John Diza
The aftermath of the violent protests of last week has seen an upsurge in the amount of attacks from some quarters of the society against the security forces of the country.
Many people claim wanton and indiscriminate physical attacks while others have openly castigated the forces for what they perceive as “heavy presence” in almost all parts of the country.
One would be forgiven to think that the proponents of these ideas somehow benefit from a state of lawlessness and disorder. That would explain the many claims against the security forces that in most cases have gone completely unconfirmed.
Closely associated with that is the alleged presence and setting up of bases at schools and growth points by suspected Zanu PF activists, especially in the rural areas. It is claimed that these are meant to disturb the Government and civil servants salary negotiations that are already in place.
One would question these assertions given the fact that President ED MNANGAGWA and Government remain open to dialogue with civil servants and strides have already been made in these negotiations.
Moreover, the Zanu PF spokesman, Cde Simon Khaya Moyo is on record advising civil servants, who have witnessed these deployments, to report the matter to the police. No reports have been made to the police to date.
Similarly, the security forces, in a show of professionalism have not only held joint press conferences to inform the public of what is pertaining on the ground. They gave out many hotlines and contact numbers that can be used to report any form of wayward behaviour by its members if any.
Above all, security forces remain professional and firmly accountable in all their operations and discharge of duty. The voices of dissent would aptly be described as those of people who organised or advocated for the violent protests that the nation witnessed in the past few days.
These elements partake in violence and sadly expect the state and other peace loving Zimbabweans to fold their hands and let the country burn. Failure to report points at collusion with the detractors of the country who were either behind the violent protests or active participants.
Be that as it may, peace loving Zimbabweans should stand guided by the professional conduct of the security forces and make use of the many channels availed to them to report any disturbances in their respective areas.
The security forces are mandated by the Constitution of Zimbabwe to protect the country from any forms of disturbances from within or from outside the country. The same mandate allows them to maintain their presence in any suspected and trouble spots until a time deemed necessary to withdraw, depending on the perceived threat to both property and life. Taking a leaf from Donald Trump who aptly says, “I want to send a message to those who threaten violence against our police, we will protect those who protect us and we believe criminals who kill police officers should get the death penalty”. Zimbabwe is no exception to that rule, do not attack security forces.
