The recent crushing of dissenting voices by the Zanu PF government is just, but a tip of the iceberg on things to come.
By Maxwell Mavhunga,Our Reader
While most of us ululated and heaved a sigh of relief with the promulgation of the new Constitution, we lost sight of the fact that a leopard does not change its spots.
It all started with Pastor Evan Mawarire, then followed by a countrywide storm of anti-government demonstrations spearheaded by opposition parties demanding alignment of the electoral law with the Constitution and a host of other demands.
The reaction of the “mafia organisation” was almost as expected as the powers-that-be declared that they would not reform themselves out of power.
Herein lies the problem because the people we are dealing with are obsessed with power, not leadership.
Police officers, in an unprecedented piece that befits going into the Guinness Book of Records, usurped the powers of the legislature and made a law banning demonstrations. One wonders whether the new Constitution is not the proverbial white elephant after its complete disregard by the very same people expected to uphold it in a normal society.
For some of us, who still have a graphic recollection of the 2008 gruesome massacres, we become very scared when authorities brazenly brag about not aligning the laws with the Constitution. We become very scared when the police are the new champions of disrupting legally-sanctioned political gatherings. Who will police the police? We become even more scared when Zanu PF politicians commit crime and the Head of State or Vice-President springs up to shield such evil. We become desperate when army generals leave their barracks to meddle in civil affairs such as statements on corruption.
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We are left shocked when a Vice-President, whose human rights history is questionable himself, is sent onto the world stage to talk about Zimbabwe’s human rights achievements.
Naturally, he made a courageous and shameless embarrassment of himself considering the recent documented violations.
Even if President Robert Mugabe goes, we are likely to face a more dangerous monster coming from the rookie ambitious crop of Zanu PF leaders, who are yet to taste power. We are going to have young vampires, who will trample on our civil rights to achieve power.
Signs are already there that come 2018, we could experience a bloodier and more violent election than 2008. Look at the Norton experience. There is no political will to level the electoral play field. There is concerted effort to suppress any form of dissent to the extent of abducting the least threat to State power in the likes of Itai Dzamara.
Zanu PF youths have already worn boxing gloves declaring to engage in fistfights with MDC-T if they continue with street protests.
While the world seems to have moved gradually in the democratisation direction, Zimbabwe is making one step forward and two steps backwards. Despite all the effort to liberate ourselves, we should do more, but we should also brace ourselves for the worst. This way we cannot lose hope.
