As pressure and public anger from the recent wave of protests continue to mount, President Robert Mugabe has called upon all citizens to maintain and preserve peace.
He made the remarks while addressing thousands of people who thronged the National Heroes Acre on Monday where he called upon citizens to be more peaceful and desist from destructive demonstrations which will trigger civil unrest.
“We should remain united and be reminded of the fact that without unity and peace , we will not have any meaningful development, there will be fighting , violence and quarreling which is retrogressive to the development and progress of the nation.
“Protests and demonstrations do not pay, we normally end up having violent protests which leave a destructive trail. What does it help to engage in street protests which in turn cause mayhem?” asked President Mugabe.
He said those fronting these demonstrations should stop being used by what he termed “agents of regime change” while ignoring the fact that the citizens do not necessarily need a “third force” to wake up from a deep slumber and demand good governance as well as quality service delivery.
He said “by engaging in violent protests, are you trying to show that you are capable of beating up police? Are you good enough to fight the police force? We do not want that. We plead with you to remain peaceful and be law abiding citizens that you have been known to be.”
His plea comes in the wake of last week’s protests against the proposed introduction of the bond notes where the march ended nasty with police brutally victimizing citizens and journalists.
The irony of the nonagenarian leader’s statement is that the state controlled police force has been on record for attacking peaceful marches and demonstrations and also beating up citizens whenever it deems necessary.
This has been done to over the years as a move to further strengthen the veteran statesman’s firm grip to power.
However, the tide seems to be changing course and the winds of change are blowing in the Zanu PF’s first secretary’s direction with protests from several pressure groups and other opposition parties being witnessed almost every week.
The sad reality is that President Mugabe feels the pressure an imminent uprising and revolution from the same people whom he claims love and voted him in power and it will not be long before we see another running battle between the state controlled police and the demonstrators.
