Mughall Shipping and Freight Services


DAILY UPDATES

 


 

 










 

Jestina Mukoko and the case for military action in Zimbabwe

Back to Home Page

30 December 2008

By Doreen Mutemeri

I looked closely at the picture of Jestina Mukoko being ushered to the Harare Magistrates court by heavily armed police support units last week. A visibly traumatized Mukoko in a blue and red track jacket walked side by side a policeman weilding an AK-47 rifle that was slung across his shoulder.

Lets freeze the picture there for a moment and reflect on it. The former ZBC TV anchor now Director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project was abducted from her home in Norton while still wearing her pyjamas early in the morning. The ridiculous case against her is that she planned to topple Mugabe’s government by recruiting MDC insurgents.

I said lets freeze the picture there because that to me is the Zimbabwean problem. The policeman weilding an AK-47 and ushering Mukoko to court is exactly what has been done to the Zimbabwean population directly or indirectly. Mugabe and Zanu PF lost the elections in March and are holding onto power by force.

It is clear any solution has to use similar methods. How do you negotiate with the AK-47’s that are daily used to abduct innocent opposition activists? How do you negotiate with a regime that is prepared to invent a story about non-existent MDC military bases in Botswana? How do you negotiate with a regime that this year alone killed over 200 people simply because they did not support Zanu PF.

Mugabe’s regime has thrived because of our passiveness. We have allowed them to take away our collective humanity and make us the laughing stock the world over. The MDC have had to play the game with Zanu PF because they are a registered democratic political party that operates within Zimbabwe.

The fact that they have been trying to unseat Mugabe for nearly 9 years is proof enough we are trying to use lambs to fight lions. The case for military intervention in Zimbabwe has never been stronger. Over 1500 dead from cholera, anthrax killing livestock and human beings, starvation, power cuts, water cuts and political repression summarize a population held hostage by military brute.

I have heard the argument that war will kill people but the spectacular omission there is that more will die from starvation, disease and political repression than will die from a military intervention. Will our African brothers provide this, certainly not? Do Zimbabweans mind help from the West, certainly not!

This crisis is affecting Zimbabweans and the world needs to act in the interests of Zimbabweans and not the Zanu PF leadership. All the talk about sovereignty means nothing. Mugabe and Zanu PF lost the elections in March so really there is no legitimate government to talk about.

Finally, its sad Jestina Mukoko is being accused of trying to topple the government. Which government? The one that lost elections in March? Jestina could never recruit pick pockets to work at Mbare Musika let alone recruit MDC insurgents to train in Botswana.

Doreen Mutemeri is a gender activist based in the United Kingdom.


Join our main forums to debate this and many other articles

Back to Home Page

  • Comment on this article

  • Custom Search

Elsewhere on this site

Recent programmes on Nehanda Radio