ZIMBABWE CANNOT BE SILENCED BY FEAR ANYMORE

Outspoken activist Obert Masaraure has raised alarm over the shocking arrest of Zimbabwe Independent editor Faith Zaba. Her only crime was publishing truth that President Emmerson Mnangagwa did not like. Now she is facing charges for “undermining the authority of the President.” But for many people in Zimbabwe, the real crime is how far this government will go to stop the media from speaking. It shows a system that fears the truth more than anything else.

Masaraure is not new to this kind of fight. He leads the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe and he has been arrested many times before. But this time, he speaks not only as an activist. He speaks as a tired citizen who has watched his country break down piece by piece. He said, “No, Mnangagwa. Stop it. Zimbabwe is not your tuckshop!” His message is simple. Zimbabwe does not belong to one man. Zimbabwe belongs to the people.

He understands what is happening. This is not about one journalist. This is about power. The government wants the media to stay quiet. They want journalists to stop talking about corruption that steals from the people every day. They want the press to ignore poverty, hunger, police brutality, and growing inequality. But the people of Zimbabwe are not blind. They can see what is going on in their own lives.

Masaraure says the goal is clear. The government wants a media that says nothing about rising hunger. A media that keeps quiet about stolen resources. A media that pretends everything is fine when the country is falling apart. That is not journalism. That is dictatorship. And many Zimbabweans are not ready to accept that.

He called on all citizens to resist with courage and unity. He said people must organise in their own groups and come together. Workers, churches, youth, women, students, traders, and opposition groups all need to join hands. Everyone is feeling the pain. No one is safe under a government that fears news stories and arrests journalists for doing their work.

According to Masaraure, Zimbabwe is moving backwards fast. Our courts and police are now acting like tools of a dictatorship. Some people say it is even worse than what we saw under colonial Rhodesia. Masaraure says if we stay silent, we are betraying those who fought for this land. People like Joshua Nkomo did not suffer and struggle for Zimbabwe to become this.

He also gave a strong warning to government workers and security forces. He said following illegal orders today may hurt them in the future. The system they are helping to build will not protect them forever. One day the same system may turn against them. “The same police will arrest you. The same judges will jail you,” he said. It is a warning many should take seriously.

Masaraure says unity and action are the answer. He reminded the nation that in 2017, people from many groups came together to remove Mugabe. But that same moment opened the door to the crisis we are in today. Now those same groups must come back and fix the damage. ZANU PF, opposition groups, civil society, war veterans, students, media — everyone must face the truth and take responsibility.

This is bigger than one arrest. It is bigger than one bad leader. It is about saving Zimbabwe from a complete slide into dictatorship. It is about protecting the rights of every citizen.

Faith Zaba’s arrest is a warning sign. If a journalist can be jailed for doing her job, then anyone can be next. If truth becomes a crime, then silence becomes a weapon. And that weapon is now being used against all of us.

Zimbabwe does not belong to Emmerson Mnangagwa. It belongs to the people. And it is time the people say so without fear.