One of the tragic ironies of Zimbabwe’s liberation war is
that many, many man-years were spent in “Pungwe” (All night political rallies)
to educate povo on what the liberation war was about. Povo were forced to
attend these Pungwes from far and wide and at great risk too.
There was a lot of sloganeering and singing at these gatherings
in which the povo were forced to participate with energy and passion. The white
regime’s soldiers homed in on the noise like hyenas homing onto a million-strong
herd of wildebeest. Many comrades and civilians were injured and killed at
these Pungwes. And now it turns out that the Pungwes were a complete waste of
time and human lives.
The freedom fighters, man and woman like Comrade Douglas
Mahiya, called these Pungwes and they led in educating povo what the liberation
war was about. It is clear that people like Mahiya, even to this day, still
have no clue what the struggle was about; povo would have done a better job
educating him!
The liberation war was about ending white colonial
exploitation and oppression of the blacks so that we can all enjoy all the human
freedoms and rights including the right to meaningful and free vote and the
right to life. If Mahiya and his band of rogue war veterans had ever understood
that then they would have refused harass, beat, rape and even murder of
innocent civilians in post-independent Zimbabwe.
“We cannot give a public apology for that, if we do, the
apology will not be a genuine apology but would just be done to let it pass,” said
Mahiya, at a Crisis In Zimbabwe Coalition conference.
As far as he was concerned, the harassment, beatings, etc.
of the citizens were “incidental occurrence in their pursuit to defend the
country from imperialists who were pursuing an agenda to reverse the gains of
the liberation struggle,” reported Zimeye.
Nonsense! Mahiya and his rogue war veterans (not all war
veterans took part) were carrying out orders from President Mugabe and his fellow
corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF cronies to terrorise the civilians denying them
their freedoms and human rights including the right to a meaningful say in the
governance.
After decades of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption
the Zimbabwe economy was in serious trouble by the late 1990s, the nation was
desperate for good governance. To stop the people electing someone else into
office, President Mugabe decided to rig the elections by any and all means
including the use of violence under the pretext that anyone seeking regime
change was an imperialist agent who will “reverse the gains of the liberation
struggle”.
It was no coincidence that President Mugabe paid war
veterans Z$50 000 gratuity and other allowance in late 1990s plus a further US$
500 000 each, which he has never honoured. The down payment was enough buy the
blind loyalty of the rogue war veterans and back the tyrant’s no-regime-change
mantra although it violated everything the liberation war stood for.
Mahiya must explain how the millions of povo whom he and his
war veterans have harassed, beaten, etc. over the years were going to “reverse
the gains of the liberation struggle”?
Even if all these defenceless povo were about to commit this
serious crime “of reversing the gains of the liberation struggle”; who gave Mahiya
carte blanche powers to be the accuser, prosecutor, judge and executioner in
this matter?
The refusal by Mahiya to apologize for what he and other
rogue war veterans have done only shows how little they understand was the
liberation struggle was about! No nation in its right mind can ever allow such
lawlessness.
It turns out that Mahiya et al are still garnering for VP
Mnangagwa to take over from President Mugabe in the hope that he will honour
the pittance allowance war veterans are getting from the state if not the US$
500 000 too.
No doubt if Mnangagwa is the Zanu PF candidate for the 2018
elections Mahiya and company will be out in full force once again harassing,
beating, raping and even murdering innocent people under the pretext of
fighting imperialists agents.
“We want to warn
opposition parties that even if they came to power tomorrow and not attend to
war veterans issues (welfare) they will still be carrying forward a problem
with them,” threatened Mahiya.
Well that is laughable! Greed has blinded the idiot and his
friend from the reality that the corrupt and tyrannical dictatorship they have
been propping up has brought poverty to us all. After 36 years of gross
mismanagement and rampant corruption and the nation up to its eyes in the
cesspit one would think that even someone as dull and stupid like Mahiya would
now realise that the political system has failed and we need change.
We must now demand meaningful democratic reforms followed by
free and fair elections.
After all those man-years attending pungwes and 36 years of
Zanu PF misrule one would have thought Mahiya et al have learnt to be humble;
admit they were wrong to have beaten povo to promote a tyrant and apologise! As
for us, we should have never allowed thugs like Mahiya to terrorise us denying
us our freedom, human rights and self-respect and landing us in this hell-hole!
4 comments:
President Mugabe has reportedly appointed a new war veterans association executive, in total disregard of the court ruling, and invited them to the party's conference. It is the usual divide and rule.
It is bad enough that anyone would allow themselves to do other people's dirty work but harassing, beating, raping and even murdering povo for Zanu PF was going too far. Mahiya calls himself a freedom fighter who liberated povo and now he is harassing, beating, raping and even murdering them for no other reason than to force them to vote for President Mugabe. That is really stupid!
When there is regime change then activities of leaders like Jabulani Sibanda, Chris Mutsvangwa and Douglas Mahiya must be thoroughly investigated and they must answer in a court of law for their crimes against the people. They were the few war veterans who were rewarded for the dirty work the association has been doing; their ill-got wealth must be taken away and used as compensation to the many victims of their barbaric reign of terror.
People like Mahiya, Sibanda, Mutsvangwa and even President Mugabe himself boast of being the freedom fighters who liberated the people and yet all they have ever done since independence is claw back the people's individual freedoms, human rights and self-respect for selfish political gain.
Mahiya and the other war veterans have fallen out with President Mugabe because the later has failed to keep his promise to them to make them rich. The war veterans want President Mugabe to go. So the war veterans believe they have the right to replace a leader but povo are not allowed to have any meaningful say it matters affecting them.
When we do finally end this Zanu PF dictatorship, we must institute a thorough judiciary investigation into what some of these war veterans have been doing, especially the leaders. So war veteran leaders have shed innocent blood and rewarded by this regime for their satanic wickedness. These individuals must be punished for their crimes and their ill-got wealth taken away and used as compensation for the many victims of the regime's reign of terror.
Mahiya will not apologise to any of his many innocent people he and his war veteran friends have harassed, beaten, raped and murdered, we must at least make sure he is not allowed to thumb his nose and laugh at his suffering victims!
The truth of the matter is the war of liberation has been about Zanu PF nationalists wrestling political power from the white colonialist and keeping it to themselves. Tyrants like Robert Mugabe wanted absolute power and nothing less and in getting it he had to ride roughshod over the ordinary people's aspirations for freedom, justice and human rights. Other Zanu PF members from those within Mugabe's inner circle of power to those on the outer circle like Douglas Mahiya subscribed, knowingly or otherwise, to Mugabe's political ethos and played their part for a share of the spoils of power.
Of course, Mahiya knew fully well that the povo in the rural areas who he and other war veterans were harassing and beating were not agents of the white imperialists. Even the urban votes who had contact with the outside world through TV, newspapers, etc. were not agents of the white imperialists because the regime with its army of CIO has never come up with anything to substantiate any such allegations. Even the naive and gullible Mahiya knew the imperialist threat was a hoax.
What is at issue here is very simple; did Mugabe and his liberation war friends, by virtue of their heroic contribution in that war, have the right to impose themselves as the absolute rulers? The answer must be a no because if they impose themselves as the absolute rulers then they did not liberate the masses from the yoke of oppression because they only removed one oppressor only to take his place. The oppressed masses will have no choice but to fight for their own freedom and liberty; we cannot be a nation in which one generation is fighting the one before it for their freedom and human dignity!
We must dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship and built a new political system in which the freedoms and basic human rights of all Zimbabweans are respected and guaranteed. People like Mugabe and Mahiya must be told in no uncertain terms that the Zanu PF dictatorship is finished.
According to ZBC, Obert Mpofu who is also Marco-Economic Planning and Investment Promotion minister offered 20 000 litres of diesel.
It is not clear whether the fuel was from his personal wealth.
About $4 million would be spent on the conference which ends tomorrow.
$4 million for a two-day conference; the rest of the country is suffering in grinding poverty but the same cannot be said about Zanu PF!
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