Sundayview: What next after Tribunal suspension?
Sunday, 22 August 2010 18:43
QUITE often in my life I find myself caught by the words my grandfather
said one day as we talked about how the world hates the truth. He told me
how a boy who ate his guavas at night was disappointed to find half of them
with worms, so because of his love for the fruit he had to switch off the
light as he felt it inconvenienced his desire for a feast.
This analogy came into my mind as the news filtered that the Sadc summit
had agreed to suspend the Sadc Tribunal, a court that ruled that the
Zimbabwean white farmers Michael Campbell and 78 others had to be given back
the land they lost through the land reform programme in Zimbabwe. This
ruling had not created a challenge for Zimbabwe alone but the entire Sadc
member states.
We have seen the Afriforum, a South African organisation that represents the
interests of the farmers who lost their land in Zimbabwe going to court
seeking an order to attach Zimbabwean properties in that country.
On August 13 I had an opportunity to be part of the audience at the
Presbyterian Church in Bulawayo that watched the award winning documentary
entitled “Mugabe and the White African” that relates the painful
circumstances that Michael Campbell and family went through at the height
of the farm invasions. The farm take over was characterised by the violence
of unimaginable proportions that made the audience really weep.
Most people in the audience hoped that the Sadc summit would force the
government of Zimbabwe to observe and implement its Tribunal ruling. Little
did they know that Mugabe was playing his political games behind the scenes.
I have always held the unpopular view that most people expect the world to
force Mugabe to conform to the democratic values. I submit that this is a
duty of Zimbabweans. I come from the region that was disappointed by the
world in the past when the Mugabe regime massacred our fellow country men
and the world reacted with the usual lip service. Thus to expect Sadc to
act now on Zimbabwe is a luxury we can ill afford if we are serious about
our struggle for democracy.
At times I don’t know whether to weep or to laugh when Tsvangirai goes
globe trotting from one gathering of heads of state to the another but
always returning empty-handed. Even the Sadc brokered Global Political
Agreement has legitimised Mugabe’ election theft as he has retained his
executive powers and continues to run the show.
The Sadc decision on the Tribunal was nothing but a confirmation that we
cannot expect these international bodies to deliver the democracy we want,
right now the African Union is divided on Al-Bashir the Sudanese head of
state indicted for war crimes by the ICC. It is impossible, as it has once
again been proved, for this regional block to come to our rescue. The
suspension of the Sadc tribunal was a political decision simply taken to
protect their kith and kin. Had Sadc forced Zimbabwe to implement their
decision it would have been political “incorrectness” on their part as they
would have sacrificed a fellow black African to protect the interests of a
white men. This is the basis of that decision that we should wake-up to.
In as much as I pray for God’s mercy for the affected farmers I want them
to know that their situation is not an isolated case of human rights abuse
I have mentioned Gukurahundi, and not forgetting the victims of
Murambatsvina. On that note I submit that they should now unite with all
other progressive forces that are pursuing democracy.
The first step that should be seriously supported by all is the writing of a new
constitution currently underway. This is the only way to deliver a final
blow to Mugabe and the injustices we face. Mugabe is scared and continues to
panic everyday thus his use of the war veterans to disrupt the process. A
good constitution will guarantee the respect of life, property rights and
protection of all Zimbabweans.