An Urgent Plea for Reason & Restraint
To the administration of Zimbabwe and All Citizens
As Zimbabwe stands on the precipice of 31st March 2025, gripped by escalating tensions and internal power struggles within Zanu PF, we at ZHRO implore all state actors and Zimbabweans to pause and reflect.
The alarming signs of an impending violent reaction from the State, particularly the Police and potentially the military, threaten to plunge our beloved nation into chaos and bloodshed. Yet, there remains a fleeting window of opportunity to avert catastrophe. We beseech President Mnangagwa and his administration to recognize that brute force cannot extinguish the smouldering crises afflicting Zimbabwe. Like pouring petrol on a fire, such actions will only inflame the desperation of an already weary populace.
The Executive must ease its foot off the accelerator, for it is speeding toward a precipice from which all, especially innocent civilians, may plummet to ruin. By failing to steward the nation's affairs and safeguard citizens from economic-triggered instability, the current leadership has itself become a peril to Zimbabwe's stability and security. No amount of violence, nor payments to police, military, or youth to act as mercenaries, can remedy the dog-eat-dog circumstances into which Zimbabwe has descended. Arresting innocent people rather than the rot consuming our society will only hasten the end.
While repression of the masses in cities and towns may seem a convenient short-term tactic, neglecting the underlying causes risks unleashing a nightmare surpassing South Africa's xenophobic attacks or the Rwandan Genocide. In an atmosphere of fear and mistrust, neighbour may turn against neighbour in an uncontrollable spiral of killing.
If the State persists on this path, it may forfeit control over national security entirely, driving Zimbabwe into unimaginable chaos and loss of life. We demand constitutionally enshrined human security for all Zimbabweans now - a security that no number of boots on the ground or guns can deliver. There is still time to choose a different course, to seek enduring solutions over temporary suppression. We appeal to the patriotism of all Zimbabweans, within the regime and without, to pull our country back from the brink.
In hope and resolve,
John C Burke, ZHRO Founder