Recently, Advocate Fadzayi Mahere posted a thought-provoking thread on social media commemorating the fifth anniversary of Robert Mugabe’s death.
Using the hashtag #DearBob, she invited Zimbabweans to leave messages for Mugabe, prompting a flood of responses that focused on the legacy of the former dictator and the men he left in charge of Zimbabwe.
Many blamed Mugabe’s “apprentices”—the so-called monsters now running the country.
But this perspective misses a crucial point, President Emmerson Mnangagwa (ED) is not some incorrigible monster sculpted by Mugabe.
Instead, he is just a man—a not particularly bright one, surrounded by mercenaries paid to protect him.
The regime itself is nothing more than a fragile house of cards, riddled with factions, jealousy, and internal power struggles. It is a cabal of honorless thieves, a dictatorship that would collapse in the face of real, united opposition.
History is filled with dictatorships far more powerful than ZANU-PF, led by tyrants smarter and more ruthless than Mnangagwa, with armies that were larger, better equipped, and better fed.
Yet, all these dictatorships fell when their people united against them. In Zimbabwe, however, we continue to let a small, disorganized group of leaders maintain their grip on power, even as they loot and destroy the country.
Imagine the power of a hundred thousand determined Zimbabweans, or even a million, rising up in unison.
Tear gas, water cannons, and AK-47s can not stop such a force. And yet, despite facing a regime that would crumble under pressure, Zimbabweans remain passive.
We are not held back by the power of ZANU-PF leaders, but by our own inaction and fear.
So, who are the real monsters Mugabe left behind? Not Mnangagwa, not his mercenaries, not the corrupt officials enriching themselves at the expense of the nation. It’s us—the people.
We are the ones Mugabe created: a gutless, mentally enslaved populace of 15 million, watching silently as our country is stripped of its wealth and our futures are destroyed.
Our youth face 95% unemployment and a bleak future, yet we do nothing.
Our children and older people suffer from hunger and poverty, but we remain silent.
Our nation’s natural resources, our inheritance, are stolen by a handful of powerful individuals, and we just shrug it off.
When our heroes, activists, and protectors are abducted, tortured, and jailed in broad daylight for daring to speak out, we watch and move on with our lives.
Instead of uniting against the regime, we turn on each other.
We lash out at opposition leaders who are striving to lead the fight for change, rather than directing our anger at those truly responsible.
We are quick to say “pakaipa” (it’s bad) and continue with our misery, choosing resignation over action.
The truth is, we are the monsters Mugabe created. Mugabe didn’t just leave behind a ruthless regime; he left behind a broken people, too scared to fight for their rights and too disillusioned to demand a better future.
The call to action is clear: Zimbabwe’s destiny is in our hands, not those of the few in power.
It’s time to stop watching from the sidelines and start taking back our country.
