Civic Society resolves to unite in peaceful protests for new constitution

By Tererai Karimakwenda
23 March 2006

An all stakeholders conference organised by Zimbabwe’s largest civic groups on Wednesday resolved to take action as a united front and push for a new constitution. The gathering took place in Mutare and involved the labour movement, churches, student and civic groups. There was a consensus that the current crisis of governance and economic decay were the result of erosion in the constitutional framework. The idea now is to focus all combined energies and push for constitutional reforms from the government. This resolution came just days after MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai called for a popular uprising against the Mugabe regime, and after threats by state security minister Didymus Mutasa who warned that the government would “eliminate” people who upset the security of the country.

Among the groups present at the Mutare conference Wednesday were the National Constitutional Assembly, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, Zimbabwe Council of Churches, Zimbabwe National Students Union, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, the Women’s Coalition and Bulawayo Agenda. They are all considered to be powerful national institutions with many disgruntled members. This is the first time that a united approach has been attempted in the struggle to dislodge ZANU-PF.

Jacob Mafume of The National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations told us the groups believe Zimbabweans have now identified who the true enemy to democracy and progress is in the country. He said the people now recognise there cannot be any change without sacrifice, and are willing to sacrifice life and limb in the fight for a better life. Mafume said by being more brutal and by investing more into the destruction of people’s lives, the government loses even more in the way of moral authority.

Mafume also cautioned those who may think change will come quickly. He said change is a process and not an event. The conference resolved to consult as many Zimbabweans as possible about their intended actions. There was no specific time frame set but Mafume said it is understood there is an urgency. He added: “The important thing is that people realise that they must start doing something.”