Views of A Citizen

Introduction The recent decision by the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights in the case of The Association for the Advancement of Defence of Women better known by its French name as the Assoc'a Tion Poitr Le Progres Et La Defense Des Dro'tsDes Femmes Maltennes (APDF) & The Institute For Human Rights AndDevelopment In Africa (IHRDA) vs Republic Of Mali , handed down on the 18th of May 2018, is a welcome development on the African continent in so far as the rights of women and children are concerned. The judgement provides a solid judicial argument for the advancement of women and children's rights in African societies many of which are still deeply rooted in customs and traditions including religious practices that are inimical to the rights and interests of these two societal groups. This landmark ruling has, being the first by the continental Court to comprehensively deal with rights of women and children, underlined that States are under stringent obligati...

The 30 th of July 2018 shall be remembered by Zimbabweans as an important day in the political and constitutional history of Zimbabwe. This is an historical day Zimbabweans will go to the polls to elect the new leadership of the country with a mandate to exercise political power for the next five years. More significantly,the day marks the first time the ruling ZANU PF party goes to an election without its long serving leader, Mr. Robert Mugabe, following his unceremonious overthrow in a military assisted transition and the subsequent installation of his long time political ally Mr. Emmerson D. Mnangagwa. Equally significant is that the leading opposition political party, the MDC, will also be participating in this election under the stewardship of a new leader, Advocate Nelson Chamisa, who rose to occupy the much coveted and contested seat of party President, albeit in controversial circumstances, following the passing on of its longtime leader and former Prime Minister in the 20...

The recent revelations by the United State Agency for International Development (USAID) regarding alleged abuse of development aid funds disbursed by the organisation to some of the Civil Society Organisations in Zimbabwe raises serious issues regarding the true intention behind the proliferation of these organisations in recent years as well as their accountability in the managements of donor funds. The diversion of funds from the primary objective by those entrusted to administer such funds does not only undermine the primary objectives behind such funding initiatives and the very existence of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) but also put the image of the country into bad perspective, particularly at a time when serious dialogue is needed to move the development agenda of the country forward. The important role of CSOs Society Organisations as a watchdog of the government in its exercise of governmental functions should not be overemphasised. However, one important lesson ...

The horrible intra party political violence that rocked the opposition MDC-T political party in the recent past days is a serious cause for concern to the generality of the people especially when the country is preparing to go to the polls in the next few months. Just a few weeks back, the newspapers were also awash with headlines of ZANU-PF supporters terrorising villagers in the Hwedza area as the ruling party is gearing towards the primary elections to choose the candidates to represent the party in the 2018 elections. These ugly episodes point to some serious systematic challenges that are affecting the political lives of the generality of the Zimbabwean society. There is an urgent need on the part of the political parties' leadership and the general law enforcement machinery to take an active and lead role in addressing this issue and also to ensure that going forward there will not be a repeat of such ugly incidents. It has to be noted that the safety and security of the p...

The recent trip to the US by the leadership of the coalition opposition political parties in Zimbabwe has drawn mixed feelings among the politicians, the academics, human rights movement as well as the general populace in the country and beyond. Celebrated lawyer and politician, Tendai Biti, a former Minister of Finance in the inclusive government from 2009 to 2013 and Advocate Nelson Chamisa, Deputy President of the MDC who is also a former Minister in the inclusive government, undertook a trip to the US in the aftermath of the “bloodless” military coup that saw the departure of former President Mugabe from power after nearly  four  decades in office and the subsequent installation of the former Vice President E. D. Mnangagwa as the new President of the country.   Several public figures and experts took to social media and expressed their views regarding the visit by these two opposition leaders. Some viewed the visit with a lot of disdain citing that the oppo...