Doug Coltart, a Zimbabwean lawyer and human rights activist who is also the son of former Education Minister (GNU era), David Coltart, has said that Zimbabweans have to destroy the legacy of Zimbabwe’s founding leader, the late Robert Mugabe.
His remarks come as there is confusion as to what really constitutes the legacy of Mugabe as some revere him whilst some regard him as a monster.
Coltart observes that Mugabe over the years, together with his lieutenants in the ruling ZANU PF, established a repressive and exploitative system. He added that the system is still in place even when Mugabe has since departed the political arena.
It is that system, of repression and exploitation for the sake of power retention, that will be Mugabe’s defining legacy. And it remains the task of the Zimbabwean people to defeat it.
The legal expert observes that since day one, Mugabe’s legacy was a mixture of both positives and negatives. For Colatart, Mugabe would give by one hand and take by another.
He mentions that Mugabe contributed immensely in establishing and advancing the education sector in the country but later destroyed the same by establishing a system that fought teachers who were demanding for decent salaries.
Coltart gave reference to a recent case in which he was arrested and assaulted by State police whilst trying to represent his clients, the Amalgamated Rural Teachers of Zimbabwe, who had been arrested for protesting against the “death” of their salaries.
It is the repressive system which he believes has to be decimated.
More: The Zimbabwean
Doug. It is not Mugabe culture its Zimbabwean culture. Dont forget that whites left 2 classes of people, low density people and rural people. There are more people who are happy working and still maintaining rural homes its a culture Doug and it is there to stay
Mugabe was a terrible man. He might have started off with good intentions but once in power that quickly disappeared. This man was solely responsible for stealing what could be hundreds of millions from the treasury, creating no industrial, political, humanitarian or social improvements only declines with 80% unemployment rate, massive corruption, a worthless currency, and systemic repression of a large portion of the population. I would say he is up there in the top echelon of historical rogues gallery of bad humans.