By Talent Gondo
While President ED Mnangagwa yesterday launched a cyber war against his opponents where he encouraged Zanu Pf youths to ‘thrash’ those of divergent views, #Remembering2008 has exposed Zanu Pf as a violent and brutal party that killed and maimed opposition MDC T supporters pre and post 2008.
Zimbabweans took to Twitter recalling their 2008 experiences under the brutal leadership of Zanu Pf, whose ultimate grip on power resulted in the killing, maiming and disappearance of hundreds of opposition party supporters including other civilians who did not belong to the party.
Horrendous pictures and different accounts augmenting Zanu Pf brutality continue pouring in on social media, exposing President Mnangagwa’ s insincerity regarding being knowleadgeable about the atrocities committed by his party in 2008.
“I remember in our rural area in Binga when Jabulani Sibanda came and everyone with MDC campaign posters was forced to hand them over and they were set on fire. People were then forced to roll themselves in that fire,” said Likwa.
“At Ruvhizha secondary school in Gutu, Chamba and Mahana were abducted in broad daylight during assembly and trounced all night. Pupils discovered Chamba’s corpse in the morning while Mahana sustained serious injuries and later died in 2009,” added another contributor.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights’ Irene Petras recalled how even lawyers who were trying to access the High Court for election related hearings were threatened that they were going to be shot by soldiers.
“Lawyers went into hiding in and outside Zimbabwe.Those who stayed were left wondering if they would make it through the night,” said Petras.
Others told of how they watched their relatives and friends being butchered by Zanu Pf youths including Chipangano, a terror group which operated especially in urban areas and targeted MDC T stalwarts.
The issuet of “Zanu Pf bases,” came to the fore, with citizens narrating how these torture bases were used by Zanu Pf youths to beat up people.
“My pregnant neighbour was forced to run 13 kilometers and she developed swollen feet,” added another contributor.
Citizens recalled how some of the victims of Zanu Pf brutality had their skeletons fished out of Wenimbi Dam among others.
#Remembering2008 also exposed President Mnangagwa’ s complacency towards initiating national healing and reconciliation through his failure to acknowledge past atrocities such as the violence of 2008 and Gukurahundi among others.
Analysts described President Mnangagwa’s statement as an indication that Zanu Pf is not ready for free and fair elections despite promising that the forthcoming polls will be credible.
President Mnangagwa professed ignorance of the heinous atrocities committed against members of the opposition party, MDC T before and after the 2008 elections in an interview with The Economist.
He said he was not aware that the 2008 polls were violent adding that they were free and fair since there was little or no evidence of the reported cases by victims of the violence.