Is freedom only for those who support Zanu PF?

By Patricia Munhumumwe

It’s not easy to have freedom whether it’s political or economical; Tens of millions of people, yes Zimbabwean people, either for reasons of dislocation, political or aspiration now live far from their countries of origin.

This displacement involves not just a journey in miles but also a journey in time, Of course many people left their families behind in Zimbabwe, marriages were broken, people of Zimbabwe suffered abductions’, people died of torture, hunger all this caused by the dictator-Mugabe but we refuse to be silenced.

When you find yourself in the presence of a manifested reality that you “dislike” it’s an indication of a belief/thought in you that is contradicting your true nature. Since your true nature is rooted in love and abundance, any thought in you that is rooted in hatred, fear or lack will cause the attraction of a reality that you “dislike”, for sure that’s what happens in Zimbabwe especially when you speak your view.

Tell me, is freedom only for those who support Zanu PF? Should we agree to be humiliated and powerless? To watch passively as our countrymen abuse woman, torture and slaughter each other in pointless disputes? Having made that journey, I know that one of the worlds is simply better than the other.

According to human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, Zanu PF violated the rights to shelter, food, freedom and residence, freedom of assembly and the protection of the law. There were so many assaults on the media, society activists, and human rights defenders, there’s far more worse corruption in Zimbabwe under the regime of Mugabe but it is possible to free oneself, to adapt one’s faith, to examine it critically, and to think about the degree to which that faith is itself at the root of oppression, it’s a journey, a journey to Freedom, tell me, how much more is it to be these innocent women and man, trapped in that cage? What do you do with a responsibility like that ?, in simple terms for those of us who were brought up with God, if we face up to terrible reality we are in, we can change our destiny.

We can only “like” a reality that is based in peace, love, joy and abundance, because this is the very nature of the conscious energy that we are. As human beings it is possible to exist in a reality that we don’t dislike, even if we have desires of manifesting more things. To exist in a reality that you dislike is an indication that you have certain negative vibrations dominant in you owning to certain thoughts/beliefs that’s why we are so prepared to speak out against inhuman and degrading situations caused by Zanu PF.

We long to be free from such negative realities, but I have learned that, like every other kind of human pursuit, politics can be an ugly game. Years ago I thought that politics was a noble pursuit, I still think that’s true would like to keep it that way, safe and free but being under the regime of Mugabe is like being diagnosed with a chronic disease, it may flare up and kill you, but it may not. It could happen in a week, or not for decades.

The crackdown on March 11, 2007 Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) rally, In this event, party leader Morgan Tsvangirai and 49 other opposition activists were arrested and severely beaten by the police. Edward Chikomba, a journalist who sent images of the beatings to foreign media, was abducted and murdered a few days later.

After his release, Morgan Tsvangirai told the BBC that he suffered head injuries and blows to the arms, knees and back, and that he lost a significant amount of blood. The police action was strongly condemned by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, the European Union and the United States.

While noting that the activists suffered injuries, but not mentioning the cause of them, the Zanu PF-controlled daily newspaper From 2001 to September 2006,still does, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum has recorded over 1200 cases of human rights violations by the law enforcement agencies, including 363 cases of torture, 516 cases of assault, 58 cases of death threats, 399 cases of unlawful arrest and 451 cases of unlawful detention.

Many of these incidents include multiple victims. However; the organization finds that the law enforcement agencies are encouraged to perpetrate abuses by statements made by high-ranking members of the ruling party ZANU-PF.

The ploy of detaining and charging opponents on trumped up charges is not new to Mugabe, ZANU-PF trains and sponsors a National Youth Service, known colloquially as the “Green Bombers. “Surely isn’t it time that they recognise our youth for Educational or events to assist their future, In Zimbabwe the freedom of assembly is severely restricted by law.

The legal framework is further stretched in practice, with law enforcement closely monitoring our MDC demonstrations and public gatherings. There are many reports of the arrest and subsequent beating of demonstrators. According to the Human Rights Watch report “You Will Be Thoroughly Beaten”: The Brutal Suppression of Dissent in Zimbabwe, laws such as the Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Miscellaneous Offences Act (MOA) are used to violently disrupt peaceful demonstrations and justify the arrest of civil society activists, but it’s a Journey to freedom, that will take a lot of courage and hard work.

Women are disadvantaged in Zimbabwe, with economic dependency and social norms, domestic violence against women is a serious problem; such harassment is common and generally not prosecuted. While the law recognizes women’s right to property, inheritance and divorce, many women lack awareness of their rights and the time has come as we are on this journey; God never forgets any of the sacrifices and labours of love that we extend in pursuit of our legacy.

Above all, Proverbs 8:15, 16 of the inspired Word of God, says that governments should use wisdom to rule and to make laws that are just. Proverbs 17:7 says rulers also should not lie. Proverbs 28:2-4 and 29:4 urges rulers to maintain order justly, to follow God’s moral code and to avoid oppressing the poor.

Furthermore, I am still confident of this, it’s a journey to freedom and we look forward to better days and real change.

Patricia Munhumumwe is a human rights activist based in the UK. She is also a member of the MDC High Wycombe-Slough Branch and a fearless campaigner for women’s rights.