As 2019 comes to an end despair is the emotion that greatly describes how most Zimbabwean citizens are feeling. The hope that once filled their hearts after President Mnangagwa took office has long since gone and all that is left is an illusion of what Zimbabwe could have been under a better leader.
Zimbabweans are a joyous people but President Managagwa and his government have sucked all the joy out of people's lives. This year has seen people beaten, tortured, raped and murdered all because they dared to raise their voices against this oppressive regime. Not a single person was ever brought to account for all those atrocities. People have died unnecessarily due to treatable diseases that have gone untreated due to the poor state of our hospitals. In the mean time the elite in government have jetted off to countries like China and South Africa to receive medical care and yet they leave the citizens to die.
The unemployment rate in Zimbabwe has risen to a least 90% with a record number of people having to rely of food aid just to survive. This Christmas many households went without the usual rice and chicken as they could not afford to buy such luxuries. With all these problems that are facing Zimbabwe the corruption within the halls of government has however gone unchecked with hundreds of millions of dollars that could have been used to feed our people and provide supplies to our hospitals disappearing without a trace. So who is to blame for the poor state of affairs in Zimbabwe?
President Mnangagwa made a lot of promises when he was campaigning to get into office and none of those promises have materialised for the ordinary Zimbabweans. Has he failed as a leader...he definitely has!
Tuesday 31 December 2019
Friday 16 August 2019
The never ending struggle of the Zimbabwean people
When President Mugabe was forced out of office everyone breathed a sigh of relief thinking that the days of tyranny were now far behind us. Little did we know that worse was yet to come in the disguise of ''A new Dispensation'' under the leadership of President Mnangagwa.
For the first time ever since Zimbabwe gained Independence people were gunned down by both police and soldiers who were using live ammunition, in broad daylight. In February 2018 barely 3 months after President Mnangagwa took office, 3 unarmed civilians were shot dead by the police, 6 people were shot dead by the army on the 1st of August 2018 and at least 30 people had gunshot wounds after the army opened fire in January 2019. No one was ever brought to account for the shootings and the lives that were lost showing the government's blatant disregard for the people of Zimbabwe.
Added to the shootings there has been an increase of arbitrary arrests, abductions and torture of civil society leaders, opposition leaders and ordinary civilians whom the government perceive to be a threat to their leadership. On the 20th of May 2019, Tatenda Mombeyarara, George Makoni, Frank Mpahlo, Gamuchirai Mukura and Farirai Gumbonzvanda, a 26 year old woman who volunteers for the Rozaria trust, were arrested and charged with treason because they had attended a training event in Prague. The government's paranoia and need to suppress people is so great that prison and court life has become a daily occurrence in the lives of some civic society leaders and some members of the opposition party.
On the 14th of August 2019, Tatenda Mombeyarara was abducted and tortured by six men leaving him with a broken leg, fractured hand, damaged kidneys and chemical burns on his skin. All this occurred because they wanted to know what had transpired at a workshop that he had attended in the Maldives and they also accused him of sponsoring and organising the demonstration that had been called for the 16th of August 2019. Tatenda now has life altering injuries but nothing will ever happen to the perpetrators of these crimes.
The bottom line is that this new level of callousness from both the police and the army will continue to persist because President Mnangagwa allows it.
For the first time ever since Zimbabwe gained Independence people were gunned down by both police and soldiers who were using live ammunition, in broad daylight. In February 2018 barely 3 months after President Mnangagwa took office, 3 unarmed civilians were shot dead by the police, 6 people were shot dead by the army on the 1st of August 2018 and at least 30 people had gunshot wounds after the army opened fire in January 2019. No one was ever brought to account for the shootings and the lives that were lost showing the government's blatant disregard for the people of Zimbabwe.
Added to the shootings there has been an increase of arbitrary arrests, abductions and torture of civil society leaders, opposition leaders and ordinary civilians whom the government perceive to be a threat to their leadership. On the 20th of May 2019, Tatenda Mombeyarara, George Makoni, Frank Mpahlo, Gamuchirai Mukura and Farirai Gumbonzvanda, a 26 year old woman who volunteers for the Rozaria trust, were arrested and charged with treason because they had attended a training event in Prague. The government's paranoia and need to suppress people is so great that prison and court life has become a daily occurrence in the lives of some civic society leaders and some members of the opposition party.
On the 14th of August 2019, Tatenda Mombeyarara was abducted and tortured by six men leaving him with a broken leg, fractured hand, damaged kidneys and chemical burns on his skin. All this occurred because they wanted to know what had transpired at a workshop that he had attended in the Maldives and they also accused him of sponsoring and organising the demonstration that had been called for the 16th of August 2019. Tatenda now has life altering injuries but nothing will ever happen to the perpetrators of these crimes.
The bottom line is that this new level of callousness from both the police and the army will continue to persist because President Mnangagwa allows it.
Wednesday 16 January 2019
President Mnangagwa's matra 'Business before people's lives'
Whist people like President Macron of France have decided to cancel their trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos due to unrest in his country, President Mnangagwa has decided to proceed to this conference despite the unrest in Zimbabwe and the many who have been killed at the hands of his government forces. For someone who says that he is concerned for the welfare of the country his actions signify that he is more concerned about his own status and the need to make money other than the lives of the people of Zimbabwe.
In my opinion it almost seemed as if he timed the fuel increase announcement to coincide with his departure so that he wouldn't have to deal with the blow back that was definitely going to come as a result of his announcement. You don't have to be an expert to know that the increase of fuel would have a domino effect over other expenses like food, transport and health care. I don't know how President Mnangagwa and his people thought that the increase was a great idea especially considering that salaries have remained static. This just goes to show that they cannot relate and do not care about how an ordinary Zimbabwean is surviving from one day to the next.
The shootings that have occurred over the stay away are the third such incident of shootings that have occurred since President Mnangagwa and his government took office. In both the February 2018 and the August 2018 shootings that left civilians dead, no one was ever charged for these murders. It's devastating that after the sham commission of enquiry, we are now faced with yet another similar situation where the government has not shown restraint but have chosen to shoot and kill civilians. By staying abroad whilst all the mayhem is taking place at home President Mnangagwa is putting his stamp of approval on the actions that the police and army have taken in killing and maiming citizens and is also saying he doesn't care about the ordinary Zimbabwean. This cannot be allowed to continue. ED and his people should be held accountable for all these atrocities....enough is enough
In my opinion it almost seemed as if he timed the fuel increase announcement to coincide with his departure so that he wouldn't have to deal with the blow back that was definitely going to come as a result of his announcement. You don't have to be an expert to know that the increase of fuel would have a domino effect over other expenses like food, transport and health care. I don't know how President Mnangagwa and his people thought that the increase was a great idea especially considering that salaries have remained static. This just goes to show that they cannot relate and do not care about how an ordinary Zimbabwean is surviving from one day to the next.
The shootings that have occurred over the stay away are the third such incident of shootings that have occurred since President Mnangagwa and his government took office. In both the February 2018 and the August 2018 shootings that left civilians dead, no one was ever charged for these murders. It's devastating that after the sham commission of enquiry, we are now faced with yet another similar situation where the government has not shown restraint but have chosen to shoot and kill civilians. By staying abroad whilst all the mayhem is taking place at home President Mnangagwa is putting his stamp of approval on the actions that the police and army have taken in killing and maiming citizens and is also saying he doesn't care about the ordinary Zimbabwean. This cannot be allowed to continue. ED and his people should be held accountable for all these atrocities....enough is enough
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