ZANU PF and its violence 

By Taurai Cloud Maereka

Formed as an alternative to ZAPU in the year 1963, ZANU as a political party was to, in the years following, lead in office work whilst our brothers and sisters were doing the gun work under the banner ZIPRA. 

The job to defeat the settler regime was well calculated and schemed in such a manner that independence was granted in 1980. Casualties like in any war were found some could not make it to see the new Zimbabwe, others are still with us but with injuries.

Making part of the grievances was political inequality. It was not possible to start a political party and seek an electoral contest with the white minority ruler. Then 1980 marked a heroic year and one man one vote became the hymn in the political terrain of Zimbabwe.

People were happy with this and they exonerated the new party giving it room to create a free style rule and even then President Robert Mugabe was even referred to as a ‘Marxist’ because of the ideas that he propagated.

The party became the state as state institutions were run on directives from the party. Zimbabwe then collapsed into a one party state as any challenge to the President was seen as a challenge to the state institutions. This alone made ZANU to centralise power, giving any possibility of government change very difficult.

Clear to see is the Gukurahundi, opposition ZAPU members were battered as they were viewed as a threat to the survival of ZANU. Talks of unity followed after a civil war with casualties reaching more than 20 000 Ndebele people killed. The reason for all these massacres was obviously to destroy ZAPU as an opposition to the ruling party.

State institutions like the police, army and intelligence was used to crush the Ndebele people. The late Enos Nkala, founding member of ZANU, who was by then minister of Home Affairs and Defence received orders to orchestrate the move. The late treasurer of Dare Rechimurenga once described the move as ‘eternal hell’. This became one of ZANU PF’s tactics to stay in power using state institutions to thwart any opposition.

Violence became the main problem that we had by lack of separation of power between the state and party with opposition members being the casualties and the perpetrators of violence were spared. The late Enos Nkala once claimed that ZANU PF was founded on massacres, accidents including Josiah Tongogara and Hebert Chitepo.

Yes ZANU PF use violence in the face of challengers to its rule, year 2000 after February constitutional defeat, in April war veterans unleashed violence invading commercial farms teachers, civil society organisations, doctors, nurses and MDC activists became victims as they were seen to be on peoples side pushing for protection of property rights.

After we went to an election, in 2005 innocent people’s homes were bulldozed especially in MDC dominated poor constituencies leaving them without option but to go to rural areas.

According to a UN special envoy on human settlement 200 000 homes were destroyed and 20 000 people were arrested after trying to defend themselves. Once again the army and police as state institutions were used showing once again how dangerous lack of separation of powers is to a country.

Every election in Zimbabwe is unfortunately being overtaken by violence. 2008 towards June 27 runoff people who were suspected to have voted for Morgan Tsvangirai in the March elections were tortured especially in areas viewed to be ZANU PF dominants.

Operation ‘Wavhotera Papi’ was launched and innocent people left their homes to live in hills and mountains. This shows how violent Zanu PF is.

A new word was coined ‘jambanja’ meaning the party was able to use violent means to maintain and secure power. The late Nathan Shamuyarira once said, referring to acts of violence ‘the area of violence is an area where ZANU PF has a very strong, long and successful history’.

As we run down to the much expected general elections in 2018 with the resumption of Border Gezi youth training, are we going to escape the violent system that has characterised our elections? Are our leaders going to publicly condemn violence or they shall condemn it in public while sponsoring it in privacy?

Taurai Cloud Maereka is the MDC T youth SECRETARY WARD 37 Kuwadzana. He trained in journalism and communication at CCOSA. He is the chairman and founder of Dandemutande and can be reached on [email protected].