At least 95% of the population of Zimbabwe are informal traders and when the lockdown began all those people were left with no source of income. The government spoke about setting aside money to help people out during the lockdown but very few people if any have benefitted from this money.
Even during this time when the whole country is faced with the pandemic the government is still choosing to distribute food on a partisan basis. The majority of Zimbabweans are faced with starvation and ordinary citizens like Samantha Murokozi have been moved by the plight of the people and started a food kitchen to cater for the children and people of Chitungwiza who can not afford to feed themselves. In Epworth Carol and Sandra who are two single mothers have also started a food kitchen to feed especially the children in Epworth. These are examples of people who themselves don't have much but have been so moved by the suffering of others that they felt that they had to do something. What a great irony that the poor in our society are the ones who are being moved to help their fellow citizens and yet government ministers who drive the most luxurious cars and live in the most opulent houses are not moved and as such are not doing anything to alleviate the hunger that most Zimbabweans are facing.
Who's responsibility is it to make sure that every citizen is at least fed during a pandemic and a government mandated lockdown? According to the Constitution of Zimbabwe Section 77 (b) Every person has the right to sufficient food; and the State must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to achieve the progressive realisation of this right. The government has however been very selective in providing food to those in need whilst completely ignoring the fact that at least 60% of the population were facing starvation before the mandated lockdown. As most people were informally employed the advent of the lockdown meant that those people could no longer fend for themselves and yet the government has not done anything to help those people unless they are part of the government's ZANU PF ruling party. This move by the government has been cruel and inhumane and shows their complete disregard for the masses at large. If the leadership cannot step up and meet the needs of the people that they govern then in my opinion they don't deserve to be a leader at all...
Tuesday 9 June 2020
The patterns of abduction, torture and abuse in Zimbabwe
Abductions, torture and abuse have become the order of the day when the government wants to silence those who raise their voices in dissent. The government of Zimbabwe don't want to be challenged and when people challenge them they find creative ways of discrediting those who would have spoken or even silencing those voices for good.
On the 13th of May 2020 Joana Mamombe, Netsai Marova and Cecilia Chimbiri were abducted from the Harare Central Police Station by suspected security agents and were later on tortured and sexually abused by these same people. Instead of having a thorough investigation of what had happened to these ladies first, the government however chose to charge them with holding a demonstration during the lockdown,whilst they were still recovering in hospital. The fact that they broke lockdown rules was more important to the government than ensuring that the perpetrators of their abduction were brought to book. Their reasons of holding the demonstration were valid in that the government put the country in lockdown but did not provide the citizens with any means of survival during this period.
This is not the first time that citizens have been abducted and tortured in Zimbabwe and in all instances these incidents happened because the individuals were outspoken about how the government of Zimbabwe was failing the people. In the recent past Samantha Kureya was abducted and tortured because of her satire comedy which highlighted the government inefficiencies, Dr Peter Magombeya because of his outspokenness and in March of 2015 Itai Dzamara was abducted and was never seen again.
Despite the fact that Zimbabwe has a Constitution that gives people rights, the government has chosen on many occasions to deprive people of those same rights all in the name of governing. There will come a day when the government will no longer be able to silence the voices of dissent with their usual tactics but will be held accountable for every atrocity that they have perpetrated against their citizens....what a day that will be.
On the 13th of May 2020 Joana Mamombe, Netsai Marova and Cecilia Chimbiri were abducted from the Harare Central Police Station by suspected security agents and were later on tortured and sexually abused by these same people. Instead of having a thorough investigation of what had happened to these ladies first, the government however chose to charge them with holding a demonstration during the lockdown,whilst they were still recovering in hospital. The fact that they broke lockdown rules was more important to the government than ensuring that the perpetrators of their abduction were brought to book. Their reasons of holding the demonstration were valid in that the government put the country in lockdown but did not provide the citizens with any means of survival during this period.
This is not the first time that citizens have been abducted and tortured in Zimbabwe and in all instances these incidents happened because the individuals were outspoken about how the government of Zimbabwe was failing the people. In the recent past Samantha Kureya was abducted and tortured because of her satire comedy which highlighted the government inefficiencies, Dr Peter Magombeya because of his outspokenness and in March of 2015 Itai Dzamara was abducted and was never seen again.
Despite the fact that Zimbabwe has a Constitution that gives people rights, the government has chosen on many occasions to deprive people of those same rights all in the name of governing. There will come a day when the government will no longer be able to silence the voices of dissent with their usual tactics but will be held accountable for every atrocity that they have perpetrated against their citizens....what a day that will be.
Tuesday 12 May 2020
What did 40 years of independence give us?
On the18th of April 1980, after a furious liberation struggle, all Zimbabweans celebrated in exaltation for we were now free from the colonialists who had presided over the people for decades. On this date we finally felt like we could be our own people never to be oppressed again and free to live and build Zimbabwe for our children and our children's children. 40 years on, are we enjoying all the freedoms that we thought we had gained on that exultant day in 1980?....sadly NO.
The liberators who fought and claimed that our people would never be oppressed again have now taken the place of the colonialists and have now become our biggest oppressors. One would think that the injustice that many experienced before Independence would never be seen again but now injustice rules the day. Zimbabwe has been ruled with an iron fist by the ZANU PF party since independence and they have become the greatest instrument of destruction for Zimbabwe. From infrastructure to agricultural output, you name it, they have destroyed it. From donor funds to money in the government coffers, you name it, they have stolen it. From beatings, rape and murder, you name it, they have instigated it. What haven't they done to oppress the people of Zimbabwe?
What started off as cries of exultation on the 18th of April 1980 have now become cries of despair over a government that cares nothing for the needs of its people but rather looks for opportunities to prosper at the expense of the masses. When President Mugabe was ousted from power in November 2017 many thought that the serpent was destroyed and a new day had now come to Zimbabwe but the time under President Mnangagwa has proved that the serpent is very much alive only now with a new head and capable of doing far much worse than we had ever thought...so much for 40 years of independence.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)