On Amnesty

I have been trying to stick as well as I can to the agenda of my Spring Break, which has been to work on my thesis without reserve. But the events in Harare and all this media has been tugging at me to say something, particularly, on Trevor Ncube's Commentary in the Mail and Guardian today. ( http://www.mg.co.za/articleList.aspx?area=/insight/insight__comment_and_analysis/) I greatly respect Trevor ncube and all he has done in defence of the freedom of expression in Zimbabwe, but I differ with him on the idea of an amnesty for Robert Mugabe. I wrote this off the cuff, and my blood was very hot at that point!

Although I agree on most points with Mr Ncube -whom I greatly respect, must I add, I am incensed at the idea of considering an Amnesty for Robert Mugabe so as to coax him from office. Mr Ncube places this under the notion of "political maturity" on the part of Zimbabweans. I do not see how a carrot such as Amnesty is a sign of political maturity on the part of Zimbabwens. I think rather, that in as much as it may be perceived as a stick, Mr Mugabe must at least be clear with the Zimbabwean people on what he may be seeking Amnesty for, should it come to that.

Twice has the concept of "blanket amnesty" been applied in Zimbabwean politics. Firstly, with the end of the war of liberation, it was slightly veiled as both "reconciliation," (with former Rhodesians and their loyalists) and amnesty "for all deeds committed on all sides involved." Secondly, in 1987 with the Unity Accord that saw the end of what Zimbabweans generally whisper today as Gukurahundi, a time when attrocities were committed against the Ndebele people in Matebeleland and parts of the Midlands Province.

In both cases, it proved an unsuccesful venture, and that blanket has come back to haunt us as Zimbabweans.

On the first, Robert Mugabe openly repealed reconciliation years later and sent marauding squads to occupy White owned farms, which were mostly commercial. The result has been obscene hunger, food imports and a generally messy economy.

On the second amnesty, Matebeleland openly remains agitated today -albeit quietly- and the whole country remains with no clear idea how to solve this debacle. The outspokenness of Archibishop Pius Ncube of Bulawayo and Jonathan Moyo MP (ever the chameleon), although calling for resistance nationally, are clear, innocuous symbols of present day Ndebele agitation, anger and resistance along with the overwhelming MDC support in Matebeleland. Matebeleland remains understandably bitter, because there has been no address of the wound from that dark period between 1981-1987. Between 20 000 to 30 000 Ndebele people were massacred by The crack North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade Unit, led by Perence Shiri, who reported directly to The Prime Minister's Office. The Ndebele people to this day, live with memories of a crime the generality of Zimbabweans are uneasy to openly confront, and, it can be argued, feel politically guilty and complacent about.

It is my impression that political maturity on the part of Zimbabweans, would include, among other things, the courage to face up to the crimes committed during Mugabe's tenure in office. To dress the cowardness of our past as "political maturity" will only result in a similar quagmire in the future.

A politcally mature Zimbabwe will need to know the truth behind Robert Mugabe's tenure in Office. Apart from Gukurahundi, there needs to be clarity as to the true machination of the political violence that occured before the Presidential elections of 2002, as well as on the farms during invasion. The Zimbabwean people deserve to know the truth behind the murders of Cain Nkala and Gift Tandare among several other activists from both sides of the party line. Blanket Amnesty for Robert Mugabe, will once again hide a ghost for the nation's future haunting.

As Zimbabweans today, we are wont to believe our present times are the darkest our before a dawn. It is our duty to ensure that this dawn, unlike previous ones, is not a false start. We must agitate for a New Constitution that observes basic human rights, as Mr Ncube argues. It must be an openly debated and freely consulted Constitution. The nation too, must perhaps be open to an 18-month transitional government engaged by technocrats, civic groups and politicians across the party line. The main tasks of this government aught to be the delivery of a new constitution, steps to stabilize the economy and to prepare the nation for regionally and internationally-observed elections.

It has become clear, much too clear with recent events in Harare, that Robert Mugabe's only viable option is to leave office. How he does it, is another matter. After all, he remains a crafty old man. What is certain however, is that his former aparatus for consolidating and directing his power has fast evaporated. Senior echelons in the ruling party he has held a finger-click's sway and influence over, politely want him out. The MDC, much weaker and in all its flayed pieces, has succeeded in a painfully slow revival and placed pressure on Mugabe's tenure and agitated for his departure. And the Army, for so long in his pocket, still remains very powerful albeit depleted. But it is an open secret in Zimbabwean political corridors that the Army on any day, quietly belongs to Retired General Solomon Mujuru, along with the likes of Air Marshal Perence Shiri, Retired General Zvinavashe and incumbent Defence Chief, General Chiwenga. Arguably, the most powerful of these, Solomon Mujuru, wants Mugabe out, preferably quietly like most in ZANU PF.

There should be no carrots in Robert Mugabe's departure. For one, there remains no sustainable incentive for the Zimbabwean people in such a deal. The most politically mature move Zimbabweans can assert, is making certain the stick of justice is to be served. Not only will this ensure an adherence to the rule of law and a respect of human rights by future leaders in a future Zimbabwe, but will it also keep Africa on its uphill, rocky and narrow, but nonetheless, road to justice.

A Quick Trip up Borrowdale Brooke

A Quick Trip up Borrowdale Brooke


Mugabe’s new home, well wooded, well hidden in the hills of Brooke

Having lived at State House since his first election as first, Prime Minister, then President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe at some point during the past year or so quietly moved out of State House for a slightly more private refuge in Harare’s plush and secluded neighborhood of Borrowdale Brooke.
There had been much talk of this house being built over the past five years, mostly with imported material. One wonders how well a Presidential salary alone could have possibly met the lavish breath of this Sadam-esque Palace.
In preparation for the President’s move to his private home, the roads that lead to his gate were efficiently re-tarred, plugged of potholes, tweaked here and there for width to accommodate his Mercedes Limousine and the fuel-guzzling entourage that rolls after it.
On a bright and beautiful Harare afternoon, fortune came my way and I was driven by a friend towards the direction of Borrowdale Brooke, where Mugabe’s new home lies. Apart from the smooth roads, easily noticeable as much of Harare’s main roads are increasingly potholed, I could not help but notice half a dozen or so, Police substations strewn along the roads towards The Emperor’s new home. Equipped with solar panels and satellite radio technology, the substations were at all times manned by armed guards. The area had long been designated a high security area by ZRP.
Approaching the house itself, I could see the yard go up the hill from the main road, an eight foot brick wall obscuring the compound from full view. The gate is wide and long, and made from a strong wood. The house itself, although I did not see it with my own eyes, -God forbid- is rumored to be all sorts of Asian bamboos and Italian marble by one who visited as a Christmas party guest. Judging from the colossal yard the compound occupies, as well as the enclosing brick wall and wooden thickets that obscure the home from full view suffice it to say the house is all sorts of decadence. (see construction images attached).
Having had a three minute fill, as much a fill as an unwelcome guest can take, we promptly drove away after pretending to have gotten lost and laughed all the way back to the city discussing all sorts of ironies about our beloved country, the obscene poverty and the obscenely wealthy.
Sobering down later that night, it occurred to me how Robert Mugabe’s unofficial change of residency served as a fitting metaphor for the current Zimbabwean crisis.
The Zimbabwean people, it seems, are an orphaned nation. With the official residency of leadership empty, the country is in effect leaderless, and the current 1600 percent inflation, 70-plus percent unemployment rate do little to suggest otherwise. And with the opposition fragmented, one wonders who is on the side of the people. One wonders also, why he has built himself this elaborate prison, isolated and lonely, and a good candidate for a future house arrest stinct. Who knows, with the times.

Thoughts On State-sponsored Police Brutality after Save Zimbabwe March 11 Campaign

So once again The ZRP has gone on a State sanctioned rampage of attacking
citizens practicing their basic human rights, the rights to free association
and to free expression. It is no secret that for a dictatorship to blossom,
the first right to be squelched is the freedom of expression. The Save
Zimbabwe Campaign, whether under the auspice of a civic grouping, or a
spiritual gathering, had that sincere right to express itself, and expose
the crisis Zimbabwe is in as a nation.

As though the obscene poverty in Zimbabwean homes (and homeless families) is
not enough of a burden upon the masses, the Police took it into their hands
to go ahead and crush on what was surely intended as a peaceful
march/protest. With hundreds arrested, and one murdered by a bullet (we
wonder how many more will die from sustained wounds from 'minimum force' in
Police cells and at Goromonzi torture Camp -and yes, there is a torture camp
in Goromonzi; we wonder also how many have died due to malnutrition, or
hunger, and due to poor health delivery) the current condition is
unsustainable on all fronts. With our economic wheels well rusted, and the
political foray frayed, it is predictable that sporadic social upheaval is
increasingly becoming a feasible alternative, thus the recent waves of riots
and protests on the streets -Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru what have you.

What is embarassing in all this, as an African, or better still, as an
African in the 20th Century, is that it has taken Ban Ki Moon, the United
States White House (yes, even those guys funneling bombs by the dozen to
Iraq are unsettled) and Australia to condemn the attacks on Mr Tsvangirayi,
the MDC leadership and the Zimbabwean general citizenry, yet our own good
neighbors such as South Africa stand by and choose to hear no evil, see no
evil and speak no evil.

It is insufferable a condition to die screaming while your neighbor idly
hangs about their laundry, working hard not to hear your slow death in the
torture chamber. I wonder if Thabo Mbeki considers this deafening silence on
these attrocities part of his vision of a modern Africa, remember, that
whole African Renaissance idea.

And Nigeria, the African Union, SADC, ECOWAS and other continental players
have also joined Thabo in his season of silence over Zimbabwe. How pitiful.

And yet they are singing and dancing -our Heads of State- in Accra,
celebrating Ghana's 50th independence anniversary, extoling Nkrumah and his
visionary leadership and philosophies, and how, "the independence of Ghana
is meaningless unless it is linked to the total liberation of Africa.” And I
wonder to myself whether Africa also needs independence from its failed
leaders such as Robert Mugabe, Lansana Conte, and Omar Al-Bashir. Because
sitting here at my desk, typing away and thinking of those activists
languishing in those lice fields we have for prison cells, I wonder about
their liberties, freedoms of expression, freedoms of speech and freedoms of
association, and they have been clearly violated.