Resist, Reject and Report Violence, #RRRV2023
One lady, in her mid-50s, originally from Matobo, and who had, through marriage,
relocated to the Midlands region, recounted a harrowing tale of how she had survived
the Gukurahundi massacre, by climbing and hiding in a mutamba tree which was in the
family homestead. She was a mere 6 to 7 years old at the time when armed government
defence units stormed their household looking for “sellouts”. They found her two older
brothers who were savagely kicked and beaten with the butts of their AK-47 rifles. As
she stood up to raise her blouse slightly enough to allow us to see the still visible scar
sustained when she fell from the tree, tears were flowing down her cheeks. In her words:
“ngihlezi ngilokwesaba ukuthi okwenzakala ngalesiya sikhathi kungaphindwa khathesi.”
This directly translates to: “I remain fearful that what happened during that time could
be repeated again now”.
Another young lady, in her early 20s spoke of how her mother died from injuries
sustained during the 2008 presidential run-off election violence. She indicated that a
local councillor in their area had sent people to forcibly take her mother - a teacher who
had refused to mobilize people in support of Zanu PF, to an undisclosed location were
she was brutally assaulted all over her body. The young lady indicated in a flat
emotionless voice that she has to date never gotten over the loss of her mother and that
it has been made worse by the excessive fear she feels on a daily basis through having to
live amidst the perpetrators. No hospital record or police report was sought due to fear
of further victimization by the deceased’s relatives.
What is clear from these accounts is that Zimbabwe is walking into yet another election
characterised by an unholy marriage between trust and fear. This much is corroborated
by a recent Afrobarometer survey which indicated how 68 percent of citizens say they
are cautious about openly talking about politics and thus self-censure. This high level of
fear is born out of years of politically-motivated violence which has led to
institutionalized fear. This does not bode well for the country as fear of election violence
has potentially detrimental implications for democratic consolidation. Building on
political psychology, citizen’s fear of political and/or electoral violence causes citizens to
become risk averse and less supportive of electoral competition and democracy, viewing
elections as risky endeavors ripe with intimidation, threats, and the use of force that
could result in possible loss of life.
January 2023
The Zimbabwe Peace Project Monthly Monitoring Report
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