Zimbabwe - A government at war with its people

April 18, 1980 is remembered in Zimbabwe as a day when the coin of oppression since turned sides however the texture of roughness being surprisingly different.

After a protracted guerilla war, which according to those who witnessed it at close range, the liberation forces were more ruthless and merciless than the much abhorred white settler forces - Independence came.

Mr. Robert Mugabe, the only Zimbabwe has known since that day developed the conqueror mentality and quickly engaged on a purging spree that claimed the lives of his fellow comrades amongst the Josiah Magama Tongogara, Hebert Ushewekunze, Lookout Masuku and the more than twenty thousand plus civilians who were murdered on suspicion of being dissidents or supporters of the same.

Fast forward to the year 2000, when Mugabe and his party were facing eminent defeat in the then coming general elections from the  then newly launched workers' party, violence was meted upon the farming community which suddenly destroyed the entire agrarian infrastructure rendering the much famed breadbasket of southern Africa into an empty bread case.

Within a decade, more than half of the twelve million Zimbabweans left the country in search of greener pastures in a bid to escape the debris of the collapsed economic, social, health infrastructure and the abject poverty caused by unemployment and a seriously deteriorating human rights record worsened by a skewed human rights record.

In an act of war, Mr Mugabe destroyed homes and business of struggling Zimbabweans in 2005 in an Operation dubbed "Murambatsvina" whose sole aim was to decimate the sprouting opposition constituency in urban areas.
During the 2008 elections season, the major opposition party in the country withdrew from the presidential runoff citing a militarized political environment. With hesitation, Mr. Mugabe competed against himself, won and declared himself president only to leave for an African Union Summit the same evening in Egypt where he was told in no uncertain terms that his legitimacy was questionable.

After many months of bickering, followed a compromised hybrid government which comprised the three major political parties represented in parliament. What followed was a four year period of general recovery in all spheres of life with relations between Zimbabwe and the international community stabilizing. A new constitution was enacted though all terms of the unity government were never put into practice.

In a hushed tone, Mr. Mugabe announced the dissolution of parliament and called for general elections whose result shocked the entire world. Though generally commanding a massive support, the opposition was massacred in a manner never expected which led to a serious outcry of electoral fraud. Instances of multiple voting and fraudulent practices were very obvious with some being captured on camera.

The economy nosedived immensely and more than two million Zimbabweans are now street vendors. It is common practice to see the elderly and teenagers alike scrambling for space to sell their wares in the entire city centre.

Frustrated by the worsening economic outlook, award winning journalist – Mr. Itai Dzamara wrote a petition which was signed by millions calling for the resignation of Mr. Mugabe and his government to pave way for a new leadership which could probably address the economic spiral. Mr. Dzamara and his colleagues who included members of a wide spectrum of youth organizations, politicians, churches and the general citizenry staged a sit –in on the lawn gardens a few metres from the Zimbabwe parliament house for a number of months.

Having survived the heavy handed torture by the authorities, Mr. Dzamara and his team continued in the cause for the resignation of Mr. Mugabe. In a sudden turn of events, suspected state security agents driving in an unmarked, with registration plates removed abducted Mr. Dzamara.

A search for the journalist yielded to zilch whilst the police initially admitted that they had him in custody – denials followed. The abduction attracted serious international outcry for the journalist who has left his wife and little kids at the mercy of economic challenges to fend for themselves. To date, the journalist remains unaccounted for.

As if the above amongst the worst is not enough, the government of Zimbabwe is unleashing the army supported by warplanes and automatic artillery to drive all vendors off their only source of livelihood. The majority of these vendors have tertiary qualifications but they cannot find jobs in this downtrodden economy.

In a country where violence is norm, the worst is expected from this coming episode of serious human rights violations. The United Nations and other international bodies inta alia SADC, AU and NATO need have a closer look and the possible mass torture in Zimbabwe.