ZIMBABWE IS NOT YOUR TUCKSHOP, MNANGAGWA MUST BE STOPPED

Obert Masaraure is a brave man. He is not afraid of speaking the truth. He has been arrested many times but still stands strong. He is the President of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe. This time, he is speaking out again after the arrest of journalist Faith Zaba, the editor of the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper.

Faith Zaba was arrested for a very strange reason. They say she “undermined the authority of the President.” What does that even mean? In a free country, journalists are allowed to ask questions, write stories, and tell the truth. But in Zimbabwe, the government wants to silence the media. They want journalists to close their eyes and keep quiet about the bad things happening in the country.

Masaraure is angry, and he is right to be. He said, “No Mnangagwa. Stop it! Zimbabwe is not your tuckshop!” This means Mnangagwa must stop treating the country like his personal shop where he can do anything he wants. Arresting journalists is not what leaders of a free country do. It is what dictators do.

The arrest of Zaba is not just about one journalist. It is a warning to everyone. The government wants the media to ignore the corruption that is killing Zimbabwe. They want newspapers and TV stations to pretend everything is fine. But everything is not fine. People are suffering. Prices are high. Jobs are gone. Corruption is everywhere. Those in power are stealing while ordinary people suffer.

Masaraure is calling on everyone to rise up and speak out. He is asking civil society groups, churches, women, youth, students, and political parties to stand up and fight back. This is our country. We cannot keep quiet while it is being destroyed.

He reminds us that we fought for this country. People died and lost limbs for Zimbabwe to be free. Joshua Nkomo and many others did not suffer for us to live under another dictatorship. Now we have a leader who is doing worse than the white rulers of Rhodesia. That is not acceptable.

Masaraure also warns those working in state offices. He tells them to say no to bad orders. If they help the dictatorship, the same system they are building will turn against them. Today they might be safe, but tomorrow the same police, the same courts, the same government could arrest them. No one is safe in a dictatorship. Not even those who work for it.

He is right. We all helped create this mess in 2017. Some ZANU PF members helped. Some opposition members helped. The army helped. Civil society helped. Everyone thought they were removing Mugabe for the better. But now, Zimbabwe is worse. We must fix what we broke.

This is not the time to be silent. It is not the time to be afraid. We must speak up. We must stand together. If we do nothing, Zimbabwe will die a slow death. The media must be free. The people must be free. Mnangagwa must be stopped.

Zimbabwe is not a tuckshop. It belongs to all of us. And we must protect it with everything we have. Now is the time to act. Now is the time to speak. Now is the time to fight for our country.