Truthfulness is a sacred trust and lying is a betrayal.

The Editor,

I find it difficult to believe that three months before the elections, the main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) political party in Zimbabwe is nearing participation in the plebiscite without a constitution. Most will argue that indigenous societies have no written constitutions too. Indigenous societies, however, take measures to prevent state tyranny. CCC is bidding to take over tyrannical system of government. Indigenous African political culture reveals an obsessive fear of state tyranny while CCC reveals an obsessive love of state of tyranny. In fact, most Africans regards the state as necessarily tyrannous and structure their political institution to provide an effective bulwark against this threat. CCC understands the current state is tyrannous and structure of current state but structure their political institution to provide an effective bulwark for this threat.

Most indigenous cultures, like the Igbo, the Somali, and the Gikuyu, went to the radical extreme and abolished the state altogether, dispensing with chiefs or centralized authority. The Igbo has a word called ezebuilo - " a king is an enemy." CCC is trying to entice the Zimbabwe security forces assuring them that they will keep their loot and their safety will be guaranteed if they allow them to take over state power.

The burning fear of tyranny is also evident in those ethnic groups that choose to have chiefs. Their systems of government are highly decentralized, and the detailed devolution of authority, assignment of responsibilities, and the institution of a complex system of checks and balances are all designed to curb autocracy. On the opposite, CCC system of government is highly centralized, and the detailed devolution of authority, assignment of responsibilities, and the institution of a complex system of checks and balances are all concentrated in the top few if not the single top leader.

The indigenous safeguards and measures - not written down, of course - are embedded in the slew of taboos and injunctions that a ruler must obey. It is hard to imagine how a despotic king could function under a taboo that prohibits him from leaving his palace except under cover of darkness. Perhaps no other area of study is as fascinating as the checks and balances indigenous people built into their political systems to prevent or punish abuse of power or misuse of office. CCC does not have written down checks and balances and to me are just the flip side of ZANU PF.

Zimbabwe is faced with a slew of social ills today such as child marriage - ZANU PF looks the other way for fear of upsetting the offending the child marrying bunch, the biggest ZANU PF support base. What about CCC? Why are they not speaking against this abhorrent practice of child marriage? Does one need to be a President to speak out against children as young as 10 years being raped by 65-year men?

What I hope for in Zimbabwe is a system of governance established on truth. I hope for a true republic, where rulers are bound by a set of laws that they cannot break at a whim. Further, where people have the right to appoint their ruler through their local leaders and have the right to remove him/her.

The best example can be inferred from the inaugural speech of the first caliph, Abu Bakr:

"Oooh People! I have been put in authority over you and I am not the best of you.

So, if I do the right thing then help me and if I do wrong then put me straight.

Truthfulness is a sacred trust and lying is a betrayal.

If I obey Allah and His messenger, you should obey me, and

if I do not obey Allah and His messenger, then obedience to me is not incumbent upon you."


Yours Sincerely,

Sam Wezhira