The death of General Solomon Mujuru (who was known by his liberation war nom de guerre: Rex Nhongo) on 16 August 2011 left many Zimbabweans with divided opinion .While the tension is high due, to the on-going inquest into his death, people need to learn the lesson that the aim of this exercise is not to apportion blame but to discuss the evidence surrounding this case.
Today marks the sixth day of the investigation in Harare. So far ordinary Zimbabweans through social networks and media have focused almost all of their attention on oral evidence, and in particular contradictory testimonies .As a result most of the hearing so far has been uncovering government catastrophes and not its accountability.Inside that Harare Magistrate courtroom, there have been twenty-six witnesses. Made up of several professionals, they have been a continuing inconsistence throughout the chronicles. For the first time I have actually asked myself and other concerned countrymen what the inquest is trying to achieve. As our society’s history pointed, the findings of this inquest aren’t likely to bring the culprits to account any time soon.
One respected Reuters Correspondent based in Harare I spoke to took his position with caution and argued that, this inquest is more about a mere formality than necessarily seeking to establish the truth. Another senior academic based in London told me: “Lots of people know what’s going on. Think about the circumstances in which we lost Herbert Chitepo and Josiah Tongogara.Then you can understand who stands to gain most from the Nhongo’s death”.
They also argued that it was not the inquest’s role to bring people to book. As MDC-UK Southampton Branch vice- Chairperson, Mr Bornwell Madzingira rather concisely put it:” They are pointing out who the killers are. We might suggest that the perpetrators are tried and face the music, but it is impossible when there is no judicial independence”. Another Zimbabwean Independent paper editor based in Hampshire added: “What would be good though is to fire and jail those who failed to execute their professional duties”.
All the people I spoke to about this issue are more sceptical and clearly sure about the circumstances surrounding Mujuru’s death; and they don’t seem to have had the problems with their judgement. Despite this, I have had a rather uneasy feeling. The inquest will continue but is it actually going to make any difference? We have had several government inquests on the death of key members since 1980, but even with the overwhelming evidence within our domain, there were no accusations or confessions implicating known suspects. Thus, the investigation may prove pointless since it does not offer any plausible findings.
I think the wider problem that needs to be faced is the unpleasant truth that the ailing despot Robert Mugabe may have either personally sanctioned or instigated these target assassinations over the last thirty-four years in his quest to cling on to power. Zanu (PF) faithful might try to point to their saviour’s defence during the time, but that ignores the fact that his success, has been mainly due to his calculated elimination of his political opponents and also due to the one-sided systems that carry out and report these inquests. Since then, the veil has become so thin for him to conceal his tracks. Most of these deaths have been blamed on foreign governments and members of the opposition. However, his actions on devouring friends and enemies go further than nation could ever have imagined.
Zanu (PF) distanced itself from these proceedings. On the opening day of the probe, reports said that Robert Mugabe recalled the General’s widow, VP Joyce Mujuru during the hearing. The trouble with this is that when the public sentiments are full of expectation, the least they want to hear is this kind of irresponsible behaviour from a Head of State. People were made even worse to suspect foul play. This demonstrates a clearly new meaning of the word respect I was before unaware of.
While I think the investigation should go ahead, I believe one of the most important questions they need to address is the previous shortcomings and if any lessons have been learnt over the past thirty-two years. Until they do, Mugabe will continue to set the agenda and we will be back to repeating the mistakes that got us into this tragedy in the first place.
