One of the most offensive and exasperating
things the white colonial oppressors did was to deny the blacks their voice and
human dignity. In the workplace blacks were called “boyi” and were expected to
grovel before the whites, to show respect, and to do as they were told.
The print and electronic media was there to give
the whites a voice. The few independent newspapers and magazine serving the
blacks were expected to help keep law and order by not questioning the blatant
racial injustice. And so such publications as Moto, a Roman Catholic Church backed
magazine, were harassed and censored by the white regime for publishing strongly
held views by blacks. The whites could not tolerate any black person do dared
to think for themselves; they were considered radicals and dangerous.
In white ruled Rhodesia, blacks had no meaningful
say in the governance of the country. They had no vote; period.
Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980 has brought an
end to white colonial oppression but only to replace it with black ruling elite
oppression. All pretence of Zimbabwe being a multi-party democracy completely evaporated
with the signing of the Zanu PF and PF Zapu Unity Accord in 1987; merging the
two parties to form the de facto one-party, Zanu PF, dictatorship.
Zanu PF assimilated the laws and practices
designed to silence and oppress the blacks, lock, stock and barrel, and keep
the white in power; only this time they were to keep the Zanu PF dictatorship
in power.
In Zanu PF ruled Zimbabwe, blacks had a vote in
theory but not in practice. Starting with the 1980 elections Zanu PF has blatantly
cheated and used violence varying from subtle intimidation to beatings, rape
and even cold-blooded murder to secure electoral victory. Zimbabwe has never
ever held free, fair and credible elections.
The root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic mess is
the failure to hold free and fair elections. The country has been stuck with a
corrupt and incompetent Zanu PF regime for 40 years now. 40 years of gross
mismanagement and rampant corruption have left the country in economic ruins
and millions are now living in abject poverty.
The economic situation in Zimbabwe has reached
alarming levels, unemployment has soared to 90% plus, basic services such as
education and health care have all but collapsed. 34% of the population, according
to WB 2019 report, were living in extreme poverty. The corona virus pandemic
has made the health and economic situation even worse. The human suffering caused
by the economic meltdown has become intolerable.
It is extremely annoying therefore that instead
of the nation addressing the country’s economic mess and the underlying cause
of rigged elections the nation being forced to discuss a side show.
"Zanu-PF takes strong exception to being
lectured on issues of human rights by citizens of countries which perpetrated
the brutalities accompanying the Atlantic African Slave Trade and colonial
conquest of Africa, and who refuse to render apologies or pay reparations,"
said Patrick Chinamasa, Zanu PF’s acting spokesperson.
"As a
consequence of seeking to redress the brutalities that occurred in the
colonisation of Zimbabwe, accompanied by dispossession of our land and brutal
confiscation of livestock by colonialists, the country has suffered 20 years of
naked bullying, economic isolation and severe sanctions regime by the former
colonial powers now acting in concert as economic and political powers in
support of what they allege are rights of 4 500 white former farmers," he
said.
Ordinary Zimbabweans have been calling for the
restoration of their basic freedoms and human rights including the right to a
meaningful vote and the right to life itself. Of course, they have been crying
for freedom, peace, justice and human dignity all their lives; they are at the
coal face of Zanu PF oppression just as they were at the coal face of white
colonial oppression.
Last month President Cyril Ramaphosa of SA send
envoys to Zimbabwe whose mission was to encourage Zanu PF to accept meaningful
democratic changes and end the country’s worsening economic and political
crisis. SA was told in no uncertain terms to mind its own business.
"We are an independent sovereign country.
We agreed in our meeting that we are equal sovereign States. South Africa has
no mediatory role to play in Zimbabwe. We know that the South African
government is controlled by white men," remarked Patrick Chinamasa.
So Zanu PF has completely ignored the ordinary
Zimbabweans who have crying for their freedoms and rights because the regime is
indifferent to their suffering. And, more significantly, Zanu PF, just like the
white colonial regime before it, does not recognise ordinary Zimbabweans as
human beings entitled to the same freedoms and rights as other human being.
"That at the time of abolition of the
Atlantic African slave trade the British through the British Parliament
approved and paid 20 million pounds to slave owners already rich through the
labour of the slaves," concluded Chinamasa.
This is just madness! And so, ordinary
Zimbabweans be denied their basic freedoms and rights because the British compensated
the slave owners but not the slaves. What has that got to do with me?
When it comes to free and fair elections, human rights, corruption; indeed, anything and everything of substance; Zanu PF has never had any meaningful discussion with the ordinary Zimbabweans. Zanu PF has gone through the motions of holding regular elections only to blatantly rigged the process.
ReplyDeleteThe regime has flatly refused to produce a verified voters’ roll, for example, and so only the party knew who was on the voters’ roll, who voted and how many times, etc. The whole voting process was not transparent, it could not be traced or verified.
Zanu PF mudded the water because the party was rigging the elections.
Zanu PF has always held the ordinary Zimbabweans in total contempt, as dumb and stupid who could not be trusted to do anything right and certainly not to be trusted with a democratic vote. This is exactly how the white colonialist viewed the black Africans. At least the white called the blacks “boyi” (a derogative title meaning both servant and a minor, a boy) and denied them the vote.
Zanu PF has given the blacks the vote in signing on to a multi-party constitution and made a big song and dance about it. And for 40 years and counting the party has seen to it that the blacks never exercised that right!
The people of Zimbabwe have to stand up and demand their freedoms and rights or they will continued to be treated as subjects by these corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging Zanu PF morons!