Today’s heroes are the brave men and women being persecuted by the Mnangagwa regime
BY Tendai Ruben Mbofana
Zimbabwe has had its fair share of heroes and heroines.
Over the course of the nation’s complicated and torrid history, there have been outstanding men and women who have beaten all odds to stand up against oppression.
We can even go as far back as those courageous people who fiercely resisted a long line of Mutapa kings (Munhumutapa) who were puppets of the Portuguese.
Let us remember that the only Munhumutapa to have been an honest upright man was the founder of the Mutapa State, Nyatsimba Mutota – who reigned from the early 15th century till his death in 1450.
The rest of those who came after as Munhumutapa were nothing more than Portuguese stooges – who were controlled by and served the interests of those who had initially come to the kingdom as traders.
Nonetheless, there were those – including Changamire Dombo, who was later to establish the Rozvi Empire – who bravely fought and defeated not only the Portuguese but also their puppet kings.
That is why I always find current Zimbabwe president Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa’s endless bragging about being a descendant of Munhumutapa most curious.
Does this explain his government’s apparent oppressive nature whilst at the same time being puppets of the Chinese – who, like the Portuguese, came here as traders but have since morphed into the Mnangagwa regime’s masters?
How else can we explain the continued turning of a blind eye by the Zimbabwe government to the flagrant abuse of workers’ and local communities’ rights at the hands of supposed Chinese ‘investors’?
The Chinese, in cahoots with the Mnangagwa administration, have displayed utter disregard for Zimbabweans by forcing them off their ancestral land without any significant compensation.
Workers at Chinese companies are treated as second-class citizens – who are paid poorly, whilst working and living under the most deplorable conditions.
In all this, these so-called ‘investors’ are permitted to plunder our natural resources – such as lithium, gold, and diamonds – with impunity, as the country loses billions of dollars a year.
Nonetheless, all hope is not lost since we have our own modern-day ‘Changamire Dombos’.
We can mention individuals as Farai Maguwu of the CNRG (Centre for National Resource Governance), who are speaking out against these human rights abuses and pillaging of our national resources.
Yet, these 21st century Zimbabwe heroes and heroines have never been recognized for their efforts.
Instead, they have been repeatedly vilified and persecuted by the Mnangagwa regime.
We have many more heroes and heroines today, whom we need to honor and thank for speaking up and standing up for the suppressed and marginalized people of Zimbabwe.
As Zimbabwe commemorates ‘Heroes Day’ today (12 August 2024), there are over 100 human rights defenders and opposition activists who are languishing in our jails for merely exercising their constitutional rights.
We should not forget to honor and recognize the 78 opposition supporters who were arrested, after being viciously beaten up, on 16th June 2024, as they marked the Day of the African Child at the private residence of their leader Jameson Timba.
To add insult to injury, one of the ladies was arrested and is currently incarcerated with her one-year-old baby, whilst another, Tambudzai Makororo, needed emergency surgery on her leg after sustaining severe injuries during her arrest.
However, section 50 (c) of the Constitution clearly states that ‘any person who is arrested must be treated humanely and with respect for their inherent dignity’.
There is also Namatai Kwekweza, Robson Chere, Vusumuzi Moyo, and Samuel Gwenzi who were forced off an airplane at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, after which they were reportedly held incommunicado and savagely tortured, before being handed over to the police.
Let us remember that torture is prohibited by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and by the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Torture is also listed as one of the crimes that constitute a ‘grave breach’ of the 1949 Geneva Conventions on the treatment of victims of war.
Similarly, section 53 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe says: No person may be subjected to physical or psychological torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment.
These are just a few notable names of the over a hundred currently behind bars for merely exercising their section 58 and 59 constitutional right to assembly, association, and demonstrating.
This was after they were accused of holding either holding ‘unsanctioned gatherings’ or planning to stage ‘illegal demonstrations’ during the upcoming 44th Ordinary SADC Heads of State and Government Summit scheduled for 17th August 2024.
Since then, they have repeatedly been denied their constitutional right to bail.
In terms of section 50(1d) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, an arrested person is entitled to be released on bail either unconditionally or on conditions pending charge or trial.
This is not all.
We have also had other opposition leaders as Job Sikhala – who spent nearly 600 days in pre-conviction detention after being repeatedly denied bail.
On 7th February 2024, Sikhala was fined and given a nine-month suspended prison sentence after being found guilty of publishing or communicating falsehoods prejudicial to the State.
Nonetheless, Sikhala was convicted and sentenced on a crime that no longer existed in the country’s laws.
In fact, section 31(a) (iii) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act [Chapter 9:23] was struck off the statute books by the Constitution Court in October 2013.
Yet, section 70 (1k) of the Constitution states, “Any person accused of an offense has the right not to be convicted of any act or omission that was not an offense when it took place.”
Fortunately, Sikhala’s conviction and sentence, on 22nd July 2024, were eventually overturned, but only after an appeal at the High Court.
Another opposition leader, Jacob Ngarivhume, was convicted of inciting public violence, and on 28th April 2023, he was given a three-year prison sentence.
However, there was no prima facie evidence to support the State’s charges such that the trial should not have even been entertained by the courts.
That is why on 11th December 2023, on appeal, the High Court reversed both of Ngarivhume’s conviction and sentence.
Nevertheless, he had already spent eight months behind bars.
In April 2021, High Court Judge Justice Jester Charewa set aside anti-corruption journalist Hopewell Chin’ono’s prosecution on the same charges of publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the State.
As if this was not already a huge embarrassment on Zimbabwe, in April 2023, opposition official Fadzayi Mahere was found guilty by Harare Regional Magistrate Taurai Manwere on exactly the same charges.
As has become the norm, reprieve only came when a higher court quashed the conviction and sentence on 28th February 2024.
As far as the Mnangagwa administration is concerned, all these legal provisions do not matter at all.
This is a country where the law is treated with the same revulsion and disdain as these human rights defenders and opposition activists.
However, these people are not common criminals, but brave men and women who have faced unimaginable persecution at the hands of the Mnangagwa regime for bravely standing up for the ordinary citizenry.
They have suffered in indescribable ways so that every Zimbabwean may finally be freed from the shackles of the cruel regime.
There are countless others whom we should never forget.
We have Morgan Richard Tsvangirai (the late leader of the opposition MDC party) and Itai Dzamara (who was abducted by suspected state agents on 9th March 2015 and was never seen again).
There are also thousands and thousands of ordinary Zimbabweans who have been savagely beaten up, maimed, and even killed for choosing to oppose the ruling establishment.
These are our modern-day heroes and heroines.
These are people who want to see us enjoy the fruits of our independence, which was fought for by another generation of heroes and heroines from the 1960s and 70s.
They all deserve our honor and respect.
This Heroes Day is dedicated to all of them.
● Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/
