The Gukurahundi genocide was the first proof that the independent state of Zimbabwe had no heart for its own citizens. More than 20 000 civilians were massacred and another 40 000 affected somehow; in total 60 000 people were affected by the violence perpetrated by the government they voted into power.
The 2000 fast-track land reform programme marked another episode of the madness of the Zanu PF government. Scores of families were traumatised and impoverished by greedy war veterans under the guise of reclaiming land from colonial settlers. Farm workers were either displaced or forced to work for new farmers for slave wages. This saw the nation’s economy crumbling and inflation skyrocketing to unprecedented levels. That a respectable family man like Gideon Gono could wake up every morning and go to work to put his signature on a one cent note was madness at its worst.
The so-called Murambatsvina (clean-up) campaign was yet more proof of the government’s total indifference to the suffering of the masses. Being a street kid was not something extraordinary during that period; people had been robbed of their accommodation and the street accommodated them.
The 2002 and 2008 election ushered in a new era of terror perpetrated by the state. The police force and the army openly came out armed with guns fighting defenceless unarmed citizens, to say nothing of the exploits of the notorious Border Gezi-trained Zanu PF militias.
Everyone thought the coming of the inclusive government following the disputed 2008 elections, would usher in a new dispensation where human rights would be respected, but that was not to be. The two MDC formations seem to have forgotten the promises they made to their electorate.
As soon as they got into power and started driving around in posh cars, they began behaving as if there was no crisis in Zimbabwe.
Only God knows what Zimbabwe will become when we have to go through another election. Will the militia bases disappear? Will torture stop? Are we ever likely to have a free and fair election in this country?
But as the old adage goes, every dog has its day, and a day will come soon when Zimbabweans will celebrate.
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