Published: July 18, 2008
By Julian Evans
Roy Bennett is the treasurer of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the main opposition party in Zimbabwe, which pulled out of the presidential elections in June after widespread violence and intimidation against its supporters by the ruling Zanu-PF party, led by Robert Mugabe.
Bennett is a hero to the opposition movement in Zimbabwe, though an enemy of the government, who have seized his farm, attacked his family, and imprisoned him. Last year, he successfully applied for asylum in South Africa.
Here, in an exclusive interview, the second-in-command of the MDC tells emeafinance why time is on the MDC's side in their struggle for democracy in Zimbabwe.
emeafinance: There have been some reports that Mugabe wanted to step down after the parliamentary elections, and was forced to run by senior military figures from the ZanuPF. So who is in charge of Zimbabwe at the moment, Robert Mugabe or the senior hierarchy of ZanuPF?
Roy Bennett: ZanuPF is headed by Mugabe. They've been in charge for 28 years, and in that time have patronized a whole system of government with the appointment of bureaucrats, civil servants and military generals. All the top spots are filled by people from the army. The commissioner of police is from the army. The head of intelligence is from the army. The head of the prison system is from the army. So basically there's been a military coup over the last 28 years. If Mugabe stood down, it would be no different at all. The people around him are as bad and sometimes worse as him. Each one needs the other, because many have committed atrocities.
emeafinance: Mugabe is now 84. How healthy is he?
RB: He's very healthy. What some people in the West don't understand is that witchcraft plays a very deep role around people like Mugabe. He has spirit mediums who he visits, who assure him he'll live forever. Call it positive thinking or whatever, but that's how he continues in such good health.
emeafinance: I heard that during the LIberation War against the UK in 1980, ZanuPF paid off local spirit mediums to say that they were the incarnation of the ancestor spirits, and so they must be supported and fed, and that's partly why there is still loyalty to him among some parts of the population.
RB: If you call fear loyalty, then he enjoys loyalty. He got people to follow him during the Liberation War in exactly the same way as he gets them to support him during this election campaign. In every single constituency Zanu set up a base camp, and every person was rounded up and taken to the base camp, where they were indoctrinated, forced to chant revolutionary slogans, and beaten if they didn't.
emeafinance: Is that what's been happening over the last few weeks in the run-up to the election?
RB: It's exactly the same, right across the country. What happens is 100-150 ZanuPF loyalists arrive in an area. They round up the population, identify the opposition supporters, destroy their land and livestock, then indoctrinate them, tell them they are sell-outs and traitors, working for colonialists, beat them in public, even get fathers and mothers to beat their own children. It's an absolute replica of what they did during the Liberation War.
emeafinance: How many MDC supporters have been killed?
RB: We've identified over 60 people, but it could be many more.
emeafinance: And I suppose many more have been put in prison?
RB: Of course.
emeafinance: You yourself were in prison for eight months for shoving the ZanuPF justice minister during an argument. How would you describe conditions in Zimbabwe's prisons?
RB: It's an absolutely terrible environment. It's one of the worst institutions in Zimbabwe. It's incredibly over-crowded. The prison cells are designed for 4 people and mattresses. Now, they have bare cells, no beds, and they're crammed with people. You have to sleep on the floor, on your side. If you get up to go to the loo during the night, you can't find a place to lie down again, so you have to remain standing in the toilet area for the whole night. The walls on the prison run with the condensation of sweat, there's a lack of access to water, very little food, no protein. It's horrific.
emeafinance: And the people in the prison helped protect you during your incarceration?
RB: Yeah, the prisoners and the guards tried to protect me. I was very fortunate. Because of my circumstances, because the guards recognized my part in the struggle for democracy, I was treated very well. I was by far the oldest person there, at 37. The average was about 25. They were usually in prison for nothing, for trivial crimes. Wanting to help them has driven me on harder than ever.
emeafinance: The MDC has now pulled out of the election, saying they're not free and fair.
RB: Anyone who thinks they are free and fair belongs in a mental asylum. Now there may be moves to create a government of national unity, to try and buy off some of the opposition and get them to join. But we're a movement born out of the people. We represent the people, and there's no way Morgan [Tsvangirai, the leader of the MDC] will get sucked in. We won the parliamentary election. This is an illegitimate regime. And we have time on our side, all the time in the world.
emeafinance: I'm surprised Mugabe bothers to have elections, when he says there's no way MDC will ever rule Zimbabwe.
RB: They have to have elections, to attain legitimacy. They've stolen the elections every time. In the 2002 presidential election, the South African election observers said that the whole election was rigged. But because of the total lack of action, they continued to rule. If you allow people to do bad things and get away with it, it makes them more blatant. It gets to the point where it's impossible not to recognize the nature of the regime.
emeafinance: Have you been disappointed that president Mbeki of South Africa hasn't criticized the Zimbabwe government?
RB: I've been hurt, considering the close relationship between the two countries. When South Africa was fighting for freedom, the Zimbabwean people welcomed the freedom fighters with open arms. But those same former freedom fighters are now refusing to offer Zimbabwe the same sort of recognition and support in its struggle.
emeafinance: Have you had any contact with the South African government while you've been in Jo'burg?
RB: I've had no contact with the government. They've never recognized us. They see us as the enemy. The only respite we saw was some support from the new leadership of the ANC. We now enjoy a relationship with Jacob Zuma [president of the ANC and probable successor to president Mbeki], who has a completely different perception of the situation. There's a normal solidarity there with the will of the Zimbabwe people. When he is president, it will be very different circumstances.
emeafinance: So how bad a state is the economy right now?
RB: We're now Friday [June 20]. A week ago, it was Z$3.8bn to the dollar. When the market opened on Monday, it was Z$5bn to the dollar. Now, it's around Z$14bn to the dollar. The only thing propping up the economy is the working class whom Mugabe has forced abroad, who are sending money back to their families.
emeafinance: What needs to be done to get the economy back on its feet?
RB: It's very simple. First, stabilize the currency. Second, bring back the rule of law and introduce a constitution. Third, bring a level of democratic change that gives investors the confidence to bring investment into the country. Start off with political change, because the current leadership have introduced policies that have totally destroyed the economy. There's a great deal of foreign investment waiting on the sidelines for political change.
emeafinance: I'm impressed by the bravery of MDC supporters in Zimbabwe, risking their lives.
RB: You don't realize the levels of commitment people have to their country. It's no braver than struggles for freedom in other countries. The difference is that Zimbabwe has absolutely no support from other countries. The people of Zimbabwe know what they want. Until they receive their democratic rights, they won't give up. Time is on their side. All these policies of violence and subjugation are clearly not working.
emeafinance: What would you like to see the international community do?
RB: We need action to support the freedom struggle right across the board. That means stopping international companies like Rio Tinto and Anglo-American from assisting the regime. We need logistic support. And we need moral support.