Monday, 18 May 2020

40 Years on, ZANU PF is Using Rape as a Weapon; Again

as peoples worst fears are unfortunately realised for the umpteenth time.

Zimbabwe Human Rights Organisation (ZHRO) members' worst fears have unfortunately been confirmed. The disturbing pattern that has emerged, of the Zimbabwe Government having a real and actual thirst and propensity to firstly, actively try to hide the rape of young Women and a sitting Member of Parliament (MP), by State Actors and Secondly allowing rape to be used as political weapon with impunity.
Cecilia Chimbiri recovering in Hospital
The most chilling and disturbing high profile case thus far, is that of the arrest, abduction, rape, torture, sodomisation, degrading, inhuman treatment and belittling of a Sitting member of the Zimbabwean Parliament.  Duly elected, Law Maker and MP Joanna Mamombe, who is also the youngest MP in Zimbabwe along with two other female, Youth Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), members, Cecilia Chimbiri MDC, Youth Vice Chairperson and Netsai Marova MDC, Deputy Organising Secretary, who were abducted, raped and tortured by ZANU PF State Proxies. The Zimbabwe Regime seems to be displaying more and more hubris in their acts or torture, rape and sodomy of Political rivals and citizens.

Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front (ZANU PF), which is led by Emmerson Mnangagwa who is the current President of Zimbabwe, has previously publicly berated women who have been raped and even those who had been killed.  

The previous most notable times this occurred at wholesale nationwide levels are in August of 2018 and during January and February of 2019.  This time in May of 2020, they (ZANU PF) have gone even further, by trying to also use reverse search engine optimisation to try and hide previously published online news, republish the similar news with different false titles and by deleting tweets and messages sent out by ZANU PF State officials to make it difficult for evidence to be found, especially considering that in September, there is the UN general Assembly, roughly 90 days from today.

Using Rape as a political weapon against a specific group of people does not just affect the people who would have been raped.  It also affects those who are within the community and the family of those who would have been raped. In the case of MP Joanna Mamombe, this will without doubt affect her Constituents and her political party too.  Hence why especially now, it has to be a crime against humanity to use rape as a Political weapon.  In the case of the MDC youth members, this will likely do one of two things, the others will either cower to the regime, or this could be a catalyst for the fermenting anger against the regimes brutality.  Only time will tell. 

The irony of this situation above is that, ZANU PF went to War against the Ian Smith Regime for doing such things, yet they expect different results from MDC and its membership, who thus far to their credit, they have been as their name suggests, "A Movement for Democratic Change."

The sad fact is that ZANU PF has done this numerous times before.  Articles have been written about by this and one of the famous cases, is that of Jestina Mokoko, who is extremely well known by Zimbabweans.


It's sad that ZHRO wrote about the plight of the young ladies going missing on the 14th of May 2020, obviously not knowing what will happen next, but hoping for the best.  Unfortunately ZANU PF did what they do best, Rape, Torture, Sodomise and kill. 

It is also sad that below, is just a little bit of evidence to show, ZANU PF's propensity to use rape as a political weapon has been documented in;






In conclusion, Sadly, in Zimbabwe, the rapes, abductions torture and executions happen with the complicity of a Government that jails people for trying to remove, as they put it,
"a constitutionally elected government; yet, that same government and its state actors deny citizens and now Law makers their rights under the same constitution." 
Further, some of those who enable, shield, legitimise and support ZANU PF are in the rich global North and first world West.  Given that fact and on balance, that the minimal evidence supplied above, shows that ZANU PF is well known for raping Zimbabwean Women and Children.  Coupled with the fact that, some of the same ZANU PF people, also actively taunt the MDC members and supporters on social media on a daily basis. One has to ask the question, "Is ZANU PF using Rape as a Political Weapon Condoned in the West, thereby meaning that the human rights of Zimbabwean Women is less than that of Women in the rich global North in the first world West?


By Thabo Makuyana

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