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SOKWANELE
Enough
is Enough
We
have a fundamental right to freedom of
expression!
In a press statement
issued earlier this month the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ)
congratulates Robert Mugabe on his 80th birthday and wishes him “all
the very best in the future”. It also
applauds his efforts “to tackle and
remove the evil practice of corruption from our midst”. The EFZ offers its “wholesale support of
this initiative” and promises its prayers for the success of the venture.
Bishops Sebastian Bakare, Patrick Mutume and Trevor Manhanga of Mutare put out
an Easter message in almost identical terms – though omitting the best birthday
wishes!
The
question is whether these clerics are not a little naïve in their fulsome
support for Mugabe’s so-called anti-corruption drive. One wonders if they will not come to regret
their bold and unconditional support – and that sooner rather than
later.
Had
they given a little more thought (and perhaps prayer?) to the matter before
rushing into print, they might have asked themselves how precisely the rampant
corruption that is now rife in this country first got a foothold. Is not the major source of corruption in
Zimbabwe the exercise of power without restraint or accountability? And who but the ruling party – and more
precisely the head of that party – is responsible for this state of
affairs? Indeed who but Robert Mugabe
and his partners in crime are resisting to the point of death, any attempt to
restrict their powers or to make them accountable to the nation? So then who is the most corrupt of
all?
Moreover
how can Zimbabweans have any faith in a process initiated by those at the seat
of power – a process in which they have a greater stake than anyone else and in
which they have appointed themselves prosecutor, judge and jury all in
one?
In
an excellent article contributed to the Zimbabwe Independent the human rights’
lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa makes the telling point that many of those who have fled
the country rather than submitting themselves to this country’s legal system
have done so for the very good reason that they cannot expect to get a fair
trial here. Not only has the independence of the judiciary been severely
compromised but the administration of the system has now been brought under
(unconstitutional) political control. Add in the politicisation of the police
force and the Attorney-General’s office, and what hope does an innocent person
have of retaining his liberty once the ruling elite have decided he should be
locked up? Hence even the innocent take
refuge abroad.
Can
the EFZ and the Mutare Bishops really lend their whole-hearted support to such a
compromised – and corrupt – system?
Even
worse, the so-called anti-corruption drive has given Mugabe the opportunity to
introduce an undeclared state of emergency to the country. What else do the Presidential Powers
regulations achieve than the introduction of a state of emergency by stealth.
And the sweeping and unrestricted powers conferred on the police to detain
suspects and to deny them bail for extended – and in effect unlimited – periods
rival the most draconian measures ever used by the Apartheid regime in South
Africa.
These
are the powers with which the state arms itself – ostensibly to go after those
guilty of some form of corruption. Can
the EFZ and the Mutare Bishops really applaud the taking of such sweeping (and
unconstitutional) powers by any government – let alone the present regime with
its appalling track record on human rights’ abuses?
Should
these clerics not first ask themselves whom, in political terms, the so-called
anti-corruption drive serves best? And
of course the answer has to be none other than the ruling elite. They have armed themselves with awesome
powers which may be used, first to deal with members of the ZANU PF
establishment (like James Makamba) who have somehow fallen out with the Chief,
and after that … ? Well, whomsoever they
(the ruling elite) so wish. And what
easier way to silence the opposition once and for all than to deploy this
draconian legislation against them – which almost certainly was the original
purpose anyway. Never mind that the
regulations are ulra vires the constitution. There is little chance these days
of getting a Supreme Court Justice to declare the regulations unconstitutional,
and still less of finding a senior police officer to enforce such a ruling. Hence any troubling member of the opposition,
or indeed anyone perceived to be a threat to ZANU PF interests, can be locked up
for as long as the ruling elite wish – and remember, all this on the basis of
suspicion only, rather than any hard evidence.
Do
the EFZ and the Mutare Bishops really want to be associated with such an evil
political scheme or with the witch hunt which is already under way ? Will they indeed pray for its
success?
It
goes without saying that every good and law-abiding citizen would like to see
the corruption which has become endemic in our nation, rooted out once and for
all. But before we endorse any proposed
course of action to this end we had better consider very carefully both who has
lead the campaign and the means to be used - or we may find ourselves supporting
a so-called anti-corruption drive led by the mafia and controlled by none other
than the godfather himself.
EFZ
and the Mutare bishops – for God’s sake, think again !
enough
is enough
they
are finished