TWENTY-NINE years ago in Rwanda, more than a million people of that country’s minority Tutsi ethnic group were murdered mainly by the majority Hutu community.
When the genocide was later rewound and replayed to understand what factors fuelled the killings, it emerged that the media played a central role in perpetuating the violent murder of innocent Rwandans.
During the genocide, the media was singled out as the main source of propaganda which incited hatred, violence against and massacre of Tutsis. The propaganda also advocated similar consequences for Hutus who were calling for peace and were married to Tutsis.
As Zimbabwe fast approaches its ninth general elections, we recall this very harrowing Rwandan event and hope it crudely jogs the local media to critically introspect its role in Zimbabwe’s rising violence ahead of the August 23 polls.
It is a very sad and troubling reality that Zimbabwean media is currently so deeply divided and polarised along political lines that it is increasingly worrying that many appear completely blind to their watchdog role as far as cooling down political temperatures is concerned.
It is quite depressing that the country's media can, at this critical moment, afford to pander to the whims of politicians to the extent of downplaying the violence in our midst. For instance, in the wake of the murder of a Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activist in Harare last week, it breaks the heart that some among us chose to dismiss the politically-motivated murder as a car accident.
It comes as real shock that some among us are prepared to sink so low as to disrespect human life by distorting facts regarding the loss of human life. As the media, we must respect the sanctity of human life and its loss by simply sticking to the truth or keeping quiet if we are not sure of the facts behind the death, otherwise we risk destroying the humanity in us by trivialising the gruesome loss of life.
The trivialisation of loss of human life was also quite apparent last year when two CCC activists Moreblessing Ali and Mboneni Ncube were callously murdered, but the Zimbabwean media never coalesced to speak with one voice over the murders.
- Chamisa party defiant after ban
- Village Rhapsody: How Zimbabwe can improve governance
- News in depth: Partisan police force persecutes opposition, shields Zanu PF rogue elements
- Chamisa chilling death threat bishop defiant
Keep Reading
Last week’s murder of yet another CCC member, Tinashe Chitsunge, who was stoned to death by suspected ruling party activists, appears to have yet again failed to unite the country’s media to speak with one voice against such despicable violence perpetrated on fellow citizens. What picture are we portraying as a media? Do these victims not deserving our empathy by us simply telling the truth about their demise? Should the murder of any one of us, regardless of who they are, not unite us to call for justice?
As the media, truthfully reporting the violence around the August 23 polls, regardless of the perpetrator, is the best way to de-escalate this violence which keeps haunting us. We should call out each other because that is the only way we can bring about lasting sanity in this country.
