Without safety, who needs a government?

Reuters photo

By

Constance van Niekerk

Every headline on Zimbabwe on the internet paints a despondent picture of the once glorious nation:

VP Kembo Mohadi accused of murder, rape and smuggling;

Zim teachers give notice to embark on full-blown strike;

AK47 terrorist orders Zim soldier to abuse women in front of child;

Zimbabwe women raped as government crackdown continues;

Can we continue our silence when we see such headlines?

Without Safety, Who Needs A Government?

Zimbabweans today are dejected as the economic ills seem to be past remedy. On the other hand, nobody is taking responsibility for the events that happened between the 14th – 16th January 2019. Regardless of the current situation in Zimbabwe, we cannot ignore the fact that there was innocent bloodshed whether civilians or not, the raping of women and children, the brutality and inhumane treatment of men and women. The government elected and expected to take responsibility blames terrorists or imposters for stealing army regalia and guns and wreaking terror on unsuspecting citizens. The terrorists then disappeared into thin air, only citizens now left with tears and scars that can never heal. Some are even worse, with HIV/Aids as the rapists reportedly did not use any protection.

Governments are instituted to provide safety, not to be heartless towards their people. When a government is failing despondently in its mandate to protect and serve, is it not time to do away with it entirely? If there’s nobody taking responsibility, there’s nobody in charge. Why have a government at all?

Who is to blame for the violence in Zimbabwe? Commenting, one man in Harare said, “If I were the president, I’d resign and take responsibility for the loss of lives, property and generally the spates of violence on each protest. Why this blame-shifting? Benjamin Franklin said, ‘Blame-all and Praise-all are two blockheads’; actually, they’re ugly twins.

Our African governments should learn to take accountability for what happens in the state, otherwise the future of Africa is dark. Particularly in Zimbabwe where everyone is blamed but the government never takes the blame. Yes, let’s blame it on Chamisa, the west, terrorists, oh how about the citizens themselves? After all, we are a democratic people.

Dark clouds are looming over Zimbabwe. The once majestic house of stone has become a lawless state. Citizens have no-one protecting them, nowhere to hide and no-one coming to their aid. The military is unleashed willy-nilly on unsuspecting and unarmed civilians and there’s a complete disregard of the constitution. Do the Zimbabwean citizens have human rights at all? Is there a light at the end of the tunnel for Zimbabwe? Without safety, who needs a government?

Cry, the beloved country.

Constance van Niekerk

Constance van Niekerk is a South-African based Zimbabwean-born freelance music critic, poet, photographer, educator, creative writer and blogger par excellence. She has written for The Southern Times Newspaper of Namibia as well as Zimbabwe’s foremost daily, The Herald, blogging also on Up Close and Personal with Zim Artists since 2012. Early in 2014 Constance rebranded the blog to L’Afrique Beat to reflect the interests the whole of Africa and create a continental flavour. L’ Afrique Beat features well researched and informative articles on Africa’s musical icons, entertainment, as well as the lifestyle issues of Africa.