JOURNALISTS ARE NOT YOUR ENEMIES, MR PRESIDENT

President Mnangagwa is now acting like he owns Zimbabwe. He thinks Zimbabwe is his tuckshop. He arrests anyone who speaks the truth. The latest victim is journalist and editor of Zimbabwe Independent, Faith Zaba. She was arrested for “undermining the authority of the President”. This is not right. This is a clear attack on freedom of the press.

Obert Masaraure, a brave civil society leader and President of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe, has come out strong against this. He has also been arrested many times before for standing up for the people. He says Mnangagwa wants the media to stay quiet. He wants the media to ignore the corruption that is destroying Zimbabwe. He wants people to stop talking about the suffering, the hunger, the poverty, and the unfair system that helps only the rich and powerful.

Masaraure is calling on all Zimbabweans to rise up and say no to dictatorship. He is calling on workers, churches, students, women, youths, opposition parties, and all other groups to unite. He says it is time to plan and act. We must all work together to stop the destruction of our country. We must not wait any longer. Zimbabwe is our only home. If we don’t defend it now, there will be nothing left to defend tomorrow.

The arrest of Faith Zaba is not just an attack on her. It is an attack on all of us. The media is supposed to be free. Journalists must be allowed to report the truth without fear. But Mnangagwa wants a media that hides his crimes. He wants a media that praises him even when people are hungry. He wants a media that says everything is fine when hospitals have no medicine and schools have no books.

This is how dictators work. They silence the truth. They turn the police and courts into weapons against the people. They try to scare everyone into silence. But Masaraure reminds us that we have a duty to fight back. If we keep quiet, we betray the heroes who fought for a free Zimbabwe. We betray people like Joshua Nkomo and many others who gave their lives for our freedom.

Masaraure also warns those who work in the government. He says if you follow bad orders, one day those same orders will be used against you. Today, you help arrest an innocent person. Tomorrow, you could be the one in jail. Today, you defend the dictatorship. Tomorrow, the dictatorship could turn on you. Nobody is safe in a system that does not follow the law.

We need to stop pretending that things will fix themselves. They won’t. We need to stop hoping that someone else will save us. Nobody is coming. It is up to us, the people of Zimbabwe, to save our country. We need to go back to 2017 and fix the mistake we made. We need to remove this system of lies and fear. We need to return to democracy and freedom.

The arrest of Faith Zaba must be the final straw. We cannot allow Mnangagwa to continue on this path. Zimbabwe is not a tuckshop. It belongs to all of us. Let us stand together and stop him before it is too late. Let us raise our voices, take action, and protect our future. We must not be afraid. We must be strong. We must be united.

Zimbabwe deserves better. The people of Zimbabwe deserve better. The time to act is now.