via Police barbarism 12 November 2014 by Jera
Those who survived the BSAP will find themselves drawing comparisons with ZRP. The name and uniform have changed, but the brutality remains. At least with the BSAP, one knew there were no demands for ‘mari yedrink’ – the payoffs which have thickened the waistlines of our traffic cops.
In a country where buying a newspaper may very well mean forgoing lunch, the only news is elegies to Grace and character assassinations of such and such. If one held one’s copy of The Herald to one’s ear, one might very well hear the slurping sounds of journalistic tongues kissing political boots. Those with a voice in the media no longer care about the man on the street. The only time the ordinary bloke enters the news is if he is caught with pants down, caught with hands in the till, or caught sitting in AU Square. Nothing makes sense anymore.
What we are witnessing in Zimbabwe – doctors’ strike, power shortages and virtual stagnation of the economy – is symptomatic of system failure which demands that those responsible resign. In other failed states, it is the frustrated youths that have led uprisings. The police brutality might very well embolden a people who have been docile for many years. A child who is beaten too often is likely to become numb to punishment.
The bridge ahead has collapsed. Oblivious of the looming danger, the campaign bus charges on, as politicians seek to preserve their ill-gotten wealth. Marvin Gaye asked the long unanswered question – ‘what’s going on?’ The youths of Zimbabwe – the majority of them jobless – have coined an alternative phrase: Unotoshaya kuti zvirikumbofamba sei.
Till next week, my pen is capped. Jerà
COMMENTS
Well said……sadly true.
The author destroys his credibility by dragging the finest police force in Africa, if not the world, into disrepute by suggesting their brutality. The scribe is clearly a victim of the ZANU PF propaganda train, much like the party and its faithful remain victims of their colonial heritage, which, frankly, is akin to bull dust. When are Zimbabweans going to smell the coffee and realise that some aspects of their heritage, while perhaps unsavoury to some, were not quite as bad as the current regime of filthy, corrupt, officers so readily demonstrate at the occasional stop sign in the cities. The BSAP remains held in high esteem by many Zimbabweans who were old enough to come in contact with the force pre 1980. The blinkered view of so many following the party line is shameful and pathetic. Little wonder that we are in the state we are!