PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe is presented to the country, continent and the rest of the globe as an icon by his handlers, but it is a fact that his human rights record, either by omission or commission for lack of a better phrase, is nothing to be proud of.
Comment: NewsDay Editor
Mugabe fronted the fight for the liberation of Zimbabwe from colonialism, but then inherited an autocratic system from the Rhodesian regime that he has continued to use against the citizens and his political opponents.
At 93 Mugabe would want to, at the very least, leave an enduring memory as the nation’s founding father to citizens present and future and there seems to be concerted efforts by some within Zanu PF and government hell-bent on helping him to go out in darkness.
From forced disappearances to outright political assassinations, as well as violence in pre and post-election periods, Mugabe’s reign is literally etched in blood and we are not sure this is how he would have wanted the script to his rule written.
Given, some of the atrocities committed in his name are unknown to him as was exposed last week by indications that he had not donated “zapknaks” to flood victims in Matabeleland North, despite claims by senior officials in government that the President had shown such insensitivity in the face of tragedy.
Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa has in the past two years consistently attended the United Nations Universal Periodic Review and as we report elsewhere in this issue last week accepted a measly nine out of a hundred recommendations, while rejecting the important ones linked to basic freedoms guaranteed in the Constitution, including against torture.
This is an indication that Mugabe is willing or, at the very least, his lieutenants want him to retain the “dictator’s” tag until the very end. It would be akin to political euthanasia on the part of those close to Mugabe. But then some have argued, Mugabe is aware and micro-manages everything.
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Events in the past week especially violent disruptions of hearings in the National Peace and Reconciliation Bill make sad reading — that’s the Zanu PF legacy.
This shows that the Zimbabwean leader is willing to end his political career with a tattered human rights record.
We believe with Mugabe likely to participate in his last election next year, this provides him with a perfect opportunity to run a clean, bloodless election for the first time in 38 years. It would be a perfect opportunity for him to leave in the memories of Zimbabweans a leader who gave his all for the motherland.
It is our hope that the President will grab this opportunity with both hands. Mugabe — as the country’s founding leader — has an obligation to bestow on this nation a value system that would endure for eternity. We need a clean election Mr President and your legacy depends on this one.
