Opinion / Columnist
Mohadi defends last week 'security service heavy handed dealing' - defending the indefensible
03 Feb 2019 at 08:36hrs | Views
President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his regime are feeling the heat as more and more voices have condemned last month's Police and Army brutality and barbarism against the rioters and innocent Zimbabweans. The regime is scrambling to defending the indefensible.
"Those acts of banditry and hooliganism will not be tolerated and the government is going to use all in its power to make sure that it does not happen again. We are a peace loving country and we should not allow ourselves to be used for selfish agendas," said VP Kembo Mohadi.
"All these international and private media are not talking about the destruction caused by these hooligans, the massive looting, the burning of vehicles and government infrastructure like tollgates, over running of police stations and the eventual death of one of the policemen on duty. But they just want o concentrate on that the security forces were heavy handed in dealing with the protesters, that is not right."
Of course, the security forces were heavy handed and for selfish political gain - Zanu PF used the riots as cover to silence its political opponents and beat the nation into submission.
VP Mohadi, the nation is pleased to hear your condemn "acts of banditry and hooliganism". But are you, sir, being up front and honest with the people or are you taking them for fools?
Whilst no one would dispute the need for the Police and Army to act to stop rioting and looting still the brutality and barbarism of the security personnel was more than was required to quell the rioting and looting. Zanu PF has a reputation of using minor incidence to settle selfish political scores.
In the 1980s Zanu PF used a proverbial sledge-hammer to kill a fly in the Gukurahundi massacre. There were a few hundred dissidents at most and yet the state security personal ended up killing over 20 000 innocent civilians.
There is no doubt that Zanu PF was not after just ending "banditry and hooliganism" then but after destroying its main political opponent then, PF Zapu, to clear the way for the imposition of the de facto one-party dictatorship we have to this day.
It is never too late to carryout a thorough investigation into what really happened during the Gukurahundi "moment of madness" as Robert Mugabe once admitted. These moments of madness have happened again and again. Each time Zanu PF felt its iron grip on power threatened, the sledge-hammer has come out.
The nation made a serious mistake in allowing Zanu PF to sweep the Gukurahundi and all the other "moments of madness" that followed under the carpet. The regime has thus far believed it can do as it pleases and will get away with it; a dangerous precedence. We must now put this right.
We must carry out a thorough investigation into the barbarism and shooting dead of civilians the security forces in 15 to 25 January 2019, the shooting dead civilians on 1st August 2018, the Gukurahundi massacre, etc., etc. The investigations must establish who issued the "Shoot to kill!" orders and what was their motive. This is high treason and those responsible must be held to account.
One Police Officer was killed during the rioting in January 2019 and it was one too many. Still, this did not justify the security services shooting dead of 12 civilians, beating and raping hundreds of thousands and the arresting of over a thousand civilians. It is the Police and Soldiers who were behaving like bandits and hooligans and we must find out who gave them the order to run-riot and why!
The January stay-away was triggered by the country's worsening economic meltdown; Zanu PF rigged last July's elections but has clearly failed to rig economic recovery. So the country is set to sink deeper and deeper into the economic turmoil it is just a matter of time before the people are compelled to once again protest the economic hardship. It is totally unacceptable that Zanu PF should be allowed to beat, rape, arrest and even shoot people to silence them.
People must be allowed to voice they concerns and not be forced to suffer and die in silence like sheep in a slaughter house. Zanu PF must not be allowed to use brutal force to silence innocent protesters under cover they are bandits and hooligans.
"Those acts of banditry and hooliganism will not be tolerated and the government is going to use all in its power to make sure that it does not happen again. We are a peace loving country and we should not allow ourselves to be used for selfish agendas," said VP Kembo Mohadi.
"All these international and private media are not talking about the destruction caused by these hooligans, the massive looting, the burning of vehicles and government infrastructure like tollgates, over running of police stations and the eventual death of one of the policemen on duty. But they just want o concentrate on that the security forces were heavy handed in dealing with the protesters, that is not right."
Of course, the security forces were heavy handed and for selfish political gain - Zanu PF used the riots as cover to silence its political opponents and beat the nation into submission.
VP Mohadi, the nation is pleased to hear your condemn "acts of banditry and hooliganism". But are you, sir, being up front and honest with the people or are you taking them for fools?
Whilst no one would dispute the need for the Police and Army to act to stop rioting and looting still the brutality and barbarism of the security personnel was more than was required to quell the rioting and looting. Zanu PF has a reputation of using minor incidence to settle selfish political scores.
In the 1980s Zanu PF used a proverbial sledge-hammer to kill a fly in the Gukurahundi massacre. There were a few hundred dissidents at most and yet the state security personal ended up killing over 20 000 innocent civilians.
There is no doubt that Zanu PF was not after just ending "banditry and hooliganism" then but after destroying its main political opponent then, PF Zapu, to clear the way for the imposition of the de facto one-party dictatorship we have to this day.
It is never too late to carryout a thorough investigation into what really happened during the Gukurahundi "moment of madness" as Robert Mugabe once admitted. These moments of madness have happened again and again. Each time Zanu PF felt its iron grip on power threatened, the sledge-hammer has come out.
The nation made a serious mistake in allowing Zanu PF to sweep the Gukurahundi and all the other "moments of madness" that followed under the carpet. The regime has thus far believed it can do as it pleases and will get away with it; a dangerous precedence. We must now put this right.
We must carry out a thorough investigation into the barbarism and shooting dead of civilians the security forces in 15 to 25 January 2019, the shooting dead civilians on 1st August 2018, the Gukurahundi massacre, etc., etc. The investigations must establish who issued the "Shoot to kill!" orders and what was their motive. This is high treason and those responsible must be held to account.
One Police Officer was killed during the rioting in January 2019 and it was one too many. Still, this did not justify the security services shooting dead of 12 civilians, beating and raping hundreds of thousands and the arresting of over a thousand civilians. It is the Police and Soldiers who were behaving like bandits and hooligans and we must find out who gave them the order to run-riot and why!
The January stay-away was triggered by the country's worsening economic meltdown; Zanu PF rigged last July's elections but has clearly failed to rig economic recovery. So the country is set to sink deeper and deeper into the economic turmoil it is just a matter of time before the people are compelled to once again protest the economic hardship. It is totally unacceptable that Zanu PF should be allowed to beat, rape, arrest and even shoot people to silence them.
People must be allowed to voice they concerns and not be forced to suffer and die in silence like sheep in a slaughter house. Zanu PF must not be allowed to use brutal force to silence innocent protesters under cover they are bandits and hooligans.
Source - zsdemocrats.blogspot.com
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