As it prepares to hold landmark general and presidential elections on July 30, Zimbabwe is also trying to come to terms with the legacy of its former president and longtime leader Robert Mugabe.
When he resigned on November 21, 2017, the nonagenarian leader, who had been ruling the mineral-rich former British colony, first as prime minister and later as president, since its independence in 1980, left behind a divided nation and a long-running financial crisis.
His long overdue resignation brought the curtain down on a political career which saw early successes ultimately wiped out by a litany of tangible and agonising failures. His undeniable past achievements - freeing the country from the grip of colonialism, establishing a renowned education system and overseeing equal redistribution of land - have all been tainted by irregularities, abuses and human rightsviolations over the years.
Mugabe engineered the Gukurahundi massacres, used thuggery and violence to win elections, repressed opposition, oversaw forced disappearances, mismanaged the country's natural resources and turned a blind eye to corruption.
His rule relied heavily on ethnic electoral machinations established and manipulated by provincial strongmen such as the late Edison Zvobgo, Sydney Sekeramayi and Emmerson Mnangagwa. This ethnic gerrymandering has resulted in expressions of tribalism rising to the surface of Zimbabwean politics and marginalisation of minority ethnic groups in the country.
The emergence in 2014 of secessionist Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) is symptomatic of Mugabe's divisive and weak leadership and failure to unite the nation behind common economic and social objectives. The MRP regularly references the marginalisation of minority ethnic groups from Matabeleland in the mainstream economy and wants to establish a breakaway state.
Beyond fanning the flames of tribalism and unashamedly embedding ethnic divisions into the fabric of Zimbabwean society, Mugabe also normalised political violence and the regular use of youth militias for political ends. The attempted assassination of the former vice president of Zimbabwe's main opposition party, Movement for Democratic Change - Tsvangirai (MDC-T), during the funeral of former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on February 19 clearly demonstrates how violence has become a common political tool in Zimbabwe.
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| What Zimbabwe Needs Is A Clean Break From Mugabe's Ways! |
The July 23 bombing at the ruling ZANU-PF party's election rally in the country's second-largest city Bulawayo is yet another indication that following Mugabe's disastrous tenure, all is not well in Zimbabwean politics.
For Zimbabwe to return to some form of normalcy, the country needs to reconcile with Mugabe's crimes.
The victims of the former president's political madness - thousands of villagers that were slain in Gukurahundi massacres and their descendants, as well as the thousands who were subject to politically motivated violence, torture and illegal detention by the police, army and Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) officers - must be acknowledged, compensated and offered rehabilitation services.
Following the July 30 elections, strong and highly independent institutions of justice should be established and lawful accountability and transparency should be introduced to the political arena. All this can only be achieved if the victors of the upcoming election are ready and willing to confront Mugabe's legacy.
Yet the former president's legacy now appears to be receiving a makeover, thanks to fresh alliances, tremendous wealth and spin efforts by close family members and former allies who served under him. Both the current administration and the opposition seem to be willing to whitewash Mugabe's murderous legacy and collaborate with the former president when it is in their interests. What Zimbabwe Needs Is A Clean Break From Mugabe's Ways!
