A WEEK or so ago I had a rare opportunity to attend a virtual political discourse organised by the Southern African Political Economy Series Trust. The discourse focused on constitutionalism and militarism. Eminent persons comprising the “who is who” in our nation’s politics partook in the discussion. It was made translucently pellucid that Zimbabwe is far from being a constitutional democracy as militarism has been pervasive, especially after the November 2017 coup. This does not mean that the soldiers have always been in the barracks. The military has always been part of our politics from the late 1960s when our liberators decided to resist both politically and militarily those who oppressed us. This civilian-military relationship continued after independence and was brazen during the Gukurahundi atrocities of the early 1980s. Although the military was not actively involved in our politics during the 1990s, this state of affairs changed drastically after the year 2000 when Zanu PF suffered its first defeat from the opposition Movement for Democratic Change and organised civil society during the February 2000 referendum for a new Constitution. By the time we went to the June 2000 parliamentary and March 2002 presidential elections, Zimbabwe had transformed into a fully fledged military State. Since then, we haven’t known peace. There’s no iota of doubt, therefore, that Zimbabwe needs to move in the direction of constitutionalism by abandoning the politics of militarism we have today. In theory, the Constitution guarantees us fundamental human rights and freedoms. As such, we are allowed to belong to any political party of our choice and to freely express ourselves, including through peaceful protests. Apart from the November 2017 demonstration that was sanctioned by the military, subsequent protests have been violently suppressed to cushion you, Your Excellency, from any form of scrutiny. This gross abuse of the security forces and blatant violation of the supreme law of the land cannot be tolerated. Sir, it’s one thing toppling a tyrant from power and it’s entirely another thing to assume the very characteristics of the tyrant you deposed in a coup. We’re discontent with the manner in which Zimbabwe is being governed. Since November 2017, thuggish elements have been on the rise and it’s time to return the country to civilian and constitutional rule. Our daily struggles revolve around legitimacy and democratic breakdown. You cannot, in all earnest, claim to be democratically elected and upholding the Constitution when your very rule is inimical and antithetical to democratic development and consolidation in Zimbabwe. We’ll not allow the oppressive Zanu PF or the partisan security forces to determine how we register our discontent. Evildoers can’t speak on behalf of the oppressed, we do. You can’t be in power for 40 years and still think you’re capable of addressing the challenges confronting the modern State. The bush and terrorist mentality is pervasive in Zanu PF. It’s only us who can unfetter ourselves from the e