Retention of Gono and Tomana -Political Thuggery & Compromises – Zimbabwe’s Tragedies
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(+5 rating, 1 votes) Loading ...By DR PAUL MUTUZU
Published: August 3, 2009
For the most part, the inclusive government was a pragmatic solution to Zimbabwe’s political quagmire. We all know that the formation of the inclusive government was inexplicably shrouded in secrecy. But there was no reason why the inclusive government’s Global Political Agreement brazenly omitted even an addendum on how to seriously deal with human rights violations, the most disturbing aspect of Zimbabwe’s contemporary politics.
Concerns that bringing to justice those who committed atrocities would deplete political capital and spirit of inclusive government are outrageous. It is the height of insensitivity to those aggrieved.
Unfortunately the atrocities did not end by instituting the inclusive government. Instead they are continuing to this present day. The unpleasant reality is that, more likely than not, they will escalate come election time. The whole point of bringing this to light (to justice If I had my way) is to cause those abductors, murderers, torturers, asset grabbers and rapists to completely surrender. Doing so also prevents any future recurrence of such heinous crimes on innocent civilians.
Talk of the Ministry of National Healing, better call it Ministry of National Concealing, the starting point should be to reveal the terrible crimes against humanity that were committed by the Zimbabwe’s politicians. As it stands, the Ministry smacks of a national healing among politicians seeking to rehabilitate one another at the expense of bringing true relief to those who suffered terribly from various crimes ranging from rape, murder, torture, maim, injury, for instance.
The main reason Nuremberg trials were immediately carried out soon after World War II was to clean the system of residual Nazis and to make sure that no such crimes would ever be committed against innocent citizens ever again. The process would later on be dubbed ‘Denazification’. As a result perpetrators were properly tried and those found guilty were punished according to the crimes they committed.
The road to destruction started when the Fuehrer Adolf Hitler convinced the German public that the problems of the German nation were to be squarely blamed on the Jews. Is that not an all-too-familiar Zimbabwean / African escapism? Blame the white men and his ‘West’ for all your problems. It’s not about your corruption, mismanagement or looting of national resources. Not even about an unpopular President getting ready to rule eternally while Zanu PF is still boasting of a monopoly of incompetence.
While the Nuremberg-type trials are a remote possibility in Zimbabwe at the moment, some movement towards Dezanufication is long overdue. Recent disturbances by Zimbabwe’s own residual ‘Nazis’ at the All-Stakeholder Constitutional Conference remind us of that history will repeat itself if no remedial steps are put in place as a matter of urgency.
Like Denazification, Dezanufication is a political imperative necessary to remove active lawlessness and those who subscribe to torture doctrine from Zimbabwe’s peace-loving communities. There are people out there who believe that they are still above the law the same way they broke the laws yesteryear with impunity. We all saw how the recent Constitutional Conference in Zimbabwe was called off having been run over by the same ‘war vets’ who previously brutalized defenseless citizens while unrestrained by (immune to) law enforcement.
Isn’t it ironic that all the members of the regime who committed atrocities were rewarded by the inclusive government? But one would think that they at least have a sense of collective guilt as to be ashamed of their horrible recent past. Wouldn’t this be the opportune time for them to withdraw into some form of personal purgatory and begin to work and lead for a better Zimbabwe free from violence given the Gehenna that they created for the people of Zimbabwe?
For a fact we know that thousands of people succumbed to political violence, economic failure, hunger and poverty as well as unnecessary and preventable diseases. The net result was a plundered civilization and a return to the medieval times. For instance, we witnessed a country without functioning hospitals and schools.
This week, Zimbabwe was again beamed internationally for the wrong reasons, just a laughing stock. Recently the Prime Minister was on a critical international mission to woo investors, against backdrop of a fragile coalition which he tried hard to conceal. Wasn’t that the same undercutting by Zanu PF he suffered he was promoting Zimbabwe as a safe investment destination only to coincide with news of escalating violence and political thuggery? Where does one get the motivation to invest in a lawless society? What guarantees one’s security of his/her investments given Zimbabwe’s notoriety for asset-grabbing in the name of reversing colonial injustices (whatever that means)? What about the state of property rights?
The lesson that we are also getting here is that for those of us who believe in the MDC change agenda, we need to learn patience as it was never going to be easy dealing with people who have ruled for three decades uninterrupted. However our politicians should also listen to those who are criticizing the inclusive government, who hold different views about how to move forward. It is true that some of the greatest patriots are those who criticize the government of the day because they care deeply about their country and they want the best for its citizens.
The inclusive government should be fully supported so that a stable and legitimate government can soon be put in place, born out of free and fair elections. A new constitution means everything to all Zimbabweans and to the International community. Any decision by MDC to pull out of the inclusive government will certainly play into Zanu PF’s hands as naturally preferred by many of Mugabe’s compatriots belonging to his kleptocratic camp.
I have no doubt that the Prime Minister ‘plays dumb’ on many occasions even though it appears as if he is sycophantically appeasing Mugabe. He knows that in the grand scheme of things, getting a new constitution acceptable to the people of Zimbabwe will probably be one of his the biggest achievements.
However in my previous article (available on www.nationalvision.wordpress.com) I warned against the perfidious game of political correctness. Simply summarized, we have a Prime Minister who has a tough and delicate balancing act: being careful not to rattle Mugabe while at the same time not losing his mojo as a leader of an opposition that has been hardwired to hearing anti-Mugabe rhetoric (justifiably so, especially before the inclusive government). The third factor is that the man himself has also morphed into a co-leader of a nation.
People have to understand that Mugabe joined the inclusive government much against the will of many powerful politicians and security chiefs who populate the corridors of power. They know that their power privileges are slipping away very fast hence the attempts to subvert the process of re-writing of the new constitution. At least for that reason I give Mugabe credit.
For now, Ignore Arthur Mutambara, the Mugabesque Deputy Prime Minister, who is trying to buy more time for the inclusive government, the same way he bought his way into Zimbabwean politics. It’s understandable for him to call for five more years because his political future without the inclusive government is as clear as mud.
However engaging in unnecessary compromises has the potential to raze the party to the ground. For instance, there is nothing to compromise on unilateral Tomana and Gono appointments. There is nothing to compromise on the continuing malicious arrests of your MP’s facing concocted charges.
There is nothing to compromise on continued farm invasions. There is nothing to compromise on the rule of law, free press and illegal detentions. Our outrage and condemnation of rule of thuggery must be unequivocal. There is nothing to compromise on a people-driven Constitution. The inclusive government cannot unilaterally decide to run for five years.
With Attorney General Johannes Tomana in charge, dockets have conveniently vanished and many more are disappearing each extra day he stays in office. Only in Zimbabwe can that happen! Tomana is the same AG at the center of a firestorm of criticism having been unilaterally appointed by Mugabe in direct violation of GPA terms, the basis of the inclusive government. Retention of Mr Gono and Mr Tomana undermine the mission to bring change in Zimbabwe.
Insisting on retaining these two hardliners proves a point that there is a deep-seated insidious agenda.
We should all think about how Zimbabwe came to be what it is today – A banana republic. As an advocate of the inclusive government myself, we cannot expect the Prime Minister Tsvangirai to undo overnight what we all allowed to happen for three decades. Obviously there will be missteps along the way and we should be able to point at them loudly. With the same measure, it is every progressive Zimbabwean’s responsibility to educate fellow brothers and sisters who are enslaved as agents of political thuggery that they are in actual fact fighting against their own interests. They are simply being used by cold-hearted politicians for personal gain.
It will be a tremendous achievement if one day, our politicians on both ends of the political spectrum lay down their political differences to fight for a better Zimbabwe, a better Africa. It is unconscionable that a nation with such abundant wealth and skills base is the World’s leading case of economic destitution.
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