SUSAN NJANJI, Harare | Thurssday
ZIMBABWE’S blanket amnesty for politically motivated crimes committed before this year’s parliamentary elections is a green light for political violence in the run-up to presidential elections, analysts say.
President Robert Mugabe’s order, issued last week, does not cover serious crimes such as murder and rape, but critics are already warning that it sends the wrong signal and risks inviting more violence in the run-up to the presidential election due in the next 18 months.
Political scientist Alfred Nhema said: “It sends wrong signals to those who are prone to violence and sets a dangerous precedent in which the political culture becomes one of violence.
“Once you have started indemnifying … and say people have a right to commit political crimes, that is obviously a licence for mayhem in the future.”
But Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the government simply wanted to bury the past and get on with its work.
The amnesty was prompted partly by the fact that the court system is congested, Chinamasa added.
But analysts say the pardon is for the benefit of supporters of the ruling ZANU-PF who carried out attacks on opposition supporters.
“This has been the pattern … of all elections, that you can go and commit acts of violence and be sure that you will be pardoned,” said novelist and commentator Chenjerai Hove. “That actually formalises violence, to make it an institution.”
“ZANU youths and hooligans can be freed so that they can continue the programme of violence towards the presidential elections,” he added.
“It’s essentially sending a very sad message, that if you violate the law in support of ZANU-PF, you will be protected by the law,” said another political analyst, John Makumbe.
The National Constitutional Assembly, a pressure group pushing for constitutional reforms, said the order showed that Mugabe and the government not only “condone but also embrace political violence as a route to political office.” – AFP