"I have heard your cry for freedom," ED tells us - rubbish, with no free media we have no voice

The white colonists controlled the country’s radio and TV and most of the print media, the white regime constantly harassed the few newspapers and magazines that catering for black, so the only voices heard in the country were those of whites. Blacks were never allowed to comment even on matters affecting them; whites would talk of how they understood us, blacks, better than we understood ourselves, how we were glorious happy and content even when we were fuming with anger!

After independence Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF regime adopted the same dirty tactics to deny the ordinary Zimbabweans freedom of expression and a free media and thus deny them a meaningful voice.

Ever since last November’s coup that forced former president Mugabe to step down, President Mnangagwa and his coup junta, have insisted the coup transformed Zanu PF and the country with it. Well the transformed Zanu PF leaders have neither restored the people freedom of expression nor given up their patronising habit of presuming to know best what the people think and feel.  

“This year's celebrations have a renewed significance, as they are the first under the new dispensation, the first in a new Zimbabwe,” President Mnangagwa told his Independence Day celebration audience.

“Today, we remember all the heroes and heroines of our liberation struggle, who paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we may enjoy our freedom and national self-determination today. We honour and salute them for the independence and freedom that they bequeathed us. May their memory live on through the achievements and aspirations of our great nation, and may their souls rest in eternal peace.

“Fellow Zimbabweans,
“Five months ago, the people of Zimbabwe took to the streets in a peaceful revolution. They called for freedom, progress and a new way of doing things. Like the heroes before them, they called for a new Zimbabwe. We heard their voices, we shared their vision, and we are committed to delivering it.”

Here is the man who has been at the very heart of the Zanu PF governments for the last 37 years and has never ever said or done anything to suggest he was aware the people were “crying for freedom”. He certainly took his sweet time to hear us - 37 years!

“We heard their voices, we shared their vision, and we are committed to delivering it,” insisted President Mnangagwa.

No, sir; you are clearly NOT committed to delivering the people’s freedoms and basic human rights including freedom of expression and right to free, fair and credible elections. You are also not ready to change your patronising habit of denying the people a voice and put your words into their mouths!

First let them speak, free the public media and not just for a few weeks before the elections. You have not given them a chance to say anything yet and already you claim to have “heard their voices!”

“We have set our national vision to be a middle income country by 2030, with increased investment, broad-based empowerment, decent jobs, and a country free from poverty and corruption. Granted that the task is great, the pace of change is not always as we would have liked, and we will not achieve all our goals overnight,” continued President Mnangagwa.

“But inspired by this vision, underpinned and buttressed by unity of purpose, transparency, accountability, dialogue and unswerving discipline, we shall realise our goals. Zimbabwe will rise again!”

Robert Mugabe and his regime promised the nation “Gutsva ruzhinji!” (Mass prosperity!) but even when it was as clear as day that the regime was delivering mass poverty instead, the nation was helpless to do anything to remove it from power. The nation was stuck with this corrupt and incompetent and vote rigging regime for the last 38 years with the disastrous economic and political consequence we can see today.

In 1980, Zimbabwe had the potential to be a free and prosperous nation, the South Korea of Africa. The country has, instead, sunk to shocking depths of economic despair and political oppression; unemployment has soared to 90%, ¾ of our people living on US$1.00 or less a day, etc. We were once the breadbasket of the region and for the last decade the nation has relied on food aid or starve. We are the basket case of a failed state.

If there is one lesson this nation must learn from all the criminal waste of resource and tragic human suffering and deaths of the last 38 years; then it must be to restore the people’s power to hold those in power to account and to never ever tolerate rigged elections. NEVER EVER!

President Mnangagwa, if your “new dispensation, new Zimbabwe, new way of doing things, etc.” cannot stop vote rigging and guarantee free, fair and credible elections then it is of no value to the nation.

Mr President, you promised to hold free, fair and credible elections; do it. If you fail to deliver on your promise, Sir, then you can be assured that the elections will be declared null and void. A new administration will be appointment and tasked to implement the democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections, guaranteed!