Violence and Deceit

There are a lot of disturbing events taking place since the ‘disengagement’ of the MDC from fraternising (or whatever it is they have been doing) with ZANU PF. Tsvangirayi and his MDC still seem to think that SADC and/or Jacob Zuma will come to their rescue. This seems to be misplaced trust in people and organisations who have consistently shown their colours to be nailed to the Mugabe mast.

So Tsvangirayi is back in town and nothing’s changed – ZANU PF continue to flout the terms of the GNU at will and are now apparently, getting bolder in the face of SADC inaction. Over the weekend an MDC property was raided – the police – as usual – in search of non-existent firearms supposedly buried on the property.

Today I read that the residents of Chiweshe Communal Lands are being attacked by ‘militia’ beating up ordinary people and specifically teachers. This is Chiweshe’s punishment for voting MDC in the last elections. In previous attacks shortly after the election buttocks were being flayed – so much so that the flesh was torn from the bodies and several people were killed, some apparently through being forced to drink paraquat – a deadly herbicide, and others killed through the crushing of genitals. The residents of Chiweshe, after that kind of experience, are surely running scared today in fear of their lives. Who will help them? Not SADC that’s for sure.

Then there has been the arrest and detention of two of the leadership of the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations at Victoria Falls while they were boarding a plane to return to Harare after the completion of the NANGO Summer School. They are accused of holding a political meeting without authority, an offence under the draconian POSA Act which should have been repealed as part of the GNU agreement.

What’s it all about? My guess it is part of a ZANU PF strategy to ensure that the MDC do NOT re-engage ZANU PF. There is nothing they would like more than the total collapse of the GNU. Any ZANU PF strategy is of course either deceitful or violent or both.

When will the MDC, SADC and the players in this unfolding scenario learn this one single ZANU PF principle?