Opinion / Columnist
Militarism and Corruption in Zimbabwe: Evidence of why Elections cannot be a free/fair tool
08 Nov 2015 at 18:35hrs | Views
Militarism connotes predominance of military class, exultation of military values including force of violence and distancing of the army much further from the people for purposes of controlling power and economic influence. Often those in power seek to instil fear among the ordinary citizens. In Zimbabwe where the army has always played a backdoor leveraging between civilian and their Zanu liberation struggle syndrome, the army obviously played a pivotal role in control of elections and accounting for the timid behavior of the masses during and after elections.
Corruption on one hand is an account of a decayed pattern in government whose governance ethos implicitly rules out rule of law and procedures but relies instead on political party card holders loyalty in exchange of monetary, employment position hiring and land allocation benefit favoritism without paying or with a loan that is never fully paid. Under such conditions meritocracy becomes a nominal procedure used to imply, to an outsider, that all is well when actually all is going wrong procedural. Enforcement of procedures under a clout of favoritism is only an extension of social injustice when people finally cannot make comments due to fear of rehearsals.
In 1980 Zanu declared her victory not based on just votes but on a historical legacy of having fought and won a military struggle against white supremacy in Zimbabwe. The approach has caused ugly confrontation between two main liberation arms in the liberation struggle then, but who in transition, shared together the role of law and order maintenance in the country to this very day. While much silence on atrocities on people grew along side it was also the agony of a people who knew the ills corruptly promoted by a government who prides in a supposedly clean record on the liberation of people from oppression.
The country grew socially and politically post independence from a participatory excitement to total silence and indifference between 1980 and 1985. Too much militarism was displayed by Zanu as though war days were still on. There were many retributive acts of vengeance, brutality and beatings that took place on people who had before had been witnesses of loved ones pass away. Inevitably their passing away were best judged from hearsay and suspicion on allegations that they had sold out in a struggle they supported with everything including life under forced measures.
How cruel and agonizing could this labeling have been to those who lost loved ones during the war at the front as well as back in the rear in the villages? Looked at in the perspective that the liberation struggle is one lesson which has proven how selfish those in authority can be against community rank and files, our liberation struggle like many others has a lot left better not accounted. Today those alive obviously have used the history of a struggle everyone got involved emotionally, monetarily, morally, physically making appear as though democracy was a gain to those who on the battle front or those who took leadership from the rear.
It has bitterly succeeded to divide the people of Zimbabwe firstly among the alleged rich and the poor, secondly among the favorites of liberation living heroes against the honesty intellectuals, working middle class as well as ordinary but thinking persons of Chief Rekai Tangwena's caliber. In 2014 close to 36 years of Zanu rule violent fracture in the distinctness among Zanu hierarchy came open dividing that party into half and yet because of the military prowess of those taking control of Zanu, a loose weak Zanu continues to urge for recruitment of power thirsty Diaspora. Incidentally the intra-power struggle even among opposition renders them vulnerable to commodiously seek accommodation in Zanu.
There is a political inertia of surrender coupled with fatigue at watching Zanu bribe her way with the power hungry and thirsty among the middle class group who are the class of Chiyangwas, Kasukuwere and many others who are getting rich from the shadow of Zanu corrupt posturing. Militarism and corruption are two tools that have drowned the rising of democracy on the continent, more so as the continent moved away from support of liberation struggle against a government by citizens who have no recourse to social justice and cannot be protection from abuse by their government.
Irrespective of tribal differences we all stood for independence in 1980 because we had all got involved and acknowledged that war is ugly welcoming the end as shown by the vote, not necessarily for the concept of Zanu being supreme but to cease the war and begin on a new path shy of abuse, cruelty and lawless acts upon one another.
The deployment of private army of Munjibas (military auxiliary) whose pay in 2009 was unaccounted in government books as later discovered only during the Government of National Unity (GNU) after thirty five years of Zanu winning elections through rigging. Militarism in all its forms and nature did help support Zanu survive as a ruling political organ to this date coupled with high level corruption practices that saw many top level officials disappear or be involved in auto accident at unholy hours mysteriously without any effort on the part of government to follow up and publicize findings.
People have received torture and beatings and raping at each election time. The role of Jabulani Sibanda will never be forgotten in being a strong military auxiliary to Zanu particularly to Zanu hierarchy. People in Chivi in the Masvingo area were victims of Jabulani Sibanda and his Zanu supported group during and after GNU periods. The people in Bulawayo and Belingwe areas were victims during the 1983-87 periods when Perence Shiri took command of five brigade to clean Zapu sentiments out of the Matebele and related areas. Many of these retributive acts were aimed to instill fear in masses to vote for Zanu under pretext that she would protect them from the 'Masangaise' rebellion group best known as a baby of Zanu terror acts.
The Operation clean the city in Harare (Murambasvina) in subsequent years proved so ravaging to the Shona tribal peoples that they begun seeing the cruelty of Zanu that Matebele had long tasted during the Gukurahundi and the Entubane phases of Zanu madness. These phases of masses against government soldier-struggle-militarism separated masses from the Zanu hierarchy, the guys of self aggrandizement and personal glory, that sought to make money out of a struggle initially meant to benefit all people in Zimbabwe.
Subsequently the soldiers, police, secret service and prison services graduated to be a top corrupt service that has contributed to the collapse of Zimbabwe infrastructure, economy and farming industry. Farm invasion were done without any single presence of police except to accompany the accomplice in victimizing the rightful owners without accountability or recourse to course of the law. I am not talking about land distribution as unfair because it never took place. I am mainly talking of land grabbing and sharing among wolves of Zanu hierarchy while the commoners were used to spear head chaos in the name of people farm invasions of 2000s. Courts were reduced to dancing halls when self appointed Zapu militant the late Dr Jengerai Hunzvi took personal lead in farm invasions.
It must be acknowledged that the veterans stance on farm invasion ridiculed the Zanu ruling party because of Zanu delayed failure to be transparent and account land allocation in any way open to masses who had waited for land distribution for eight years in vain. The cause was just but should Zanu hierarchy have ridden on the bandwagon? Oh no they should have resigned or forced to do so by a strong opposition. Here is where the rubber means the road, that Zanu leadership were divided but united on what to do: Namely zanu used hungry youth to do the dirty work then, and later have them reduced to nothing since after the land invasion Zanu hierarchy were the beneficiaries to distribution of grabbed land.
That people died from beating is no secret. No doubt one day when a transparency committee is called to put a closure on works of destruction caused by Zanu in thirty five years witness and evidence will be over whelming.
The after effects of continued abuse of people by Zanu begun to affect the life styles of people in the country from 1985 on wards. Finally as the people saw a persistent siege of military style brutality people begun leaving the country and close to four million Zimbabweans have left and continue leaving the country (Nov 2015). Many live under shadow communities abroad traumatized by the hardships of discrimination abroad and the agony of loved ones back at home in Zimbabwe. This has been the untold story of many Zimbabweans and subsequently many have resorted to self denial
tactics with many children of Ministers committing suicide from shame including many others who are mere statistics.
Zimbabwe political climate comprise of vultures and a pool of coyotes (jackal) and hyenas. As typically in such an environment none looks forward to a lasting solutions because when each has taken a piece from the kill he disappears to consume his piece under a temporary peaceful rendezvous. Elections are one such time when coyotes have a little to eat and fight among each other leaving the hyenas to feast for a while. When a Diaspora gets in at such a time both hyenas and coyotes look at making a feast of you. It is a sad circus controlled by one portion of the existing chaos the military and her auxiliaries using a political organ of Zanu.
Unless the military is assigned to the barracks and reoriented to be a patriotic force and made none partisan and the military auxiliary disbanded and disarmed with a strong presence of international peace supervision force, it is thoughtless given the entrenchment of the rot in the system, to see Zanu capitulate except circumstances of world supervision and open none violence elections force them to do so. If a condition of relative peace were established in the country it is not surprising that none of current party power contenders may be leaders to new era in Zimbabwe (2015).
--------------------
Andrew Manyevere <zimbopoitics@gmail.com
Corruption on one hand is an account of a decayed pattern in government whose governance ethos implicitly rules out rule of law and procedures but relies instead on political party card holders loyalty in exchange of monetary, employment position hiring and land allocation benefit favoritism without paying or with a loan that is never fully paid. Under such conditions meritocracy becomes a nominal procedure used to imply, to an outsider, that all is well when actually all is going wrong procedural. Enforcement of procedures under a clout of favoritism is only an extension of social injustice when people finally cannot make comments due to fear of rehearsals.
In 1980 Zanu declared her victory not based on just votes but on a historical legacy of having fought and won a military struggle against white supremacy in Zimbabwe. The approach has caused ugly confrontation between two main liberation arms in the liberation struggle then, but who in transition, shared together the role of law and order maintenance in the country to this very day. While much silence on atrocities on people grew along side it was also the agony of a people who knew the ills corruptly promoted by a government who prides in a supposedly clean record on the liberation of people from oppression.
The country grew socially and politically post independence from a participatory excitement to total silence and indifference between 1980 and 1985. Too much militarism was displayed by Zanu as though war days were still on. There were many retributive acts of vengeance, brutality and beatings that took place on people who had before had been witnesses of loved ones pass away. Inevitably their passing away were best judged from hearsay and suspicion on allegations that they had sold out in a struggle they supported with everything including life under forced measures.
How cruel and agonizing could this labeling have been to those who lost loved ones during the war at the front as well as back in the rear in the villages? Looked at in the perspective that the liberation struggle is one lesson which has proven how selfish those in authority can be against community rank and files, our liberation struggle like many others has a lot left better not accounted. Today those alive obviously have used the history of a struggle everyone got involved emotionally, monetarily, morally, physically making appear as though democracy was a gain to those who on the battle front or those who took leadership from the rear.
It has bitterly succeeded to divide the people of Zimbabwe firstly among the alleged rich and the poor, secondly among the favorites of liberation living heroes against the honesty intellectuals, working middle class as well as ordinary but thinking persons of Chief Rekai Tangwena's caliber. In 2014 close to 36 years of Zanu rule violent fracture in the distinctness among Zanu hierarchy came open dividing that party into half and yet because of the military prowess of those taking control of Zanu, a loose weak Zanu continues to urge for recruitment of power thirsty Diaspora. Incidentally the intra-power struggle even among opposition renders them vulnerable to commodiously seek accommodation in Zanu.
There is a political inertia of surrender coupled with fatigue at watching Zanu bribe her way with the power hungry and thirsty among the middle class group who are the class of Chiyangwas, Kasukuwere and many others who are getting rich from the shadow of Zanu corrupt posturing. Militarism and corruption are two tools that have drowned the rising of democracy on the continent, more so as the continent moved away from support of liberation struggle against a government by citizens who have no recourse to social justice and cannot be protection from abuse by their government.
Irrespective of tribal differences we all stood for independence in 1980 because we had all got involved and acknowledged that war is ugly welcoming the end as shown by the vote, not necessarily for the concept of Zanu being supreme but to cease the war and begin on a new path shy of abuse, cruelty and lawless acts upon one another.
The deployment of private army of Munjibas (military auxiliary) whose pay in 2009 was unaccounted in government books as later discovered only during the Government of National Unity (GNU) after thirty five years of Zanu winning elections through rigging. Militarism in all its forms and nature did help support Zanu survive as a ruling political organ to this date coupled with high level corruption practices that saw many top level officials disappear or be involved in auto accident at unholy hours mysteriously without any effort on the part of government to follow up and publicize findings.
The Operation clean the city in Harare (Murambasvina) in subsequent years proved so ravaging to the Shona tribal peoples that they begun seeing the cruelty of Zanu that Matebele had long tasted during the Gukurahundi and the Entubane phases of Zanu madness. These phases of masses against government soldier-struggle-militarism separated masses from the Zanu hierarchy, the guys of self aggrandizement and personal glory, that sought to make money out of a struggle initially meant to benefit all people in Zimbabwe.
Subsequently the soldiers, police, secret service and prison services graduated to be a top corrupt service that has contributed to the collapse of Zimbabwe infrastructure, economy and farming industry. Farm invasion were done without any single presence of police except to accompany the accomplice in victimizing the rightful owners without accountability or recourse to course of the law. I am not talking about land distribution as unfair because it never took place. I am mainly talking of land grabbing and sharing among wolves of Zanu hierarchy while the commoners were used to spear head chaos in the name of people farm invasions of 2000s. Courts were reduced to dancing halls when self appointed Zapu militant the late Dr Jengerai Hunzvi took personal lead in farm invasions.
It must be acknowledged that the veterans stance on farm invasion ridiculed the Zanu ruling party because of Zanu delayed failure to be transparent and account land allocation in any way open to masses who had waited for land distribution for eight years in vain. The cause was just but should Zanu hierarchy have ridden on the bandwagon? Oh no they should have resigned or forced to do so by a strong opposition. Here is where the rubber means the road, that Zanu leadership were divided but united on what to do: Namely zanu used hungry youth to do the dirty work then, and later have them reduced to nothing since after the land invasion Zanu hierarchy were the beneficiaries to distribution of grabbed land.
That people died from beating is no secret. No doubt one day when a transparency committee is called to put a closure on works of destruction caused by Zanu in thirty five years witness and evidence will be over whelming.
The after effects of continued abuse of people by Zanu begun to affect the life styles of people in the country from 1985 on wards. Finally as the people saw a persistent siege of military style brutality people begun leaving the country and close to four million Zimbabweans have left and continue leaving the country (Nov 2015). Many live under shadow communities abroad traumatized by the hardships of discrimination abroad and the agony of loved ones back at home in Zimbabwe. This has been the untold story of many Zimbabweans and subsequently many have resorted to self denial
tactics with many children of Ministers committing suicide from shame including many others who are mere statistics.
Zimbabwe political climate comprise of vultures and a pool of coyotes (jackal) and hyenas. As typically in such an environment none looks forward to a lasting solutions because when each has taken a piece from the kill he disappears to consume his piece under a temporary peaceful rendezvous. Elections are one such time when coyotes have a little to eat and fight among each other leaving the hyenas to feast for a while. When a Diaspora gets in at such a time both hyenas and coyotes look at making a feast of you. It is a sad circus controlled by one portion of the existing chaos the military and her auxiliaries using a political organ of Zanu.
Unless the military is assigned to the barracks and reoriented to be a patriotic force and made none partisan and the military auxiliary disbanded and disarmed with a strong presence of international peace supervision force, it is thoughtless given the entrenchment of the rot in the system, to see Zanu capitulate except circumstances of world supervision and open none violence elections force them to do so. If a condition of relative peace were established in the country it is not surprising that none of current party power contenders may be leaders to new era in Zimbabwe (2015).
--------------------
Andrew Manyevere <zimbopoitics@gmail.com
Source - Andrew M Manyevere
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