Human rights activist Farai Maguwu says Zimbabwe is on the verge of a civil war due to the current wave of political violence which he says need to be contained.
Maguwu speaks after reports that ruling ZANU PF party supporters recently attacked supporters of the opposition Citizens Coalitions for Change (CCC) led by Nelson Chamisa.
Tensions between and within the two parties have been rising in the past twenty-four months as the country heads for elections scheduled for sometime next year.
Maguwu, who made the remarks in an interview with NewsDay yesterday, noted that violence witnessed during recent by-elections was a shadow of what was to come next year. He said:
This is an election that should not take place and this is an election we are not prepared to host. Zimbabwe has been in permanent election mode since the year 2000. The more elections we have, the deeper our economy sinks and the more people flee the country as economic refugees. Zimbabwe elections are not meant to choose the leaders but are meant to tick the box.
There should be no elections for the next 10 years and a transitional government. We need to weed out corruption and put the real criminals looting from the private sector and government in jail.
Zimbabwe needs time to heal, the violence we have begun to see in by-elections, it’s just a picture of what is going to come in the upcoming elections, we might see a mini civil war.
Violence has continued despite open denunciation by political elites.
Recently, the United Nations expressed concern over the recurrence of disputed elections in Zimbabwe increasing the probability that the southern African country’s 2023 elections will be supervised by the international body.