Wednesday 13 July 2016

Protesters to "face full wrath of law" warns Chombo - confirms certainty of mother of all protests. By Patrick Guramatunhu

The recent nationwide protests are the people crying for something to be done to end their economic suffering. The peopling are hurting, they have been hurting for many years now and it is unrealistic to expect them endure this dehumanizing suffering in silence forever! It is therefore deeply regrettable that, instead of stepping up all effort to deliver the economic recovery, the government should be thinking of turning up its repression.

 “We are fully aware of individuals trying to destabilise the country through misrepresenting facts. Let me warn the instigators behind the intended protests that they will face the full wrath of the law,” warned Home Affairs Minister Ignatius Chombo. In a show of the regime’s repressive powers, he was flanked by Defence Minister Sydney Sekeramayi and Minister of State Security, Kembo Mohadi.  

Fear of State sponsored violence has ruled Zimbabwe for the last 36 years but now the people have something else to fear - grinding poverty.

Poverty is like one sitting on a hot plate that is being slowly wound up. Unemployment in Zimbabwe has soared to 90%, 76% of the population cannot afford even one decent meal a day, hundreds of our people are dying of even the simple diseases because our health service has all but collapse due to poor funding, etc. The hot plate is now so hot that fear of the riot Police’s baton forcing everyone to stay put is nothing compared to sitting on that sizzling hot plate frying one’s butt!

Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown is real and so too is the economic hardship it has brought to the nation. The only notable thing is that those in positions of power and authority have elected to turn a blind eye to the reality of the economic meltdown and the suffering of the masses. Worse still, it is clear that as long as this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical regime remains in office; the turning up on the repressive measures is proof the regime’s resolve to retain power at all cost; the economic meltdown will get worse and not better.

What President Mugabe and his cronies have yet to accept is that their no regime change mantra is as untenable as the present economic meltdown is socially and politically unsustainable. The cup is full to overflowing.

The people's anger and frustration, at being denied their freedoms, human dignity and rights including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country and even the right to life itself, have been building up like water behind a dam wall. The dam is full to capacity and all attempts to hold back even more water is futile. The people’s anger is going to burst and set off a Tsunami that will sweep all before it including the tyrant, his cronies and the baton wielding riot Police!

By turning on to more repressive instead of addressing the underlying causes of the street protests, this Zanu PF regime has set itself and the nation at large for a mother of all street protests because there is no way the people can be expected to endure the worsening economic hardships in silence forever!

The tragedy is the mother of all street protests will not just sweep away the tyrannical regime but will destroy a lot more property and even innocent lives. We have looked down the abyss and can see the many unintended consequences of a violent uprising; we are right to hesitate.

Zimbabwe fought a bitter war of independence, no doubt an act of desperation to end a racist and oppressive colonial regime. Looking back in hindsight, we should have hesitate before taking up arms because the unintended consequences of that decision was that the war throw into positions of leadership the men and women who have since turned our independence into a nightmare even worse than the white colonial regime the Zanu PF regime replaced!

Woe unto President Mugabe and his cronies for dragging the nation into this political and economic mess; curse them all if the nation should be plunged into the abyss of the mother of all street protests because of their selfish arrogance and insatiable greed for power and wealth! 

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