Mugabe in the eyes of Zimbabweans, the world and the media

If Robert Mugabe is counted a war veteran is it any wonder that ‘war veteran' word is losing meaning and sense of purpose among Zimbabweans as strongly aligned to corruption, adulteration of the word sacrifice, cruelty and selfishness. How else will history be written for our children to learn if for thirty-six years and beyond none told Mr. Mugabe Zimbabwe was not a personal property to be gambled with, used for selfish desires of an individual or a handful in any name than by the collective, us all, we, the Zimbabweans?

Farm grabbing in 2000 by all who wielded political power, even if it appeared politically correct was illegal, chaotic, not an empowerment of the people whatsoever and an introduction to jungle law by authorities in Zanu pf.  Undeniably, though, Mr. Mugabe by powers delegated him in Zanu as first Secretary of the party sanctioned the farm grabbing as was with many other unfair practices perpetuated by Zanu thereafter in Zimbabwe.

Only from those who benefited and are benefiting unlawfully from Mr.Mugabe's being in power, is the glory of Mugabe survival, even though he is now frail and aged beyond capacity and willing to retire anyhow if retirement is such that he will not be in danger of the ‘sins' he committed while in power. It is true that people liked and even admired Robert Mugabe in the 1980s as also it is true to realize that he eroded leadership goodwill either by surrounding himself with weakness or revealing who he really was through the length and breadth of time.

There is neither exaggeration at all in the late James Chikerema nor malice when he observed that from young days Robert Mugabe was selfish and would, when angered at the meadows, take his cattle away from the village pastures and gather them in meadows far off others. He only came back into the fold of others when he felt his views were receiving respect.  No doubt, such tributes weigh heavily towards the Machiavellian character of domination and Plato's autocratic tendencies that have since proven true of Mugabe's drive for political power. More testimonies on Mugabe behavior, unsuited to leadership, will come out more now that he exceeded limits of valuing other people in his life except him, his ‘new' wife and kids.

None, whatsoever in Zimbabwe can explain why Mr. Mugabe would not stand those who criticise him even when they are harmless peasants whose lives drive joy from the humour of ridiculing each other as a pattern of traditional life style (Kunemera in Shona) without any malicious intent at all: Except attribute it to cruelty. It is absurd for anyone suggesting that Mr. Mugabe favours dragging of peasants or ordinary people into courts for bemusing each other in busses or in rural areas by imitating him or observing on some of his ugly acts of the past.  It is a fact that some surrogates have sought favour and promotions through heinous and cruel means hiding behind his name, have also surrounded him with a ‘higher-than-mighty-image' agenda. In addition, it is true that absolute power can only account for his being so corrupt today.  

The eyes of the ordinary Zimbabwean hold Mr. Mugabe with mixed feelings simply because even though some pockets of masses go silent, they watched and saw loved ones die at the hands of Mugabe surrogates. They are silent because they fear facing reprisals through political witch-hunt. The parents and children, who for example, are beneficiaries to the Zanu scholarship program, would say nothing ill against the system that feed them. The scholarship program is a system that benefits few randomly selected to go to Universities in South Africa mainly. Scholarship programs from president office bear no record of other political parties affiliated youths as recipients, indicative that the program is a political tool to buy support.

Families with children who are recipients of Zanu scholarships through president's office no doubt are selected based on being party cardholders. In spite of this gift by president, many students on completion of school will not go back to Zimbabwe.  Zimbabwe has no jobs, security is not guaranteed, and freedom of speech and association is virtually absent except you are aligned to Zanu political party. The young generation view Mr. Mugabe as a man who cannot keep promise in building a robust economy but would not voice the opinion openly for fear of political witch-hunt and abuse by his state machinery.

The media considers Mr. Mugabe and Zanu as headmasters who inspect prints every day and use strict editing policy based on Zanu ideology and more for pandering to president hate speeches on westen nations, sanctions and black puppets from whom he divorces himself as a radical and ‘revolutinary'. The media knows no peace on its corridors except banishment as was the case with the 1990s Daily news demise for being an objective reporting newspaper on all events without favor.

The judiciary has had its turn of scrutiny evidenced by the exit of many judges who flew out of the country to seek asylum in Africa, Australia, Britain, America, and Canada in fact everywhere. The Human Rights Watch in New York has written extensively of the 2000s acts of witch-hunting on the judiciary by the Mugabe regime. The impression painted is that Zimbabwe did not care much about the loss of skills for as long as the lonesome president Mugabe is secure. Zimbabwe is a ‘one-man leader' nation dictated by the hierarchy of army surrogates confessing patriotism through war veterans qualification excluding every other Zimbabwean who was not in the liberation struggle even though Mr. Mugabe never carried a gun in combat.

The rest are fence skaters simply because the mode through which a nation has gone for the thirty-six years of Zanu rule were characterised with heinous crime, favouritism and corruption sanctioned from the top most office in the land that is oppressive and frightful to talk on let alone oppose.  For all its mistakes in poor governance and human abuse, Zanu government has blamed everything on western governments and the limited sanctions imposition of the 2000s. Yet within and among Zimbabweans much has gone on without transparency or account.

No one, for example, has explained fully the plight of Rushiwe Guzha disappearing and death in 1990, who then was working in the president office as typist. Much gossip and rumors surrounded Rashiwe Guzha death and the sad reality is like many others after her, she died in the hands of state agents. If people were not afraid to face punishment and death sentences clandestinely, much would have come into the open on this young woman's fate, which I hope will one day soon be public information.

State implication as suspect in the case remain alive in the eyes and minds of many Zimbabweans and the chief witness then deputy director of Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) Edson Shirihuru died three years later in August of 1993. He seems to have died with the story of what happened to Rashiwe because since then the story had cold water on it to this day. The truth on human loss would require revelation to give final restitution to the poor souls who died innocently. Many of these poor souls must have died possibly as cover up to wrongs committed elsewhere in government, by government officials under the watch of Mr. Robert Mugabe, however, out of the poor souls' control.

In 2000 Patrick Nyabanyana, then David Coltart election agent, was dragged out of home by state agents at night and was never seen since. There was no state of security emergency in the country to warrant invasion of a citizen at night for purposes of arrest except as acts of vandalism authored by the government itself. In 2007 a freelance cinematographer formerly working for state TV was, suspected for having released Morgan Tsvangirai savage beatings of 2007 to the world media; abducted by plain-clothes men and found dead 80kms out of Harare two days later. In 2008 among numerous atrocities committed to many innocent citizens in the country during presidential election between Robert Mugabe of Zanu and Morgan Tsvangirai of the MDC, Tonderai Ndira was taken from his house by masked eight armed men and found dead a week later.

The president never personally said anything on all the series of people abducted and possibly murdered in cold blood.  Rest assured, that apart from its illiteracy in terms of anxiety to read newspapers, the ordinary people-masses- are frightened from too much negativity on these developments and only know that it is an offense to talk about these occurrences, let alone, gather to converse on any of these issues except privately. History will bear the fact that the radio station in Zimbabwe do not dwell or even talk about such disappearances or abductions of human rights activists, a clear indictment of their guilty since they are under government control as well as the newspapers.

In 2009, March Jestina Mukoko a Zimbabwe Peace Project director was abducted together with a baby at night from her home in Harare. The pattern of abduction is clear. Those abducted by government agents are vocal individuals against social injustice in the government of Zanu to one-ill act by government or others publicly committed acts of injustice given publicity through media or during an open demonstration. Government has a record of ill-treating persons who come together to speak or demonstrate against mistakes committed by any department of the president. Evidence is there that the 2004 criminal Procedure and Evidence Amended Act #14 was drafted with punishing those who may be interpreted as having crimes acting in a demeanor demeaning the person of president. There are excesses in this law that may be in violation of freedom of people rights.

Jestina Mukoko who the government had emphatically denied abducting, was later on traced into police custody and finally released. Her stories on the torrid interviews she encountered and the sadistic postures of the torturing forces of Mugabe's CIO are more savage than any terroristic organization will effect on its captives. It is beyond imagination how abuse of power can convert humans into animals without heart and feelings for each other. Jestina is still well and alive to give life testimony and naturally, the case against government abduction on her citizens and causing terror on citizens is and can open any time. A case on crime against humanity is possible given different terror approaches given on petrified relatives of those who disappeared and are living and lived in a state of fear.

Too many cases are against Zanu government on abuse of humans. A year ago in March 2015 Itai Dzamara abduction was in daylight.  Itai Dzamara , who was forced into a vehicle from a barbershop receiving a haircut has since never seen again. His whereabouts are still unknown. The perception people have of President Robert Mugabe ranges from that of ugly and cruel to modest depending on the treatment relations have received in the last thirty-six years of Zimbabwe independence from the government secret agents.

The tendency to trivialize life loss in Zimbabwe hardens as more and more pressure mounts on the poor governance and human rights records against Mr. Mugabe as a person and single feasted leader of a beleaguered Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe and in particular Mr. Mugabe perception on political opposition grew from cold to callous and then brutality. The presence of Lt. Colonel Magistu Mariam, former dictator of Ethiopia, must have strengthened the resolve of Mugabe to stay on in power even to the point of death.  Grace Mugabe helped inject wild ambition to an aged elderly man who graciously should have rested by now pending a natural waste in life.

Today Zimbabwe cannot go quiet no matter how terrifying Mugabe surrogates may work to drive fear into minds and lives of citizens. There can be more room to store fear in the hearts and minds of Zimbabweans more so after thirty-six years of gruesome cruelty torture and helplessness and massive exodus.  Help never came from the neighbour South Africa. Instead, suffering increased then concealed by Thabo Mbeki and today still so under watch of Jacob Zuma. Southern Africa will not be free if connivance of dictators continues.

What is not known by many on Zimbabwe remains in the hearts and minds of the peasants who one day will ell their stories to a Commission on Truth on Mugabe and his thirty-six years of ruin. In one of the languages called Shona there is a proverb: 'Zvinozikanwa neivu kuti mwana wembeva unongwara" Translated into English it will mean: Only the soil knows the welfare of the baby rat. Zimbabwe is like an underground world. Even though open into the world, only those bruised by Mugabe brutality and poor governance can tell the story eloquently.