Arrogance In The Face Of Democracy

With the recent fall of the Tunisian and Egyptian leaders after civil protests against their continued and bloody rules, many people have wondered if the Zimbabwean crisis could be resolved with a similar popular uprising.

Mugabe's answer to that question was as short as it was rapid.

About fifty Movement for Democratic Change activists and members, including at least one Member of Parliament, were arrested whilst watching television coverage of the Egyptian protests and have been languishing in one of Mugabe's dirty, stinking prisons since, the option of bail being denied to them.

In a democracy, the voice of the people should be the driving force in the resultant government.

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ZANU PF, relegated to the second spot in the 2008 general election, have disregarded the opinion and votes of the population, instead opting, at the behest of their fractious leader, Robert Mugabe, to continue in power as if nothing has changed, ignoring the fact that they are part of a coalition government with the two factions of the Movement for Democratic Change.

And Mugabe continues to claim, without concern for the true definition of his words, that Zimbabwe is a democracy.

We are all aware that Mugabe is a highly intelligent human being and has an incredible education. This, however, should be no excuse for the arrogance that his displays in the face of what the people of Zimbabwe yearn for – democracy.

That Mugabe is ignorant of what the population want is no excuse. That Mugabe is ignorant to the needs of the Zimbabwean population is no excuse.

Forcing the people to accept his and his party's elevated position in the Zimbabwean political world is not democracy, neither is it a people-driven advent. It is something that is fuelled by hatred, racism, violence and a poorly disguised dictatorship.

I have read much about Robert Mugabe, about his early days as a loner at school, a bookworm and a teacher. I have read about his joining the liberation struggle and about his imprisonment by the Rhodesians for eleven years.

But, when one sacrifices so much to stand by the adoptive ethos of a popular movement, having achieved the ultimate goal and established 'independence' for the 'oppressed', it hardly makes sense to then turn that achievement into a worse tragedy than the one that they fought so hard to topple.

The Zimbabwean people have been party to almost thirty-one years of supposed independence, yet they are so much worse off than before Mugabe came to power. And in this, I do not suggest a return to minority rule, but the Zimbabwean people do deserve something a lot more rewarding than the continued rule of ZANU PF.

Mugabe rules with rage and anger, racism and bigotry. He rules with little regard to the man in the street, and bullies those amongst his own number to carry out horrific acts (as seen in the Gukurahundi) and rewards criminal acts with little candour, allowing only the prominent to really receive the spoils of war – a war which he perpetrates against the Zimbabwean people each day.

Mugabe's arrogance knows no bounds and stands in the face of true democratic governance in Zimbabwe.

Robb WJ Ellis

The Bearded Man