"Calling ZDF "rogue elements" is not enough, stop the madness" argue Newsday - but even that is not enough! N Garikai

There are those who want to treat the on-going violent crackdown by the Zanu PF regime that started on 1^st August 2018 as a separate event totally divorced from this year’s elections. The two are related or be it the relationship is very subtle!

“The Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) needs to move in quickly and rein in "rogue elements" reportedly causing unrest across the country since last week,” wrote News Day in their editorial.

“Evidence abound of several people who have been brutalised by military elements operating under cover of darkness to mete out retributive attacks on perceived and known opposition activists in various parts of the country following Zanu PF's narrow victory in the just-ended harmonised elections.

“Quick intervention by the military bosses would go a long way in protecting the institution's public image.”

Yes, President Mnangagwa and his junta would very much like ZDF, the Police, ZEC and the whole Zanu PF dictatorship to have a five-star public image but not at the expense of Zanu PF losing power. When it comes to doing anything to consolidate Zanu PF’s strangle hold on power that party has never ever hesitated to disregard the law, to harass, beat and even kill – damn the consequence of action to the ordinary people much less the regime’s public image.

The brutal military crackdown that has left ten people dead, hundreds injured and hundreds of thousands harassed and frightened out of their wits is for two primary purposes:

1)     Of course, Zanu PF knows that the just ended elections were not free, fair and credible. How can the elections be free and fair when there was no free public media, no verified voters’ roll, when Zanu PF robbed the nation blind to bankroll its vote-rigging and vote-buying schemes, etc. President Mnangagwa knew the ordinary people will be angry that they have once again been short changed. The military crackdown now, before he was sworn in, is a warning of what awaited those who dared protest against his regime.

2)     Before the elections Zanu PF leaders like Engelbert Rugeje, Zanu PF National Political Commissar, himself a notorious ZDF operative of the 2008 and 2013 wanton violence, and a number of ministers had warned that Zanu PF will use violence if the elections did not go its way. These elections were peaceful but only because Zanu PF was cashing in on the fear instilled in the past; this was operation harvest fear.

There is no double that the 1^st August 2018 street protestors were not peaceful. There is no doubt many of the MDC leaders encouraged the violent protest in pursuit of their repeated threat “to make Zimbabwe ungovernable”.

The elections had shown that the people were forgetting that Zanu PF was a party of ruthless thugs and so the party need to remind the nation of this fact. The party needed an excuse to turn-on the violence and the street protests provided the excuse. Indeed, Dr Nkululeko Sibanda, Chamisa ‘s spokesman, has said most of the protestors were Zanu PF double agents, agent provocateurs. No one would put it beyond Zanu PF to do this, after all we all know of how the party stage managed the violent farm seizure to cover for its brutal repression of the MDC opposition.

What matters is that Zanu PF lured MDC into the trap and the latter fell for it!

So what Zanu PF are doing right now is unleashing the military to brutalise the civilians and remind the nation at large that Zanu PF is a party of ruthless thugs who will stop at nothing to win elections.

During the elections, with the international community spotlight was on Zimbabwe, Zanu PF had no chose but to keep its thugs on the leash and settle for “operation harvest fear!” The party was clearly disappointed by the harvest and knew it must do something about it now. The wanton violence against the civilians is therefore “operation sow fear!”

“Since the November 2017 military intervention that saw former President Robert Mugabe being forced to step down after 37 years in power, the army had gained some modicum of respect and trust among members of the public after soldiers quickly retreated to the barracks soon after the operation,” continued News Day.

“However, recent events which include the fatal shooting of seven opposition protestors and innocent passers-by in Harare last week and the subsequent night raids on MDC Alliance activists paint a different picture of the military which a few months ago had become the darling of the citizenry.”

Last November’s military coup was about President Mnangagwa and his junta friends wrestling power from Robert Mugabe. The coup plotters knew that Zanu PF and Robert Mugabe were unpopular with the people after all it was none other than Mnangagwa and his gang of thugs who have been doing all the dirty work including staging the coup in 2008 to stop MDC getting into power. To get public support Mnangagwa and his coup plotters sold the coup as a solution to end Mugabe’s rule and the Zanu PF dictatorship. The junta delivered the former but not the latter.  

The vote-rigging and violent Zanu PF dictatorship is alive and thriving as events of these elections and the wanton violence of the last week have shown.  

“We believe it's not enough for military bosses to merely describe their men who are reportedly terrorising citizens while in military fatigue as "rogue elements".

“If this is not done as matter of urgency, members of the public will be forced to once again perceive the military as enemies of the people rather than guarantors of national security,” concluded News Day.

Look ‘rogue elements’ of past violence have never been punished. Indeed, many of them, Minister Perrance Shiri and President Mnangagwa himself have been promoted and rewarded handsomely for their “gallant role” in shedding the blood of innocent Zimbabweans in the Gukurahundi massacre, for example.

As for the public “perceiving the military as enemy” that is as inconsequential as an ant threatening an elephant!  And yet a swarm of bees is known to drive away a herd of elephant – they sting the most sensitive part of the elephant, its ears.

Force Zanu PF to implement all the democratic reforms, striping the regime of all its carte blanche powers to rig elections, and thus hold free, fair and credible elections; Zanu PF will be like Biblical Samson with his head shaved smooth as a baby’s bottom! Hold free, fair and credible elections and the Zanu dictatorship will lose. Free and fair elections is Zanu PF’s Achilles’ heel, it is the of the dictatorship’s sensitive elephant’s ears!

We all know that the just ending elections were not free, fair and credible and we, the people of Zimbabwe must insist they are declared null and void. The international election observers are yet to make their judgement, our task is to make sure that they condemn these flawed and illegal elections.

By declaring these elections null and void, the international community will clear the way for the appointment of an interim administration that will be tasked to implement the democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging elections.

Zimbabwe is stuck in this economic and political mess because for the last 38 years the country has failed to hold free, fair and credible elections and, until we hold such elections, we will never ever get out of this mess. Never ever!

Even if President Mnangagwa was to punish the one or two soldiers responsible for the violence of the last week, Zimbabwe will not see any meaningful economic or political change until we hold free, fair and credible elections. The elephant’s ramp may present a more tempting target for a bee to sting but the elephant will feel nothing because the skin there is one inch plus thick! We need to be smarter and focused in our dealing with this Zanu PF dictatorship and not just shot from the hip.  

I agree, it is not enough for President Mnangagwa to use ZDF, ZEC and all the other state institutions to continue impose the Zanu PF dictatorship and pretend those responsible for the wanton violence are “rogue elements” in the army. He must accept the just ended elections were flawed and illegal, that Zanu PF rigged the elections, and he and his junta must now step aside!