In an article published by the Daily Maverick, Thandekile Moyo traces Zimbabwe’s history of turmoil since independence from Great Britan in 1980.
From the Gukurahundi genocide of the 1980s, up to the shooting to death of over 17 protestors in January this year, Zimbabwe is a country where the use of violence against unarmed civilians is justified by the rulers.
With the fall from power of Robert Mugabe in November 2017, it was thought that the ‘New Dispensation’ would guide Zimbabwe to a bright future. The new regime has, however, proved to be a continuation of the old. Writes Moyo:
At the helm of Zimbabwe’s “new” government are people that have perpetrated crimes against humanity.
The country is run by people who have killed and looted with impunity for 39 years. Is it pragmatic for us to imagine that they could reform?
What are the chances that they would reform themselves out of power and probably straight into prison?
People that have no respect for humanity are incarcerated in prisons but in Zimbabwe, it is those people that are in charge of the state coffers, the judiciary and prisons.
On Monday, the world commemorated the United Nations International Human Rights Day.