As I seek to explore the recent breaking news in Mazowe where it is alleged that Her Excellency Dr.Amai gave blessing to the destruction of villager’s property in Manzou Farm to pave way for the conservation of the vast farmland, let me briefly stop to catch three comments by readers at the Newsday Web Page.
Misheck Gondo
One emotional reader by the name
Garikai noted, “And you say Grace is not
in charge!! Even remotely she is in control, overzealous people who want to
please the first b..ch. Chef when you were away we made this farm available for
you, especially for you, your Highness, one and only one, God given, full of
wisdom, courage etc. etc…”
The other by the name Gunguwo
noted, “This is very painful! Why wait
until the rain season? So what is independence, what did people really fight
for- Mr. and Mrs. Mugabe? To give you everything, all you want, anywhere,
anytime? These people may be wrongly settled but it’s only a symptom of a myriad
of problems….”
The last quote is by John, who
didn’t have sympathetic words towards the villagers as he noted that, “Personally, I don’t sympathies with the
people who always sing praises for dear leader and are ready to take a life if
you criticize ZANU PF regime and its failure to uphold the rule of law, if you
live by the sword you die by the sword and lawlessness begets lawlessness…”
As Zimbabweans express different
sentiments over the Mazowe saga, many are querying why these illegal evictions have
been done during the rain season, children and women left in the open. The
weather experts have unpacked potential of increased floods, yet others are
questioning the motive behind such cruelty in the name of development.
There are those who are categorically
denying the hand of Grace, noting that it is her detractors in the government
trying to tarnish her name, yet others are saying it’s a government initiative.
It is important to note that this process
whether done by Government, Grace, Biti or Tsvangirai it is an unacceptable
process that violet human rights and it is against the spirit of the Zimbabwe
constitution that accords basic rights as enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
Section 74 of Zimbabwe
Constitution, based on the freedom of arbitrary eviction states that, “No person may be evicted from their home, or
have their home demolished, without an order of court made after considering
all relevant circumstances”
In a general society the role of
a mother is to protect the children, especially from harm. It philosophically
known that the mothers are soft hearted, loving and considerate. The welfare of
the siblings comes first before any business interest.
Contrary to this school of thought attributed
to the motherhood, media houses has been awash with reports that the hand of
Dr. Amai is fingered in the inhuman act
of evicting the innocent landless Zimbabweans on their ancestral land to pave
way for private and family interest. If this is true, then, something is wrong.
Whether the eviction was forceful
or peaceful, eviction is eviction. It is of paramount importance to note that, government
has an obligation to protect its citizens under national and international law.
In case of justified evictions, there should be a proper process to allocate
the victims, without delay making sure that their rights are not violated, not
left on the road side with nowhere to go.
It doesn’t matter if the victims as
claimed by others were
once violating other people‘s rights, they are still equal beneficiary of law,
hence, they need to be protected by law.
The High Court of Zimbabwe should
not stop at stopping the eviction but arrest the culprits of contempt of Court.
Let’s wait and see!
Misheck Gondo is a Political
Analyst and a Human Rights Defender.
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