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NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Sentence corruption, poverty and not Makomborero

Letters
A VERY dark cloud hovers on the motherland, resulting in a very sombre atmosphere for every progressive Zimbabwean who is crying for good governance. Instead of sentencing poverty, corruption, poor governance, nepotism and clansmanship to jail, the Zanu PF regime saw it fit to sentence a political activist who is asking for change. Zimbabweans across […]

A VERY dark cloud hovers on the motherland, resulting in a very sombre atmosphere for every progressive Zimbabwean who is crying for good governance.

Instead of sentencing poverty, corruption, poor governance, nepotism and clansmanship to jail, the Zanu PF regime saw it fit to sentence a political activist who is asking for change.

Zimbabweans across the continent and a greater part of the world have responded to this glaring injustice perpetuated by a captured Judiciary. This incident should define our future and generations to come.

On Tuesday April 6 2020, the world was reminded that young people are used as canon fodder by an unrepentant regime and this outrageous system must be rejected.

This desperate despotic regime which is clutching onto usurped power by the straws has proved to be not only ruthless, but inhuman.

The future of young, vibrant and budding politicians is now hanging by a thread in Zimbabwe following the conviction and sentencing of political activist Makomborero Haruziviishe.

People should refuse to be caged by a regime which has an insatiable appetite to pounce on innocent political activists who are fighting to see a changed Zimbabwe.

Harare magistrate Judith Taruvinga threw caution to the wind when she handed down a harsh sentence to Haruziviishe.

At the time she was sentencing him, I believe there was an inner voice silently telling her that what she was doing was wrong. It is likely that today when she retires to bed, this small, still voice will keep on echoing in her mind.

What an embarrassment it is to our judicial system which has accepted to be used by a corrupt and inept government.

A brutal system is slowly gaining momentum in reverting to the Ian Smith era type of government, where the citizens were afraid to interrogate the system for fear of being arrested and jailed.

We have candidates who are supposed to be serving their jail terms, the likes of those who looted public funds and those who looted money meant for the COVID-19 personal protective equipment and sundries, or gold looters, but we are sentencing innocent people and sending them to jail.

The regime has no shame. It stole the future of the young generation and it wants to continue doing so.

When harsh sentences are passed by the Judiciary, it frightens the whole nation.

The late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo aptly put it when he said the future belonged to the young people.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s regime must stop persecuting, frustrating and inducing fear in the young people.

Leonard Koni