Our failure to answer Juvenal's age old riddle explain why the tail wags the dog in Zim politics

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? {Who will guard the guards themselves?} is attributed to the Roman poet Juvenal. Or the more familiar "Quis autem police Police forent corrupti ?" {Who will police the Police if they were corrupt?}

Juvenal asked the question in response to the suggestion that to ensure marital fidelity people should have their spouse(s) guarded. The dilemma assumes a new dimension in this day and age of same sex relationships. However the same quandary is just as relevant to those public office and government. How each individual society or nation has answered this tricky but critical question has defined the nation and its destination.

You cannot measure love and thus cannot tell when some has stolen away. There are many men who have called themselves father to someone else child. As for the ladies, there is mistaking some other woman's child for one's own; after carrying the child for nine months (as contrast to the nine seconds for the man) there can be no room for error or doubt.

With bad a government or corrupt Police, on the other hand; one will lose their freedom, their rights, wealth or suffer the injustice of oppression or poverty brought on by corruption. You know you have been robbed and of what!

For any society to enjoy peace, justice and prosperity there has to be rules or laws. One of the first thing the Children of Israel did after they were freed slavery in Egypt and establish themselves as a successful nation was to get the Ten Commandments, the laws by which they would live.

Other than the first three Commandments which states know mankind must relate to God and the Sabbath the rest state how man is to relate to his fellow man. The central tenet in all human laws is to do unto others as we would have them do to us.

Instead tracking back and forth to Mount Sinai for new laws to suit the needs of a complex society we have a select group of people now entrusted will formulating the laws, policing them and pronounce judgement on who is right and wrong and dish out the appropriate punishment should there be any dispute.
Juvenal Question:
Who will guard the rulers to stop them formulating unjust laws; laws granting themselves excessive powers which they could then use to deny the rest justice, freedoms and their rights, for example?

Answer:
The answer is in five parts:
1)    No one is above the law.
    
2)    Whilst society has granted greater powers such as the power to arrest to Police Officer and the power to punish to the Judges so that they can carry out their set tasks; society must judge and punish even more harshly those who abuse their power and public trust. 
   
3)    To stop an individual or a select group from usurping power; there must be a clear separation of power. Those who formulate the laws such as parliament and executive must be separate and independent from those who enforce the law, the Police, and those tasked to interpret the law and give judgement, the judiciary. There must be effective checks and balances.
   
4)    It is society at large that has the power to elect who is best suited to govern and, if it so wish, has those so elected removed through free, fair, credible and regular elections.
   
5)    To ensure that society is well informed there must be transparency and public scrutiny of all public institutions by a free and independent media.

Even a hurried and blasé look at Zimbabwe's body politics will show that we have an all-powerful State President who has parliament, the Police, Public media, Judiciary, Zimbabwe Election Commission, etc. all in his pockets. He has hired and fired all these people as he pleased and no wonder they all sing and dance to his fancy and whim.

The state president and his ruling party thugs are above the law; they have usurped the ordinary people's power to hold all public officials to account. The people now live in fear of the president and his murderous thugs; it is the tail that is waging the dog.
 
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