The recently signed “power-sharing” agreement between the now dominant MDC and the vanquished ZANU PF is not a “humiliation” but a major step towards sanity and common sense in our beloved country. The logical route to achieving that is the reconstruction of the economy, the democratization of the political system, and holding accountable the perpetrators of organized violence and torture in Zimbabwe.
The lessons of the 1987 Unity Accord between the patronizing ZANU PF and the largely humble ZAPU party taught us that peace and the rule of law would never be achieved without cementing the agreement with a truth and justice process. A culture of violence dating back to the liberation struggle continued unabated after the 1987 Unity Accord primarily because perpetrators of genocide during Gukurahundi were never prosecuted.
The emergence of the Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM) proved that ZANU PF was still the same old violent party that would not tolerate dissenting voices and respect the right to free political participation. The most prominent act of violence during this period was the attempt to assassinate Patrick Kombayi.
Today, hundreds of MDC supporters including party leaders and civil society activists have either been arbitrarily arrested, tortured or even killed by the police, the army, the CIO and the militias. This writer is a victim of this well orchestrated violent campaign which intensified after the launch of the MDC in 1999 and is still occurring even when the ink has not yet dried on the agreement document.
Leaders of the MDC and their ZANU PF counterparts chose to sweep these skeletons under the carpet during the negotiations and this is obviously disastrous. There is no doubt that not holding perpetrators of organized violence accountable for their actions will be a missed opportunity. It is naïve to even talk about a new era in Zimbabwe because the culture of violence will persist and the criminal cabal will always be protected by power-sharing agreements.
The MDC’s dominance in parliament and in the cabinet surely is a refreshing development and a positive step towards bringing the perpetrators of violence to book. Interestingly too, the Prime Minister will be in charge of the police which has hitherto been the leading perpetrator of violence.
The onus is on all survivors of violence to pressurize their parliamentary representatives to advocate for their recognition, compensation, and protection against future acts of violence through the prosecution of perpetrators. Indeed, all Zimbabweans need to clamor for an end to immunity and impunity. Individuals who are guilt of committing crimes against humanity within the police, army, and CIO need to voluntarily resign forthwith, if not, be forced to do so.
A fair and non-partisan truth and justice commission needs to be set up immediately as the first logical step towards dismantling the violent state machinery. This development will guarantee an end to a culture of violence which had permeated our political system.
Charles Mutama is a survivor of torture living in the USA.
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