Let me say from the on set that I totally subscribe to the notion of freedom of expression but in exercising one’s freedoms and rights one must always be careful not to step trade on other people’s freedoms and rights. A fine line which, if crossed, turns yesterday’s liberator into today’s oppressor. Some people are making a habit of criss-crossing the line willy nilly.
“As MLF (Mthwakazi Liberation Front), we would like to warn Jenni (Williams) that, whether she is into the so-called Gukurahundi Resolution chamber through bedroom relations with Mnangagwa or she received bribes from Zanu, she should always bear in mind where this will all end,” said a statement from MLF.
“She must start considering a residential shift from Mthwakazi to Zimbabwe. If she wants to stay in Mthwakazi, we advise her to keep away from the gukurahundi issue because we cannot sit and watch her and her Matabeleland Collectives, a Zanu project, striving to let the perpetrators of the killings of our people walk scot free.
“For starters, Jenni is unqualified to sit in the resolution chamber, representing Mthwakazi people on basis that she knows nothing about the pain that Mthwakazi went through during the Gukurahundi era and the pain that she still reels in today.”
This is the threatening and posturing the people of Zimbabwe have heard these last 40 years from Mugabe and now Mnangagwa and the rest of the Zanu PF thugs. Anyone who dares say anything critical of Zimbabwe much less Zanu PF is labelled a traitor and a puppet and is subjected to all manner of harassment, physical abuse and many have even been murdered in cold blood.
MLF leaders have clearly learned the threatening and posturing from Zanu PF. Only MLF members know best on what to say and do on such matters as Gukurahundi and everyone else must be as silent as a grave! Dreads to think what would happen to Ms Jenni Williams and the rest of the Matabeleland Collectives members if MLF thugs had power and opportunity to act on their threats as Mugabe and Zanu PF have enjoyed all these years. Yet another massacre!
The root cause of the Gukurahundi massacre was Mugabe’s political intolerance and desire to dominate others. The same forces are at play here MLF or be it the party has them cloaked as a burning desire for justice the Gukurahundi massacre! Mugabe had his desires disguised as drive for unity and development.
MLF members have turned a Mugabe and Zanu PF Gukurahundi crime into a crime where all the Shona are guilty, benefited and must now face retribution. Other than the consequences of the massacre itself, everyone in Zimbabwe across the board has suffered from the 40 years of Zanu PF corrupt and tyrannical rule.
After 40 years of Zanu PF blood shed, oppression, corruption, economic chaos and God knows what else besides, the people of Zimbabwe are yarning for peace, order and economic progress. But that is clearly not want MLF members want from the growing tempo of their sabre rattling!
The same intolerance and burning desire to dominate and deny others their freedoms and rights led to the Gukurahundi massacre. We do not want to be dragged into yet another senseless conflict for the same foolish reasons!
7 comments:
@ Mbofana
“It’s not an offence to advocate for regime change.”
Mugabe and Zanu PF want Zimbabwe to be a de jure one-party state modelled on China and the Soviet Union Communism and Socialism lines. His plans were frustrated by the passing of the Lancaster House constitution allowing a multi-party Zimbabwe.
The primary purpose of he Gukurahundi massacre was to either wipe out PF Zapu, the only real opposition party stopping Zanu PF imposing a one party state, or force the party to emerge with Zanu PF. PF Zapu was dissolved as a political entity with the signing of the 1987 Unity Accord and Zimbabwe became a de facto one party state.
Regime change is illegal in a one-party state, be it a de jure or de facto one party state, the difference is academic as far as dictators are concerned. Any one doing anything that could result in regime change is therefore threatening the stability of the nation and thus he/she is an enemy of the state.
Zanu PF has been holding elections as and when they are due but the party saw to the party’s victory was always assured before the first ballot is cast. The weakness of the electorate and the opposition is their failure to expose the blatant cheating and rigging and, worst of all, the willingness to accept Zanu PF’s legitimacy regardless of the flaws and illegalities in the process.
We, the people, have paid lip service to free, fair and credible elections because we would not stand up and be counted each time Zanu PF rigged the elections. And in doing so we have endorse Zanu PF’s position that Zimbabwe is a de facto one party state and per se it is an offence to advocate for regime change!
We, the people, are our own worst enemy and if we are to restore democracy and good governance then we must first look ourselves in the mirror and admit our own weakness and transform ourselves. We keep talking about change, there will be no meaningful change until we change ourselves first from a naive and gullible lot to an informed and savvy lot willing to ask the hard questions of ourselves.
Democracy demands an educated electorate; to hold those in positions of power and authority to account you must know what is going on and when they are bull s***ting you.
@ Mbofana
“It’s not an offence to advocate for regime change.”
Mugabe and Zanu PF want Zimbabwe to be a de jure one-party state modelled on China and the Soviet Union Communism and Socialism lines. His plans were frustrated by the passing of the Lancaster House constitution allowing a multi-party Zimbabwe.
The primary purpose of he Gukurahundi massacre was to either wipe out PF Zapu, the only real opposition party stopping Zanu PF imposing a one party state, or force the party to emerge with Zanu PF. PF Zapu was dissolved as a political entity with the signing of the 1987 Unity Accord and Zimbabwe became a de facto one party state.
Regime change is illegal in a one-party state, be it a de jure or de facto one party state, the difference is academic as far as dictators are concerned. Any one doing anything that could result in regime change is therefore threatening the stability of the nation and thus he/she is an enemy of the state.
Zanu PF has been holding elections as and when they are due but the party saw to the party’s victory was always assured before the first ballot is cast. The weakness of the electorate and the opposition is their failure to expose the blatant cheating and rigging and, worst of all, the willingness to accept Zanu PF’s legitimacy regardless of the flaws and illegalities in the process.
We, the people, have paid lip service to free, fair and credible elections because we would not stand up and be counted each time Zanu PF rigged the elections. And in doing so we have endorse Zanu PF’s position that Zimbabwe is a de facto one party state and per se it is an offence to advocate for regime change!
We, the people, are our own worst enemy and if we are to restore democracy and good governance then we must first look ourselves in the mirror and admit our own weakness and transform ourselves. We keep talking about change, there will be no meaningful change until we change ourselves first from a naive and gullible lot to an informed and savvy lot willing to ask the hard questions of ourselves.
Democracy demands an educated electorate; to hold those in positions of power and authority to account you must know what is going on and when they are bull s***ting you.
The MLF's argument that Jenni Williams or anyone else who does not come from Matabeleland or Midlands is "not qualified to speak on Gukurahundi" matters is a foolish argument as old as human civilisation.
In Bible, some foolish and myopic Jewish big mouths questioned Moses’ right to speak to Pharaoh on freeing the Jews because Moses, although he was a Jew was never a slave. His back was not scarred by the taskmasters’ whip!
Zimbabwe is in this mess precisely because for the last 40 years Mugabe and his Zanu PF thugs have systematically denied the rest of the population a meaningful say in the governance of the country because he and his cronies fought in the liberation war and they know best and we know nothing. Of course, it is all bulls***t. The country is in this mess because of Zanu PF’s blundering incompetence, in the first place, and, second, the people being denied the opportunity to remove the thugs from power.
After 40 years of fighting this Zanu PF dictatorship and there is a light in the distance and growing hope that change is finally coming, the light marks the end of the tunnel. It is totally unacceptable that the light should be an on coming runaway train. We are removing Zanu PF only to have the dictatorship replaced by yet another dictatorship.
34% of our people are living in abject poverty, they cannot afford one decent meal a day let alone education for their children, health care, etc.
We are in the middle of a corona virus pandemic which is claiming many, many lives. The pandemic has disrupted the little economic activity dragging the nation into new depths of poverty and despair.
Mnangagwa is bring up the Gukurahundi issue as a distraction to take the nation’s attention away from the pressing matter of the worsen economic meltdown, the corona virus, etc. He has not released even one report on Gukurahundi so on what ever he is proposing to do has no basis!
Rebuilding Zimbabwe’s shattered economy and society is going to be a monumental task. And before we have even started on the task, MLF wants the nation to pay a US$ 100 billion bill. The money will be paid to the MLF leaders themselves, since they alone know what is best. The 34% of the people already living in abject poverty will be thrilled to bits to know the task of rebuilding the economy will be delayed whilst the nation raise the US$ 100 billion.
The MLF leaders have reacted to the Mnangagwa Gukurahundi bait they have not only failed to see this is a decoy, they have taken their eyes off the pressing matters of rebuilding the economy, they cannot see the tragedy of corona virus happening before their own eyes, etc., etc. They are so agitated they can only see the Gukurahundi issue, this is their exclusive tuff they are already ready to shed innocent blood in staking their claim!
We made a big mistake of giving Mugabe and his Zanu PF thugs so much rope and we have paid dearly for it. The MLF is just another dictatorship in the making, we must stop it before it becomes another run away train!
@ Ryton Dzimiri
“Nomusa Garikai, my Dear, l am Shona and l beg you to excuse yourself from Gukurahundi issues unless you were a victim too.
“Listen Nomusa, you and Jenny William and a majority of Shona and some minority of the Ndebele, do not know the intrinsic feelings of Gukurahundi victims.
“Terera pano Garikai, anyone who was victim of Gukurahundi would agree with MLF on this statement. Please NEVER GET ME WRONG, I am not an MLF member and l actually don't like them for jumping into politics without studying Zimbabwean history first.”
You are confusing the telling of the story of what happened with what should be done. Of course, it is the sick who is best qualified to describe what is wrong with him/her but it does not necessarily follow that it is only the sick person who is qualified to give the diagnosis much less proscribe the cure.
CCJP and many others have done a great job in amass the evidence of what happened but many people will agree that there should be a thorough investigation into the matter.
Mugabe order the Chihambakwe inquiry, we cannot judge whether it was thorough or not because it has never been made public.
When Mnangagwa became President, he set-up a commission to look into Gukurahundi. He never said what exactly the commission was supposed to do. And now he is moving on to the next stage of addressing outstanding Gukurahundi matters without making public the Chihambakwe report and his commission’s finding. This is nonsense!
The Gukurahundi massacre is a matter of great national importance because many lives were lost and it ushered 40 years of de facto one-party dictatorship. This matter cannot be left to Mnangagwa alone to know what happened and what should be done to the victims and perpetrators and to ensure this does not happen again.
Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF thugs were the principle actors in the Gukurahundi it does not make any sense that the should be the judge, jury and executioners in a matter were they are the accused particularly when everything is all being shrouded in secrecy!
The people on the coal face of the Gukurahundi must be allowed to tell their stories and together with the Chihambakwe report, etc. we will have a full picture.
Everyone else who has anything to say as what to do next once the full facts are established will be invited to do so. To argue that only those who witnessed the massacre or were affected directly have something to say is as foolish as saying only some with corona virus can diagnose the virus!
The best and only way to resolve the Gukurahundi massacre is for the nation to have a full open and transparent inquiry in the matter, lay the facts on the table for all to see. After this is done the nation can then have a honest debate on how to proceed. Mnangagwa has not released the Chihambakwe report, ordered by Mugabe in the 1990s, and has not released what the commission he appointed in 2018. He is now proceeding to address Gukurahundi matters when the nation has no clue what happened. Of course this is nonsense!
It is disappointing why Jenni Williams and her group have agreed to participate in whatever it is Mnangagwa is planning to do next when she knows he has not released any reports. Sadly, this is a common theme is Zimbabwe.
We are in this political and economic mess because Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC mob failed to implement the democratic reforms when the had the chance to do so. And have been participating in elections knowing fully well with no reforms in place Zanu PF would rig the elections.
It is curious to note that MLF are not criticising Jenni Williams and her group for participating in this futile Mnangagwa gimmick but that they, MLF are the only ones “qualified” to do so!
Zimbabwe is being forced into a corner by the refusal of multilateral lenders to lend the country more money as the southern African nation faces economic meltdown, according to the government’s top treasury official.
“Its very difficult to run the economy without any external support,” George Guvamatanga, the finance and economic development secretary, said in an interview. “You need a buffer to support you and without it that’s where the temptation to print money comes.”
Shunned by multilateral lenders since defaulting on payments in 1999, Zimbabwe still owes $7.66 billion to various international financial institutions, including the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, the Paris Club and the African Development Bank.
Zimbabwe is a Banana Republic ruled by corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous thugs who are accountable to no one. They believe they have the right to rule Zimbabwe as they wish and have shown the middle finger to anyone who has dared to challenge them on that point.
However Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies have since learned that they cannot rig economic recovery and so have again and again asked for financial assistance from the same people they give middle finger salute when the asked to reform.
Zanu PF thugs have yet to learn that they cannot have their cake and eat it too. They cannot borrow money, refuse to pay back the debt and expect to get another loan. They cannot waste the nation's human and material resources and expect the nation to prosper. The thugs have yet to learn that they are subject to the same laws of thermodynamic and common sense as everyone else and these who break the laws will suffer the consequences!
Zimbabwe's economic and social situation is unsustainable and like it or not Zanu PF will be forced to accept change. Since the regime has resisted peaceful change it has necessarily opted for violent change. It is great tragedy for the nation that it has come to this, violent change is not what the people wanted!
Mnangagwa must first release the Chihambakwe report and all the other reports on the Gikurahundi massacre, only when the full facts are known can the nation then decide what to do next.
The country is in the middle of a serious corona virus pandemic that has claimed many lives already and it is far from over. One has to question the logic of the government spending human and material resources to find and rebury people who died nearly 40 years ago when it is failing to save lives of many today?
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