Journalists are expected to dig deep and provide answers to questions arising from their stories but this week I decided to go against the norm.
It’s because I and many others are now asking the question, ‘Was Mugabe a better Devil?’
With no conclusive answer, the issue is actually a subject of debate. And you dear reader will also answer according to your own assessment of the situation unfolding in Zimbabwe at the moment.
Some also argue that the late former leader, Robert Mugabe and the incumbent, Emmerson Mnangagwa are the same – after all, the latter spent almost his entire life under the wing of the former.
But you see, the thing is most people never thought there could be any President as bad as Mugabe or even worse.
Zimbabwe went through difficult times and reached countless lows under Mugabe.
Thus when he was kicked out in November 2017, there was joy and jubilation in the country and beyond with hope that dark days and suffering were a thing of the past.
Mngangagwa, however, seems hell bent on proving that Mugabe was a saint compared to him!
The economic crisis is deepening, human rights are not upheld, dissenting voices are silenced one way or the other, while others who speak out and condemn the government are labeled devils or enemies of the state.
A journalist and opposition leader are currently languishing in prison for voicing their concerns and just when many thought denying them bail was punishment enough, the courts decided to bar renowned lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa from representing the jailed scribe, Hopewell Chi’ono and even want her licence cancelled; her crime being too vocal about the case.
When the Catholic Bishops spoke out about the current crisis, their message was called evil yet what they were talking about is a true reflection of the situation on the ground.
“The call for demonstrations is the expression of growing frustration and aggravation caused by the conditions that the majority of Zimbabweans find themselves in. Suppression of people’s anger can only serve to deepen crisis. This comes on the backdrop of unresolved past hurts like Gukurahundi, which continue to spawn even more angry new generations,” wrote the Catholic Bishops drawing the ire of the government who called its leaders ‘evil minded’.
We thought we had put such behind us but of late, the regime keeps showing its ugly side leading many to say Mugabe was actually better.
In any case, he was the ‘devil we knew’ not this supposed ‘angel’ who came in, raised our hopes only to dash them within a short period of time.
