THE violence that characterised the aftermath of the Dynamos and FC Platinum Premier Soccer League match at the weekend can be best described as a microcosm of the national psyche, where Zimbabweans believe force can be used to bring solutions to issues they have.
NEWSDAY EDITORIAL
The ugly skirmishes after the match are inexcusable and should be condemned in the strongest terms, but this is just a confirmation of how violence is embedded in Zimbabwe’s thinking, be it politics, football or any other social issue we are engaged in.
Zimbabwe’s history has been littered with violent episodes, which instead of being dealt with at source, have been allowed to fester with inexplicable impunity.
At the dawn of our independence, the governing party believed the only way to force its one-party State will on the population was unleashing Gukurahundi, which left an estimated 20 000 people dead and up to now, no one has ever been brought to book over the atrocities and a tale of impunity began to take shape.
When the Zimbabwe Unity Movement was formed and prepared to contest the 1990 elections, Zanu PF once again resorted to violence and people who were implicated in the attempted murder of a candidate, Patrick Kombayi, were pardoned and one of them is even buried at the Heroes Acre.
Examples abound — from the land reform programme, Operation Murambatsvina and ultimately to the 2008 elections — that Zimbabwe’s history has been a tale of violence.
Zanu PF does not have a monopoly on violence and the opposition MDC-T has also shown it has the capacity to match the ruling party in this regard.
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An MDC-T internal organ recommended the expulsion of several youths for engaging in violence around 2005, but party leader Morgan Tsvangirai unilaterally pardoned them and this same group was again implicated in violence almost 10 years later.
It is as if violence is Zimbabwe’s default position, where instead of trying to dialogue and convince each other of opposite views, we are willing to engage in a bloody show of force to put our point of view across.
More than anything, this reveals that Zimbabwe is a broken country with deep psychological problems, which if not dealt with will consume and continue to haunt the country for years to come.
Attending football matches should be a leisurely event, but the skirmishes at Rufaro on Sunday reminded all that it does not take much to spark violence in this country and what is considered leisure can be hazardous.
Maybe this could give the government impetus to set up the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission, probably if Zimbabweans are allowed to talk about their problems and what is consuming them inside, they will not resort to such toxic and destructive violence.
Zimbabwe needs healing, as the way ordinary people are so quick to resort to violence shows that something is inherently wrong in this country.
