Hwange residents revel in election peace

Grace Moyo

Elections in Zimbabwe are synonymous with physical political violence among other forms of political violence but Hwange district has so far remained an exception as residents have enjoyed unparalled peace over the years without major incidencies of violence.

Like everywhere else in the country, political contestations between the ruling Zanu PF and the opposition is fierce but however, in these parts it hardly degenerates into physical violence.

Section 67 (2) (b) of the Constitution guarantees the right to campaign freely and peacefully for a political party or cause of own choice and also condemns all political violence as a violation of political rights and freedoms.

Hwange Central Member of Parliament, Daniel Molokele attributes the prevailing peace to the cosmopolitan nature and peace culture of the multi-ethnic community.

“Because it is a mining community, it is historically and presently full of people of different nationalities, ethnic groups, cultures and beliefs.  It’s a melting pot for different cultures and languages.

” Traditionally because of the coal, people have united around the coal, the coal mineral has made people come together and become families. Most people in Hwange are not originally from Hwange, so that’s why it is easy for them to work together as a community and politics has not been able to separate us. People come from different political parties but we have always been able to work together as a community. Historically and presently we never had any violence,” he said.

Zanu PF Youth League member, Ephraim Mulawo says the unity in the district is a good example for communities in other areas to emulate. 

“We have respect and tolerance for each other regardless of political affiliation. It is historical and embedded in us  mabhoni.”

The whole of Hwange used to be sustained by one  company (Wankie Colliery now Hwange Colliery Company Limited) for a long time, pre and post independence. The schools we went to were Colliery schools, after that we got employed by the company and we support the same football club run by the colliery. A sense of family was natured in us such that political polarisation has no place,” said Mulawo.

David Sithole of Makwika, takes pride in the co-existence of people with different political leanings and applaudes the closely-knit Hwange society that has demonstrated  that people can have different political persuasions and still live together in peace.

“The people here should be applauded for shunning violence and maintaining peace. We are one people and should not be fighting each other over differences in politics. In election periods, we only read about violence elsewhere in the country. As a people, I think we have done well in this regard,” said David Sithole of Makwika 

Political analyst, Oswald Sibanda attributes the prevailing peace in Hwange in part to opposition dominance in the area.

“We do know that perpetrators of violence are mostly state agents who are aligned to the ruling party and or ruling party militias. Since  the turn of the millenium, upon the formation of the then Movement for Democratic Change, Hwange has been an opposition stronghold and violence typically happens where the ruling party has numbers as is the case in Mashonaland. 

A Human Rights Watch report noted the creation of no-go areas for opposition supporters in Mashonaland West, East and Central in 2008.

“It should also be noted that Zanu PF has been making significant inroads into the Hwange political space. Despite this growth, to their credit, Zanu PF members have not resorted to violence. So it is in keeping with the peace culture of the area, to some extent,” said Sibanda.

Joseph Mudimba of Lwendulu believes the compactness of the people in the area has been the right tonic for peace. 

“This is a small area where everyone knows everyone, so it is difficult for political parties to cause us to fight. There is a lot that brings us together as a people that politics cannot undo. If you see anybody attacking others for political reasons, you can be sure they do not belong here. Political violence is foreign to us. Sabanhu bomuWankie tilobhatana kasa kasa,” he said.

Even at the height of political intolerance around the June 27 2008 election re-run, politicians struggled to use local youths as agents of violence in their socalled “bases” where residents were forced to keep vigils while singing and sloganeering.

“In 2008, they could not get us to fight each other, so they brought people from outside Hwange to forcibly get people into their bases. That was the only time we saw something akin to political violence in Hwange and it was not perpetrated by locals. This was still a far cry from what we saw on TV happening in other areas of the country where homes were razed down, limbs cut off, people burnt and killed,” said Mudimba.

In Zimbabwe, elections are held in terms of Section 67 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No 20) which provides for political rights that every Zimbabwean should exercise and enjoy. The Constitution of Zimbabwe, Section 67(2)(b) and (c) emphasises that electoral processes should be conducted in a peaceful manner. The Constitution of Zimbabwe, Sections 155 (a) and (d) further provides for regular peaceful and fair elections which are free from violence and other electoral malpractices.

The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) has the mandate is to ensure post-conflict justice, healing and reconciliation, including developing programmes that promote national healing, unity and peaceful conflict resolution.

In a recent interview with state media, NPRC commissioner Obert Gutu said the commission had lined up peace-building initiatives across the country to ensure that the forthcoming general elections, expected around mid-year, were held in a peaceful environment.

He said the NPRC had come up with an election strategy document to guide their operations before, during and after the elections, including reactivating its provincial peace committees.

It is currently holding workshops with the committees as part of the preparations for the elections, which will cover presidential, parliamentary and local government.

“In fact, we are now very busy with various activities aimed at making sure that there is zero tolerance to violence during this period,” Gutu said.

The nation awaits the President’s proclamation of the harmonised election which is expected in August of this year.