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Grace Chekai
Correspondent
The unprincipled lust for power by the MDC-Alliance (MDC-A), which for over two decades has been failing to unseat the incumbent, has now prompted them to turn to Machiavellian ideology where anything that seems to bring grist to their regime change agenda is taken on board regardless of it being godless.
In pursuit of their devious political strategy, the past couple of months was characterised by the generation and distribution of malicious fake news.
All this was meant to tarnish the image of Zimbabwe, more so as the West reviews sanctions it imposed on the country.
The MDC-Alliance has perfected this diabolical propaganda technique in pursuit of their “kudira jecha” strategy, also meant to mess up the Government’s efforts of turning around the economy.
Lately, the Government had to release statement after statement refuting mischievous fake news that infectiously go viral.
The Government had to expend precious development time managing issues of fake news.
Falsehoods during this Covid-19 pandemic, which the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus termed infodemic, has reached unprecedented levels, with some supporters of the MDC-Alliance and activists in the past week celebrating the deaths of Zanu PF officials and disseminating false death announcements of other officials in the ruling party.
This un-African and immoral behaviour of celebrating death and pronouncing predictions for others saw the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Aaron Nhepera, issuing a statement warning Zimbabweans against spreading fake news on the death of the leadership of the country as it “infringes on other people’s rights and cause unnecessary distress and anguish among the people affected.”
For clarity context and as a cautionary emphasis, peddlers of fake news must not overlook the fact that their trade violates the country’s laws.
Section 31 of the Criminal Code states: “Publishing or communicating a statement intending or realising risk or possibility of inciting or promoting public order or public violence or endangering public safety, with alternative charge, sec 31 (a)(iii) – undermining public confidence in law enforcement agency.”
The MDC-Alliance spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere, that party’s national vice chairperson, Job Sikhala and activist Hopewell Chin’ono learnt this the hard way when they were earlier this month arrested for breaching this law.
The trio tweeted alleging that a police officer had struck and killed a little baby with a baton in Harare.
Despite clarification from the police after investigation, the trio went on to publish this with the intention to tarnish the image of the Government as per their party’s agenda.
However, their arrest should be a foretaste of what is going to happen going forth. Unrepentant falsehoods peddlers should be dealt with in the same manner.
One can actually conclude that desperation in the opposition party has reached some shameless levels, to cover up their lack of political strategy to unseat Zanu PF from power.
The social media, which the opposition has adopted as a duck to the water, is no strategy, they can inquire that from Bobi Wine, an opposition figure in Uganda, who recently lost an election despite claiming popular social media presence.
Nelson Chamisa himself can attest to that truth.
He has learnt that social media followers do not translate to votes and most of the social media brigades who make the loudest noise are diasporans who do not vote.
Even if some of them are locally based and have a chance to vote, most of these social media characters do not bother to register as voters.
Social media remains a powerful communication tool, but can never be a substitute for political strategy nor is propagating falsehoods a substitute for viable developmental projects that endear voters to their preferred candidates.
Zimbabweans need to desist from using social media platforms as means to cause divisions and hostility through publishing falsehoods. Zimbabweans would rather concentrate on building the nation than being seized with publishing falsehoods.
All citizens want a better Zimbabwe.
Social media falsehoods cannot be a tool to unseat a constitutionally-elected government because at the end of the day, the truth always comes out.
Recently, social media was awash with lies that the Covid-19 vaccine will be insufficient to cater for all Zimbabweans.
As such, the fake news peddlers manufactured a naked lie that insinuated that the vaccine will only be given to the Government officials, health practitioners and the security sector.
The Government had to put the record straight, again, using the time that was supposed to be expended on development issues.
According to the Government, Zimbabwe actually plans to buy sufficient coronavirus vaccines to inoculate about two-thirds of its population.
Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) continues to surpass targets and these surpluses combined with prudent expenditure can suffice to buy the vaccines for the entire population. To help curb the rampant generation and distribution of fake news on social media, the Cyber Security and Data Protection Bill must be enacted as a matter of urgency.
The Bill is currently at its advanced stage of enactment.
The proposed law has a clause that seeks to punish any person who distributes, makes available or broadcasts messages concerning a person knowing it to be false, intending to cause psychological or economic harm.
Part 11, section 164C of the imminent law states: “Any person who unlawfully and intentionally by means of a computer or information system makes available, broadcasts or distributes data to any other person concerning an identified or identifiable person knowing it to be false with intend to cause psychological or economic harm shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding level 10 or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or to both such fine and such imprisonment.”
It is also encouraging that the new fines for Covid-19 national lockdown offences are quite deterrent to fake news merchants.
According to the proposed new fines, C.S (14) S.1 83.20, one will be taken to court with no option for a fine if one “publishes or communicates false news about any public officer, official or enforcement officer involved with enforcing or implementing the national lockdown.”
With these measures in the offing, peddling of fake news is soon coming to a halt.
We will then await another unprincipled political strategy, if they still have energy to craft one.
However, it’s unfortunate that the fake news peddlers have found support in some Western embassies in the country.
The irony of it is that citizens who commit similar crimes in their home countries are being punished, even more severe than what their local Trojan horses get.
What’s good for the goose is good for the gander.
Online Reporter