#FreeLyndaNow

Friday the 22nd of July was a new experience for me. I had never been to Mbare courts until then where I briefly attended Lynda Tsungie Masarira court case.

I have had the opportunity of talking to Lynda earlier on this year as we both travelled from Bulawayo from a PDP function and I must say, she is truly a woman and a half. Her role in #OccupyAfricaUnitySquare and during the #ShutDownZimbabwe campaign attests to this. I admire her courage.

Lynda is a free spirit, a brave soldier, a gallant activist and a truly empowered woman who accepts that she is personally responsible for fighting for our freedom.

She is audacious and is prepared to do whatever it takes to assert her rights as a human being. Meeting her has been a privilege, I am certainly the better of it. On meeting her one is bound to underrate her because she is a humble and a quiet storm packaged as a mother of five with no fake airs about her. She is a true leader and I like to call her "the General".

Her only crime has been fighting for our freedom and taking personal responsibility and risk to do what she must, regardless of the consequences. As I attended her trial, I watched the body language of the state prosecutor dressed in a faded  navy-blue suit as he was trying to prove almost inaudibly that Linda is a criminal. It was a pitiful sad display of incompetence and lies designed to discourage her to be who she is and I know she rejects that.

I could not help but realise that the political system that ZANU (PF) has created in our country abhors empowered individuals who are prepared to claim their space. Instead, it feeds on cowards who are not allowed to challenge Mugabe's paradigm or the status quo because doing so would result in being purged form the party. It is based on a monumental lie and a myth that only Mugabe knows and therefore his veracity must never be questioned. Nothing can be further from the truth!

 I am certain though, that there are many within ZANU (PF) who want to see Mugabe go but are just too damn scared to make it happen. We must help them to help themselves.

If one thinks about, this is why our country has regressed both economically and socially. Our political environment is toxic and it is clear that if you are not ZANU (PF) or do not agree with their policies, you are not considered Zimbabwean and are therefore you are not entitled to any of your rights or benefits as a citizen. That is tyranny. It is unacceptable and we must fight that mentality. Zimbabwe belongs to all of us equally, that is all Lynda wants too.

We cannot expect our country to progress as long as we suppress constructive dissent nor can we expect our democracy to deepen if we cannot have freedom to speak as we think and to associate as we wish.

 We must therefore continue the fight and it is people like Lynda who must inspire us. She is our living heroine and I certainly hope that on coming Tuesday 26th July, we shall be reunited with her so that we can continue the fight to emancipate ourselves and the millions of Zimbabweans out there who have unfortunately chosen to be eternal victims.

Let us all be there at Mbare courts on Tuesday 26th July at 0930hrs to demonstrate to the system that we want Lynda free as we offer her moral support as we did with Evan Mawarire. More important, we need to be there so that we may show the system that we are indeed united in our quest for change and no amount of lies or intimidation will change that.

Thank you Lynda, "the General". See you sooner rather than later!

Another Zimbabwe is possible!

Vince Musewe is an economist and author. He is also the Secretary for Finance and Economic Affairs for PDP. You may contact him on vtmusewe@gmail.com