“…we must be respected; we are the majority, we are the people, we are the government, we are the army, we are the airforce, we are the police, we are everything you can think of…”
The above, a direct quotation from President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa describes how ZANU PF (ruling political party) has colluded power.
ZANU PF under the stewardship of Mnangangwa has consolidated power in the country to an extend that there is no longer clear cut demarcation between the three estate to power; the executive, the judiciary and the legislature, true to Mnangagwa’s utterances.
The lack of separation of power, has resulted in many critics viewing Mugabe’s autocratic rule as more of a saint compared to the heavy handedness of the second regime which is beyond reproach.
Mnangagwa came into power through the assistance of the army when he toppled the late former President Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
The incumbent’s rise to power foreshadows his reign, one filled with brutal force and non conformity to regulations.
None other example can best describe the most popular quote in political philosophy; ‘power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely’ – than Mnangagwa’s administration of the country.
The quote, ‘Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely’ comes from the nineteenth-century English historian Lord Acton (1834–1902) in a letter to Bishop Mandell Creighton about how historians should judge the abuse of power by past rulers.
Acton’s observation is interpreted to mean that the more power someone has, the more their sense of morality is weakened.
The quote is usually used today to warn against the abuses of unchecked power, especially in the context of politics or government.
The United States has sanctioned Zimbabwe’s President, his wife and senior government officials for their alleged involvement in corruption and human rights abuses.
The sanctions are meant to curtail the power of the said few individuals against the majority.
Since ZANU PF ‘is everything we can think of’, it becomes difficult to practice the democratic checks and balances of the government, party and its leadership using the three arms of the state.
It has to take United States of America to enforce those check and balances in the form of sanctions.
The US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control announced the sanctions – targeting three companies and 11 people, including the Mnangagwas, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, and retired Brigadier-General Walter Tapfumaneyi after a review of the sanctions programme that had been in place since 2003.
Mnangangwa was elected for the second time into office through what almost all election observers described as a sham election.
After taking oath of office, Mnangangwa appointed a cabinet which received backlash even from political neutrals.
Mnangangwa has been accused of nepotism as great chunk of his relatives and tribesmen find themselves in ministerial positions.
Auxillia Mnangangwa, wife to the President has been representing the country on international business though the constitution of the country has no role for such.
Kembo Mohadi was reappointed Second Vice President despite the fact that he had resigned from the presidium during the previous term after illicit affairs with married women went public.
ZANU PF bigwigs and sympathisers have public announced that Mnangangwa will be contesting for the third time for presidency in 2028 though the country constitution is clear on presidential limit, which is limited to two terms.
‘Being everything one can think of’, Zimbabweans are bracing for bastardisation of the constitution once again as an ammendement is on the cards to accommodate Mnangagwa.
Luke Malaba, the chief Justice is one benefactor of the bastardisation of the constitution as his term was unconstitutionally extended which was viewed as a way of capturing the courts towards 2023 harmonised elections.
As of late a controversial businessman, Wicknell Chivhayo have been dishing cars to influencers who he stated have assisted ZANU PF victory in the recent elections.
The money used by Chivhayo is believed to be state money and should have been channelled for better cause especially in a country facing elnino induced drought.
When power corrupts, those in power can do anything so as to remain in position of authority.