A member of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) Douglas Coltart said President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s administration’s heavy-handedness when dealing with its critics indicates that it is clues and bereft of ideas on how to solve the crises bedevilling the country.
Coltart also called for genuine and inclusive dialogue that goes beyond political parties and embraces all stakeholders. He said:
The regime feels threatened and is in a corner. They have no clue how to get the country out of the crisis, so you end up lashing out at anyone and everyone. They should take responsibility and sort the crisis.
… we do need dialogue, we need genuine and inclusive dialogue beyond just political parties but that includes citizens, trade unions and other stakeholders.
The reality is that the regime is not genuine about dialogue, so as a first step, we need to acknowledge that all of us have a role to play and we need to figure out what that role is.
Coltart has recently been on the receiving end of police brutality. He was assaulted while representing a client, Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president Obert Masaraure.
The young lawyer, who is Caucasian, was labelled a racist by MDC-T vice president Obert Gutu and accused by government officials of bribing doctors to remain on strike.
A regieme based on Chinese principles cannot stand criticism so critique them at all available opportunities as their legitimacy relies on subservience and denial of truth
I dont think people like Coltart are sincere. We do not need a white man to tell us what is wrong in our country. We really know what is wrong – mis-governance by former liberators and fake concern for our welfare by the former privileged class like the Coltarts. We need to reject both narratives. The former colonialists can’t be our new liberators and our former liberators have completely lost direction. We need new thinking and direction – genuine Pan-Africanist agenda will take us out of our situation.