The fear that Mugabe instils

Robert Mugabe is right – he instils fears. Not only in the western leaders but his own Zanu-PF members.

He instils fear in any sensible Zimbabwean who thinks about the future. Cares about the next generation.

There is no other explanation as to why his party has kept him for close to 40 years as a leader. Now it's clear that they are afraid of him. That he scares. This is why nobody has survived standing against him. They all went either into oblivion or were eaten by poverty.

Where has it ever happened that an elected leader can still be at the helm of a country at 90 years? Worse leading a country that has been badly gnawed by bad governance. Maybe he is still there because the country and its people are dead. Cadavers. The walking dead.

Even now, his party has nominated him for 2018! That's what fear does to people. Numbs them into zombies. The reason why his party people are picking on his wife Grace to lead them. And by the look of things, Grace will ride rough shod over us.

This is also maybe why the whole country still vote for him. They fear that if they let him go, he will haunt them for eternity. It's as if he is not haunting the country even in his twilight years.

It's as if he has not sent enough fear into this generation and the next five generations who will never enjoy universal rights to a free education. Decent housing. Clean water. Electricity. Good roads. Decent Jobs.

He will haunt Zimbabwe's history in the next 50 years. He will be a chapter in the history of the country most people would love to tear out. Pages worth skipping. He is a blotch. A dark cloud in a clear sky.

Yes, Mugabe is right. He is scary. Simba Makoni will attest to this. He tried to take Mugabe on. Where is Simba today? Such a promising man. Intelligent. Articulate like Mugabe. An apparent heir to the Zanu-PF throne. Today Mavambo became the end of Simba.

If Tekere was alive, he would also have attested to how Mugabe sends shivers of fear into brave people's lives. Mugabe is one man whom adversaries will never survive. This is because if you are Zanu-PF, chances are that everything you own and are belongs to Mugabe. If you stand against him, he takes back his life. You die poor. Tekere died poor. Watch Simba Makoni. He will die poor. Enos Nkala too died ordinary.

The same applies to all the praise-singers. They came in empty-handed. Mugabe gave them everything. Even those like Psychology Maziwisa who used to rant and rave at Mugabe, they came back after realising that they need wealth.

This is how it works. The fear Mugabe instils in us. But I cry for my children. And their children.