EDITORIAL COMMENT: Motlanthe Commission must be supported Mr Kgalema Motlanthe

The commission of inquiry into the violence that occurred in Harare on August 1 started its work on Saturday, two days after President Mnangagwa had sworn in the seven-member team.

He tasked former South Africa President, Mr Kgalema Motlanthe and six other eminent persons to probe the circumstances leading to the death of six people in the violence that happened as MDC Alliance supporters protested after it emerged that their party was losing elections that had been held two days earlier.

The opposition activists blocked traffic, stoned passersby, burnt vehicles and looted shops. Police were overwhelmed, so they appealed for support from the military. Soldiers quickly moved in as the violence intensified and contained it but unfortunately six people died and others were injured in the process.

Other members of the commission are British international law expert Mr Rodney Dixon, former Commonwealth secretary general Emeka Anyaoku from Nigeria, former Tanzania People’s Defence Forces General Davis Mwamunyange, University of Zimbabwe lecturers Professors Lovemore Madhuku and Charity Manyeruke and former Law Society of Zimbabwe president Vimbai Nyemba.

Among other terms of reference, the commission will inquire into the circumstances leading to the post-election violence; to identify the actors and their leaders, their motive and strategies employed in the protests as well as looking into the circumstances that necessitated the involvement of the military in assisting in the maintenance of law and order.

In addition, the commissioners will consider whether the degree of force used was proportionate to the ensuing threat to public safety, law and order and ascertain the extent of damage or injury caused.

Mr Motlanthe and company have a big task which will take them three months to complete. It will involve long hours of interviews, reading volumes upon volumes of literature, listening and paying close attention to detail. Because of the political nature of the inquiry, a few incidents cannot be ruled out.

However, all concerned are encouraged to make the investigation much easier by supporting the team, not to attack them or cast aspersions on the integrity of some of its members.

A man of Mr Motlanthe’s experience appreciates the enormity of the job at hand.

He told journalists on Saturday:

“Following our swearing-in, we have today begun the work of the Commission. It is our intention to begin with public hearings in mid-October this year.

Between now and then, we will be inviting and expect submissions from institutions and members of the public to reach the secretariat by not later than 12 October, 2018. I wish to take this opportunity on behalf of the Commission to call on all Zimbabweans to embrace and fully participate in the work of the Commission. It is our intention to interact with communities in Harare and outside. . . . I once again reiterate that in doing our work and as per our mandate, we will listen to all the views from all sectors of the people of Zimbabwe on what transpired on that fateful day. We will do our work diligently, professionally and in a transparent manner without fear or favour. Ultimately, our goal is to assist the people of Zimbabwe find lasting unity, healing and reconciliation.”

We trust Mr Motlanthe and his colleagues to get to the bottom of a matter that marred the immediate post-election period that followed what is probably the most closely contested but peaceful election in our history.

As already observed, we urge our people to make their contributions to the probe in a responsible manner. There is no need for anyone to incite hatred against anyone, to instill fear in the minds of anyone or to hide anything. We implore our people to demonstrate maturity which they exhibited during the campaign for the July 30 poll and an almost similar endeavour in the history of our country, the 2010 Constitution outreach.

The public hearings that preceded the drafting of the national constitution we now have were potentially violence-prone given the stakes involved, but our people showed that a diversity of opinions is not cause for fighting. At the end of the day, the country came up with a constitution we are all proud of. We expect that behaviour to be replicated as the Motlanthe Commission seeks to establish the facts around the August 1 violence.

We are, however, a little disturbed by the noises coming from MDC Alliance, with some of its leaders criticising Professors Manyeruke and Madhuku. We have no idea why they are critical of the two, because in our view, both are professional people who are knowledgeable about local politics and the law.
What is the alliance fearful of, why are they uncomfortable with these two only and not the other five members?

Be that as it may, we call upon all citizens to play a constructive role in this inquiry, which is not out to condemn anyone but to point out weaknesses, if any are found, so that we build a stronger, peaceful, tolerant, law-abiding and economically prosperous democracy.

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