(1)There r many civil society orgs that were, or are now Lacoste.There is one prominent elections NGO which invited me to present a paper in BYO on the 2018 elections. After other presenters had glossed over what I believed were critical issues 4 the holding of credible elections
(2)I chose to situate my presentation on the electoral environment which I believe, bcaz of the coup, was a poisoned chalice inimical to the holding of free & credible elections. The director of the NGO was very nervous about what I was about to discuss.
(3) I wld say that the Junta used a combination of tribalism, intimidation & money to cow down a lot of activists. I have worked with some of these cdes during the RGM era, listened to their presentations then, but NEVER seen them as afraid as they were in BYO after 2018 polls.
(4) The director of the NGO called me b4 my presentation to check with me if I was going to present anything subversive. I was startled as well as angry caz this was someone I had written presentation papers for b4, someone who knew my professional & truthful approach to issues.
(5) She even tried to threaten that if I presented anything deemed unpalatable to the Junta, I won't be invited to her organization's future seminars. I got even more angry but did not want to show it waiting for my opportunity when I had the floor.
(6) When it was my time to present, I opened my presentation by declaring that it was unGodly to fear & be forced to lie out of fear, that as a Christian I was delivered from the demon of fear, therefore, I wasn't going to stand infront of my esteemed audience & lie.
(7) By so doing, I knew I was winning over the moderator, a renowned Rev who is a very senior citizen. I looked into his eyes, & could see I had struck the right chord. l went on to outline that the 2018 elections were the most violent in recent times on the following basis
(8) (a) that they were held during a coup period.The electoral period was officially launched with the registration of Pres Mugabe at State House on 14 Sept 2017, therefore the coup was part of the 2018 election environment.I noted the reasons for the coup which were electoral.
(9) (b) I made an argument that a regime that comes to power thru military force has no incentive to entertain democratic processes that can cost it the power it usurped through guns & military tanks. I quoted statements by Mukupe & Hungwe that the army was going to stop Chamisa
10) from winning & that "ED was going to shoot to stay in power " I pointed out the role the army played in taking over Zanu-PF out of the fear of losing elections & how they killed pple on 1 Aug 2018 for "ED to stay in power" as Hungwe had promised. (c) I also pointed out that
(11) for the first time since the 1980 election campaign, we had a bomb detonated at a political campaign rally & people died yet some pple want to tell us that the 2018 elections were the most peaceful. (d) I also reminded my audience that the 1 Aug 2018 shootings
(12) in front of international media cameras, during which 7 civilians lost their lives while several others, some give the number as 42, were b4 the official announcement of the election results thus were part of the events linked to the 2018 elections, which, unfortunately,
(13) some people would like to describe as peaceful. Hundreds of people died during the coup, 7 died on 1 August in televised army shootings while 5 died after the 💣 blast at White City stadiums yet some revisionists want to tell us the 2018 elections were peaceful.
14) (e)Our supporters in Hurungwe East had their houses burnt down by Junta-PF militias while 60ha of maize belonging to our candidate in the constituency, Mrs Sarah Mahoka, was burnt by regime goons & her campaign motorbikes were forcibly taken away & dumped at a police station
15) where she couldn't take them back for 2 weeks, yet some people wanted us to believe this was peaceful political contestation. I was glad the moderator bought into my observation & he then opened up to what he witnessed in Byo during the elections which muddied the environment
(16) Our host NGO was not enthused by my submissions, I could see fear written on the director's face & it presented me with an opportunity to ask if anyone was not afraid of speaking against the military regime in power in the country. When everyone went dead silent
(17) I passed my conclusion that if the environment was peaceful, free & conducive for free, fair & credible elections, why was my audience afraid of freely evaluating the elections? Indeed the military junta has used the fear currency to cow down critics.
(18) Others, mostly my fellow Karangas that I know, including the director of our host NGO in Byo, have been made to believe this is our time to eat, thus we don't have to see no evil nor hear any evil, after all, it's bad manners to speak when one is eating, isn't it?
19) So yes, @LynneStactia , a lot of NGOs, activists & CSOs were either bought, intimidated or simply sold a dummy into suoporting the junta. The result is that Woza is captured, Zvorwadza captured,Tajamuka captured, #ThisFlag compromised, some bishops & rabbons, r eating.
(20) A lot has to be done. I hope the unmitigated looting by those in power now is going to disabuse a lot of cdes from the election nonsense that we had to give ED a chance, Zim is closed for business but open for looting, it is therefore our business to open it up for business. 
