healing process, so that perpetrators of crimes against humanity can be brought to book, and a culture of impunity discarded.
The TJC will not be a mechanism for retribution and vengeance, but would be necessary such that people can be in a position to know who did what, when, how and why. Who sent soldiers to the Democratic Republic of Congo without consulting parliament? Who instructed soldiers to brutalise civilians on the eve of the June 27 2008 electoral charade? Why did Zesa award a convicted fraudster Wicknell Chivayo a tender without adherence to tender procedures?
Who instructed the police to assault protesters? Who awarded Psychology Maziwisa’s company PR consultancy services at Zesa without the approval of the board, among other issues? It’s a healing process. This writer will release a treatise on the relevance of the TJC in the near future.
However, history will record this police brutality as the casus belli for the impending political logjam. That’s what it means when people talk of state-sponsored terrorism; that’s what it means when there is talk of security sector reform and that’s what we mean when we talk of professional and non-partisan execution of duties by the police and the whole gumut of the security sector.
It’s a struggle for survival for Zanu PF which I am sure is convinced that acquiscing to Nera demands is tantmount to signing a death warrant hence its proclivity for a bare-knuckle approach. It’s a zero-sum struggle for power.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Nontheless readers of this treatise ought to visualise the persistence and clarity of President Robert Mugabe when he makes clarion calls for the reform of the United Nations Security Council at international forums and the subsequent standing ovation he receives. Compare and contrast it with how he detests security sector reform in his own country. I call it “organised hypocrisy”.
Organised hypocrisy is a scenario where certain arguments and postulations are deemed valid because they suit certain situations. When the circumstances change, the arguments and postulations are then jettisoned like a hot potato. In dissecting the controversial notion of state sovereignty, Stephen Krasner argued that “organised hypocrisy” is the presence of longstanding norms that are frequently violated and has been an enduring attribute of international relations.
The political soap opera in Zimbabwe is reaching its climax and indeed proving that Zanu PF is not the main actor. Zanu PF is neither invincible nor immortal. What is invincible and immortal is the will of the people. Needless to say the walls of Jericho are falling apart and the byzantine political architecture is crumbling. When something is described as Byzantine, it is usually something that is complicated and full of deception. In the Byzantine Empire there were continuous disputes between those who favoured the military and those who favored civilian leaders. Byzantine politics were also influenced by pursuit of self-aggrandisement.
People are no longer restrained by the Panopticon. Alex Magaisa captures well the notion of panopticon of English philosopher, Jeremy Bentham. Magaisa rightly noted that Bentham’s panopticon is an institutional building which allows the inspector to watch inmates without them knowing whether or not they are actually being watched. A prison allegory where all cells were attached to an outer circular wall, each of them facing a central tower. Each cell is illuminated with light from the central tower, enabling the inspector to watch the inmates.
However, the inmates could not see the inspector in the central tower, although they believed they were constantly being watched. This architectural set-up gave the inmates the impression that they were always under observation, although they would never know if they were actually being watched. The assumption that they are under surveillence made them more careful and cautious in their conduct if not docile and subservient. However, the masses no longer give a hoot about whether they are being monitored or not.
It’s now more of a do or die scenario. Zanu PF’s morbid and macabre pauperisation of the masses agenda has turned the tide against them. The masses have reached a point of Tina (there is no alternative), they have chosen an irrevocable path towards self-emancipation. Self-emancipation that dovetails with freedom and human dignity. We are our own liberators, everyone is saying.
It’s only a foolish man who attempts to run away from death. The wise repent and seek divine revelation. The regime feels more insecure than ever, the red tape bureaucrats in giant robes cannot imagine a life without the benefitts of incumbency. They are worried, anxious and desperate.
The honeymoon is sunsetting. That explains why they are mooting invoking a state of emergency. State of emergency is not a remedy to the unfolding political crisis, the crisis of illegitimacy. Electoral reforms are the panacea to usher in a legitimate government, something Zanu PF will never want to hear although being as inevitable as death.
The struggle in Zimbabwe has been given a fresh impetus by the joining of forces by the former premier Morgan Tsvangirai and former vice-president Joice Mujuru. Zanu PF has been rattled by the move. That’s its worst nightmare and will pull every string to scupper it. It’s a pity. The Swot analysis for the Zanu PF-led government points to doom and gloom.
Why did the police fail to heed the High Court order which authorised the march? What does that say about Zimbabwe’s stance towards the rule of law. What message are we sending to potential investors? Are we not pushing away those who intend to support Zimbabwe as a tourist destination? We are our own detractors. We are our own economic saboteurs.
The government’s nausetting disdain and contempt for civil liberties has ripple effects on the developmental trajectory of the nation. Anarchy and lawlessness do not augur well for development.
Dictators understand one language, which is confrontation, but the people of Zimbabwe generally abhor confrontation.
They are a pro-democratic change. The masses are caught in a web of cognitive dissonance.
Only time will tell.
Send your feedback to the Zimbabwe Independent. Comments should be short and concise. Send letters to: [email protected] WhatsApp: 0772293486 You can also comment on our website: http://www.theindependent.co.zw and our Facebook and Twitter pages Zimbabwe Independent.
