The Sunday News
POLITICALLY-MOTIVATED violence has negative economic effects and should be avoided at all costs. Apart from the direct impact it has on its victims, it deters investment in education and businesses, among other sectors. The fear of violence has driven millions of people away from their homes every year, subjecting them to terrible hardships across the globe.
The Youths Against Violence Organisation is on record challenging youths across the country to cultivate a culture of peace and dialogue in order to ensure economic prosperity. Youths Against Violence is a grouping of more than 150 youths drawn from across the 29 constituencies in Harare which consists of youths from Zanu-PF, National Constitutional Assembly, MDC, Renewal Democrats of Zimbabwe and the MDC-T, among other political parties. The organisation said youths should not be used as a tool by people who intend to cause chaos in the country.
Over the years, opposition political parties have been putting youths at the forefront of demonstrations that have ended up turning violent. Most of the youths turn up for such illegal demonstrations visibly drunk and then start to destroy property and engage in running battles with the police.
What youths have to understand is that they cannot be allowed to commit crimes under the banner of demonstrations. No matter how aggrieved they are, they should seek dialogue or legal recourse. The tragedy of it all is that when the long arm of the law catches the culprits, they face the music alone, with their handlers or so-called seniors out of the picture and enjoying their freedom.
The sending to jail last week of MDC-Alliance activist Makomborero Haruzivishe for engaging in public violence should be a lesson to youths out there. Youths must understand that one cannot commit a crime and not face the consequences. Haruzivishe was jailed for an effective 14 months on charges of incitement to public violence and of stoning police officers in central Harare in February last year when police were arresting illegal vendors.
Harare magistrate Mrs Judith Taruvinga sentenced him to 24 months in jail for incitement to cause public violence but suspended 10 months on condition of good behaviour. She imposed a 12 month-term on the charge of resisting a police officer, a charge arising from throwing stones at a constable but suspended six months on condition of good behaviour.
She ruled that the sentences should be served concurrently, so the longer effective term, the 14 months for incitement, becomes the total effective term. In argument before sentence was passed, prosecutor Mr Moses Mapanga told the court that although it is every citizen’s right to demonstrate, such conduct should be peaceful. He argued for a custodial sentence, whose actions he said were aggravated by the stoning of law enforcement agents who were on duty during the time he demonstrated.
“When the crime of public violence is committed, there is a possibility of property destruction and loss of lives of innocent people, which has been experienced before. It is also noted that the violence was perpetrated on law enforcement agents, which means his blameworthiness is very high.”
