How do I shame a shameless government?

By Dr. Thompson Chengeta

Is there a ‘war’ you can wage and win when your government is shameless, uncaring, and ruthless while international intervention is unlikely?

Zimbabwe has been ‘sick’ for a very long time that many people are starting to believe that ours is an ‘incurable disease’. We have had a number of political opposition parties, at one moment, such parties had impressive opposition politics that we believed change was imminent. Yet, many time victories have been snatched away from us leaving nothing but hopelessness. We also once believed that foreign pressure like sanctions would force President Mugabe’s government to succumb and relinquish power, but he still holds on.

In recent years, we thought the general suffering of Zimbabwean citizens across the country will appeal to the inner-reasoning of the government but still to no avail. This has made me to ask the questions: is there a ‘war’ you can wage and win when your government is shameless, uncaring, and ruthless while international intervention is unlikely? In the past days, there have been protests across the nation, some of the protests dramatically turning violent. Could this be our breakthrough?

On the 6^th of July, we had a public stay-way that has since been dubbed #ShutDownZimbabwe. From an economic point of view, a public stay-away like the recent one is meant to threaten a government with an immediate and acute economic melt-down, the kind that forces a government to seriously consider the grievances of its citizens.

How effective is such an economic threat where you have a government – like that of Zimbabwe – whose majority officials are selfish humans who don’t give a fig about the nation’s economic well-being but just in office to enrich their own pockets?  How effective is such an economic threat when the economy that is supposed to be affected by such a stay-away is already on its knees?

Likewise, naming and shaming the corruption and evils of a government is a tactic that has been used for a very long time; not only by citizens of nations across the globe but by opposition parties, international and regional organisations, NGOs and states in international peer review mechanisms.

However, naming and shaming works when you have a conscious government that still has shame. Is it possible then, to name and shame an unashamed government – like that of Zimbabwe – whose majority officials are shameless?

It is in view of the above questions that some sceptics – with some justification – have asked: what is the point of the #ShutDownZimbabwe? It is, again, by the same considerations that some cronies within the government have, with the usual arrogance, said that they are not moved by the recent #ShutDownZimbabwe.

Yet, notwithstanding the government’s denial, the recent #ShutDownZimbabwe is a worry to the Zimbabwean government and will remain so in the near future. Such a worry, however, stems not from the usual economic threat that is presented by a public stay-away but something deeper: – a dictator enjoys listening to his own voice and demands that only his voice is listened to.

In addition, a dictator measures his power by the extent by which his commands or orders are followed regardless of whether compliance is coerced or that his commandments are irrational or point blank stupid. Just like how the 1 million March was supposed to display the government’s political power, the success of the recent #ShutDownZimbabwe becomes a political threat to the dictatorial government because it serves as an ocular proof that the citizens are ready to listen to other leaders other than President Mugabe’s government.

Thus, it is likely that in the Whitehouse boardrooms the ZANU PF politburo isn’t discussing about the economic implications of the public stay-away and the on-going protests; they worry about the ophthalmic display of authority by the organisers of the #ShutDownZimbabwe. Of course, the organisers of the event may or may not have intended to display any authority or following, but the general public have already begun to ask who should be credited with the success of #ShutDownZimbabwe.

To most Zimbabweans, it is clear that with President Mugabe’s governance, the nation is caught between a rock and a hard place. There are many who have considered violence as the only available solution as proven by how many people have been cheering the burning down of properties in Zimbabwe. Even for those who do not openly cheer on violence, you can sense the excitement and approving tone in their posts on social media.

Are violent protests the solution to Zimbabwe’s situation? I don’t think so. There are several reasons why such kind of a ‘war’ cannot be won against President Mugabe’s government. First, once you start a violent protest, it is difficult to monitor it or direct the course of events. As a result, you may end up with a full-fledged armed conflict on your hands – something we should never have.

Second, we have a ruthless regime which is not hesitant to spill blood of its own citizens.

Third, and in response to those who have suggested that we may as well have our own ‘Arab-spring’, it is important to note that the success of most of those uprisings was due to the support that western powers gave to the protestors.

Such foreign military intervention is unlikely in the case of Zimbabwe. In fact, Zimbabweans should not bank on it. To start with, Britain and the USA have been changing their foreign policies as far as foreign military interventions are concerned. Recently, President Obama even stated that Libya intervention was a mistake.

Above all things, we all know that western powers in most cases intervene for strategic reasons and where they stand to benefit something substantial. These big powers will not risk facing domestic and international backlash for an intervention where they have little to benefit. This is the reason why in some countries there was genocide and the whole world just watched.

Does Zimbabwe have that ‘something’ to warrant military intervention or support from foreign powers in the event that there are serious violent clashes between citizens and the government forces? I don’t think so. Armed violence or a civil war is not the answer.

For that reason, beware of steps that lead us towards that direction and be mindful of ‘war mongers.’ Let us all continue with peaceful protests! It is my hope that the government will do the right thing. The right thing is for President Mugabe to resign. We cannot continue to ask the government to fix things; the government has failed to do so in over three decades.

Finally, the African Union needs to be proactive in affairs of African states. This trend of waiting until it is too late or until a government has started to slaughter its citizens is not the way to go. While this is our problem and we should come up with our own Zimbabwean solution, we need to petition the African Union to intervene before it is too late.

Dr. Thompson Chengeta is a Harvard International Law Scholar. You can follow him on @DrThompsonLaw on Twitter