READING through certain sections of the media, one would get the impression that the barricading of roads, looting of shops and burning of private property and other such unpalatable events of January 13-15 are events which never happened in Zimbabwe.

Instead, the so-called private media and some Western media houses, in conjunction with social media, have gone hysterical about allegations of brutality and torture by law enforcement agents.

Yet paradoxically, it is these very security agents who were instrumental in restoring order to the troubled high density suburbs.

Of course negative stories about our security situation is what Western powers leading the regime change onslaught want to hear.

What is disturbing, however, is that these cases are not reported to the police for verification and possible prosecution.

Nobody approves of acts of brutality, torture, rape or any other such vices in a society which respects the rule of law.

The law is blind as to who the perpetrator is.

We have, for example, allegations of widespread rape by members of the military doing the rounds.

Regrettably, these cases have not been reported to the police. 

Yet cases of mischief by security personnel that have been reported have not been swept under the carpet as the alleged perpetrators have already come face-to-face with the long arm of the law.

These ‘victims’ have not even bothered to report to independent pro-women and anti-gender-based violence organisations like Musasa Project and Adult Rape Clinic.

But they have had the guts to nicodemously visit so-called human rights activists, who have in turn climbed to the top of Mt Everest to announce the unverified reports to the world.

It looks like, to them, the supposed trauma suffered by these ‘victims’ is collateral damage.

And this gives rise to inevitable suspicion.

That is why sometimes we are tempted to believe that these anonymous ‘victims’ are people paid by these regime change agents to cook up these stories.

This has happened before — not once, but on a number of occasions.

We know the reason is to tarnish the image of the country and present it as a state ripe for international intervention to bring about regime change.

This explains why anti-Government groups like the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights could not be left behind in taking their part.

Their exaggeration of the extent of the shootings by law enforcement agents is not by accident.

What raises eyebrows, however, is the apparent interest by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) in joining the regime change bandwagon.

Why the ZHRC report chose to ignore the events of January 13-15 2019, when the senseless wanton destruction of property by MDC Alliance-incited hoodlums was there for all to see, only the devil knows.

In the end, their report is blatantly biased and looks like a document deliberately designed to please regime change strategists.

We are happy with the swift action taken to bring offending culprits to book.

Police are even encouraging all those who have cases to report to do so without fear or favour.

Criminals, no matter who they are, should not be allowed to roam freely in our society.

Civil society and those political parties bent on pleasing their paymasters by causing alarm and despondency must think again.