Category: zimbabwe

Zimbabwe stands at a critical crossroads in its infrastructure development trajectory. Across the country, roads, water systems, electricity networks and urban infrastructure reveal the deep scars of decades of underinvestment, economic volatility and fragmented planning. Yet at the same time, the state continues to channel billions of dollars into public infrastructure through national budgets, sovereign projects, Chinese-backed financing arrangements and emerging public–private partnerships.

By Brighton Musonza

The central question confronting policymakers is not simply whether Zimbabwe should invest in infrastructure, but whether the country can ensure that those investments generate the highest possible economic and social returns. In many cases, infrastructure projects carry enormous capital costs and long lifecycles, meaning that poor planning decisions can burden the economy for generations.

Around the world, governments are increasingly turning to a technological solution capable of transforming the way infrastructure decisions are made. Known as digital twins, these data-driven virtual replicas of physical systems allow planners to simulate the behaviour of infrastructure before it is built, analyse future risks and optimise investment decisions with unprecedented precision.

For Zimbabwe, where infrastructure choices are often made under severe fiscal constraints and political pressure, the adoption of digital twins could fundamentally reshape how the state approaches development.

Understanding digital twins

A digital twin is essentially a dynamic digital model of a real-world asset or system. It integrates multiple streams of information, including engineering specifications, economic data, environmental variables and real-time operational inputs, to create a continuously evolving representation of infrastructure.

Unlike traditional feasibility studies, which rely on static projections and limited datasets, digital twins allow planners to test thousands of potential scenarios. This means decision-makers can observe how a project behaves under different economic, environmental and demographic conditions long before construction begins.

Consider a government evaluating the construction of a new railway corridor linking mining regions to export terminals. Rather than relying solely on historical transport data or static forecasts, planners could build a digital twin of the entire logistics network. The model could simulate mineral output growth, fluctuations in commodity prices, population migration, energy supply constraints and even climate risks that might disrupt rail operations.

By running these simulations across decades of projected economic activity, policymakers could determine whether the railway would generate sufficient freight volumes to justify the investment, whether alternative routes would yield higher returns or whether complementary infrastructure such as power lines and industrial zones should be developed simultaneously.

This capability shifts infrastructure planning away from intuition and towards evidence-based governance.

Zimbabwe’s infrastructure dilemma

Zimbabwe’s infrastructure challenges vividly illustrate the stakes involved in large public investments. Many of the country’s major infrastructure projects are conceived within complex institutional environments where multiple agencies share overlapping responsibilities and limited coordination mechanisms exist between them.

Road construction and rehabilitation, for example, falls under the authority of the Zimbabwe National Road Administration, while electricity generation and transmission are managed by the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority. Water infrastructure is overseen by the Zimbabwe National Water Authority alongside local authorities responsible for municipal supply networks. Urban development planning is often handled by city councils with limited integration into national infrastructure strategies.

This fragmented governance structure frequently produces infrastructure decisions that are made in isolation rather than as components of integrated national systems. A new industrial zone might be approved without adequate electricity generation capacity, or a housing development might expand into areas where water infrastructure is insufficient.

The absence of comprehensive modelling tools means that many of these systemic interactions become visible only after infrastructure is built and operational challenges emerge.

Digital twins offer a way to visualise these interdependencies before they materialise in the real world.

The cost of infrastructure mistakes

Infrastructure projects are among the most capital-intensive undertakings a government can pursue. Once construction begins, reversing a decision becomes extraordinarily expensive, and in some cases, impossible.

Zimbabwe’s railway sector illustrates this dynamic. The National Railways of Zimbabwe was once a vital artery of the national economy, transporting minerals, agricultural commodities and industrial goods across the region. However, declining freight volumes, ageing infrastructure and inadequate planning have left the network struggling to remain viable.

Decisions about rail modernisation, corridor expansion and logistics integration now carry enormous strategic consequences. Without rigorous modelling of freight demand, regional trade patterns and industrial development trajectories, investments in rail infrastructure risk replicating the inefficiencies that have plagued the sector for decades.

Digital twins could enable planners to model the entire freight ecosystem, including mining production forecasts, port capacity, road transport competition and cross-border trade flows. Such analysis would allow policymakers to determine which rail corridors offer the highest long-term returns.

Infrastructure and political economy

Infrastructure planning in Zimbabwe cannot be separated from the country’s broader political economy. Large projects often carry symbolic value beyond their immediate economic function. Airports, highways, dams and parliamentary buildings serve as visible markers of national development and political legitimacy.

Projects such as the expansion of Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, the construction of the New Parliament Building and the ongoing development of the Gwayi-Shangani Dam illustrate how infrastructure can shape national narratives of progress and modernisation.

While such investments may carry strategic value, they also highlight the need for robust analytical tools capable of evaluating long-term economic impact. Digital twins introduce a level of transparency into infrastructure planning that can help separate political ambition from economic viability.

By simulating the full lifecycle costs and benefits of projects, digital models can reveal whether infrastructure investments genuinely enhance productivity, generate employment and strengthen national resilience.

The economic potential of predictive infrastructure planning

One of the most transformative aspects of digital twins lies in their ability to forecast future infrastructure demand with far greater precision than conventional planning tools.

Zimbabwe’s mining sector offers a compelling example. The rapid expansion of lithium production around the Arcadia Lithium Mine and other mineral projects has created new logistical and energy demands that existing infrastructure networks may struggle to accommodate.

A digital twin of the country’s mineral transport corridors could simulate the growth of lithium, platinum and gold production, assess how increased freight volumes will affect road and rail infrastructure and evaluate whether new energy generation capacity will be required to support mining operations.

Such insights would allow the government to coordinate investments in roads, railways, electricity transmission and export logistics with far greater coherence.

Climate resilience and environmental planning

Zimbabwe’s infrastructure planning must also contend with the accelerating impact of climate change. Droughts, floods and erratic rainfall patterns are increasingly affecting water supply, agricultural productivity and hydropower generation.

The country’s largest hydroelectric facility, Kariba Dam, has already experienced fluctuating water levels that have periodically constrained electricity generation.

Digital twin models could simulate long-term rainfall patterns across the Zambezi basin, evaluate how climate variability might affect water storage and power output and identify complementary energy investments required to maintain grid stability.

Such modelling would enable policymakers to anticipate climate-related risks decades in advance rather than responding to crises as they emerge.

Urbanisation and the future of Zimbabwe’s cities

Zimbabwe’s urban population continues to expand as rural residents migrate in search of economic opportunities. Harare alone has seen rapid growth in informal settlements and peri-urban developments, many of which lack adequate infrastructure.

A comprehensive digital twin of Harare could integrate traffic data, housing expansion patterns, water distribution networks and drainage systems into a single planning platform. Urban planners could simulate how new housing developments affect traffic congestion, water demand and flood risk, allowing authorities to design infrastructure that keeps pace with urban growth.

Cities such as Singapore and Helsinki already rely on similar digital models to guide zoning decisions, transportation planning and disaster preparedness. For Zimbabwe, adopting such tools could significantly improve the resilience and efficiency of its rapidly expanding urban centres.

Institutional capacity and technological transformation

Implementing digital twins at a national scale requires more than software. It demands institutional capacity, high-quality data and a technological ecosystem capable of supporting advanced modelling.

Zimbabwe has made progress in strengthening its statistical systems through the work of the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency, which continues to expand national datasets on population, economic activity and infrastructure usage.

However, digital twin technology requires real-time data streams from sensors, satellite imagery and integrated information systems across multiple government departments. Achieving this level of integration will require substantial investment in digital infrastructure and data governance frameworks.

Universities, technology firms and international partners could play a critical role in building the technical expertise required to design and maintain these complex systems.

The strategic opportunity for Zimbabwe

Despite the challenges, Zimbabwe may find itself uniquely positioned to embrace digital infrastructure planning. The country is simultaneously expanding its digital economy, modernising financial systems and investing in new infrastructure projects.

Integrating digital twin technology into these initiatives could dramatically enhance the efficiency of public investment. Even modest improvements in infrastructure planning could translate into billions of dollars in long-term economic gains.

If predictive modelling increased infrastructure efficiency by just twenty percent, Zimbabwe could unlock far greater value from every dollar invested in roads, energy systems and urban development.

A shift from reactive to predictive governance

Infrastructure development has always been central to national progress. But in the twenty-first century, the tools used to design and manage infrastructure are undergoing a profound transformation.

Digital twins represent a new paradigm in public administration, enabling governments to move beyond reactive planning towards predictive governance. Instead of responding to infrastructure failures after they occur, policymakers can anticipate challenges, test solutions, and optimise investments before construction even begins.

For Zimbabwe, adopting this approach could mark a decisive shift in how the state plans for the future. Infrastructure would no longer be shaped primarily by political cycles or fiscal pressures but by data-driven insights capable of guiding long-term national development.

In a country where infrastructure choices carry enormous economic consequences, the ability to simulate the future before building it may prove to be one of the most valuable tools of all.

The post Digital Twins and the Future of Zimbabwe’s Infrastructure: Can Data Rescue Public Investment? appeared first on The Zimbabwe Mail.

The quiet district of Guruve, known for its rolling hills and agricultural resilience, has become the epicentre of a national nightmare. For months, a shadow loomed over the community as one by one, individuals vanished into the thin air of the Mashonaland Central province. The eventual arrest of 33-year-old Anymore Zvitsva on 3 January 2026 […]

Desperate and ageing white farmers whose land was seized during Robert Mugabe’s rule more than two decades ago hope Donald Trump may be able to help them get billions of dollars in unpaid compensation owed to them by Zimbabwe’s government.

After all, some of them argue, the US president intervened last year to fight for the rights of white farmers in neighbouring South Africa, where he feels they are being “persecuted” because of their race – claims that have been widely discredited.

Trump has offered members of South Africa’s white Afrikaner community, many of whom are farmers, refugee status in the US.

Most of the Zimbabwean farmers are not keen to go down that route – they just want their government to honour a deal made in 2020 by Mugabe’s successor, and former deputy, President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

And some see Zimbabwe’s vast and untapped deposits of rare-earth minerals and the transactional nature of Trump’s politics as key to unlocking the cash.

After Mnangagwa took over, he was eager to heal the wounds of the chaotic land reform programme of the early 2000s when 4,500 mainly white-owned farms – half of the country’s best farmland – were taken over by black Zimbabweans and around 2,500 white farmers evicted.

The seizures – meant to redress a colonial-era land grab – led to the collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy. The agricultural sector had been its backbone – and was further crippled by sanctions slapped by Western nations outraged by the disorderly nature of the redistribution of the land to black farmers.

Mnangagwa, as part of his mission to reform Zimbabwe’s tarnished reputation following the toppling of Mugabe, promised to pay the white farmers for infrastructure and improvements to the land – a package that came to $3.5bn (£3bn).

The hitch has been that Zimbabwe, grappling with a debt burden of a whopping $23bn, cannot afford to settle up with the former farmers.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa (R) has made efforts to reconcile with Zimbabwe’s white community

Instead it offered a compromise deal last year – those who signed up for it got 1% of their total compensation, while the rest was issued as treasury bonds that mature in 10 years, with 2% interest paid twice a year.

“Most farmers won’t be around in 10 years’ time,” said one of them, who spoke to the BBC on condition of anonymity – adding that there was no guarantee the government would be able to honour the future payments.

This ex-farmer’s mother – who had been a co-owner of their farm – is well over 90 years old and has spent the last 25 years awaiting hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation.

She is now being supported by British-based charity Zimbabwe A National Emergency (Zane), which provides a twice-yearly stipend to struggling pensioners.

Only around 17% of the former farmers have taken up the government’s new offer – representing 700 farms.

The beneficiaries told the BBC that although sometimes late, the government was honouring its commitment with interest payments.

But what was a tightly knit community is now divided in its approach to compensation – and some see Trump as key to speeding things up.

To that end a Washington-based lobby group Mercury Public Affairs LLC, which has ties to the Trump administration, has been engaged.

This was done via OB Projects Management, a South African business consultancy firm that has said it is representing the Zimbabwean farmers.

This came to light because of a declaration filed by Mercury in late December with the Department of Justice – US law requires those engaged in political activity on behalf of foreign organisations to disclose the relationship.

The documentation showed OB Projects’ letter of engagement addressed to Mercury partner Bryan Lanza, external, a Republican strategist and former Trump elections campaign communications director.

It said Mercury’s services, to be provided free of charge, would include “contacting appropriate officials in the current administration and Congress to promote paying the Zimbabwean farmers the remaining balance of $3.5bn”.

The letter explained that it envisioned this would happen by the US government supporting the clearance of Zimbabwe’s debt and new financing arrangements via institutions “including the World Bank”.

It would be quite a feat if Zimbabwe was able to refinance its debts, as the southern African nation has not received loans from the World Bank in more than 25 years after it defaulted on interest payments.

This is also linked to US legislation enacted in 2001 as a consequence of the land reform programme.

The Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act (ZDERA), external specifically requires the US Treasury to vote against any new loans, credits or debt relief for Zimbabwe from international financial institutions.

It also says the president should impose targeted economic and travel sanctions on those responsible for the violence and the breakdown in law.

Since 2024 this has only affected 11 individuals, including President Mnangagwa, and three companies – now applied under a separate US law known as the Global Magnitsky Act.

But a new congressional bill published last year – which says it is intended to guide US foreign policy, external – intends to repeal ZDRA.

Sponsored by Republican Brian Mast, who is chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, it has a key proviso that any future international funding be contingent on Zimbabwe settling the outstanding compensation for farmers within 12 months.

The bill has yet to be considered by the two houses of Congress – so there is a long way to go before it becomes law, but the timing is propitious for the lobbyists, who have key White House contacts.

Susie Wiles, now Trump’s chief of staff, served as Mercury’s co-chair for several years before her appointment at the start of the president’s second term.

OB Projects said it was representing the Zimbabwean farmers on behalf of four groups – though some of them have disputed this.

Zimbabwe’s Property and Farms Compensation Association (Profca) chairman Bud Whittaker confirmed to the BBC that his organisation had written to an American firm “a month or two ago” asking them to “look into” the matter.

But the main farming organisation, the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU), has distanced itself from the US lobby group, according to a report by the Bloomberg news agency.

Its members represent the larger faction of farmers, who have rejected the government bonds offer.

A CFU member, not authorised to speak for the group, cited concerns that the OB Projects’ letter to Mercury was sent on their behalf without consulting them.

He told the BBC: “We would support anything that can support compensation in a fair way in accordance with international standards.”

The CFU was speaking not only to US diplomats in Harare but to other Western embassies for support to secure outright payment, he added.

Some farmers fear that involving Trump could lead to worsening relations between Washington and Harare – as has happened in South Africa.

They feel Trump’s approach there was too racialised and say the white community still wants to make a go of it in Zimbabwe, with some who went to live overseas during the economic crash returning to take up business opportunities. – BBC

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HARARE — Former cabinet minister and constitutional scholar Jonathan Moyo has strongly criticised retired Air Marshal Henry Muchena, accusing him of misrepresenting the meaning of universal adult suffrage in an attempt to oppose proposed constitutional reforms.

In a lengthy statement posted on X on March 15, Prof. Moyo argued that Muchena’s claims defending Zimbabwe’s current system of directly electing the president were historically and constitutionally incorrect.

Liberation struggle principles debated

According to Moyo, Muchena and several unnamed co-authors—described as retired generals and former senior civil servants—correctly noted that Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle was anchored on two key principles: land redistribution and universal adult suffrage, often expressed as “one man, one vote”.

However, Moyo insisted that these principles never implied the direct election of the head of state.

“Universal adult suffrage simply means every adult citizen has the right to vote without discrimination based on race, gender or property,” Moyo wrote. “It concerns who is entitled to vote, not the specific voting system used to elect leaders.”

He argued that during the early years of independence, neither the president nor the prime minister was directly elected by voters.

Indirect leadership elections after independence

Moyo said that after Zimbabwe attained independence in 1980, the country implemented universal suffrage but maintained an indirect system of executive leadership selection.

Under the constitutional framework at the time, the ceremonial president, Canaan Banana, was elected by Parliament acting as an electoral college, while Robert Mugabe became prime minister as leader of the parliamentary majority.

According to Moyo, this arrangement remained in place during the 1980 and 1985 elections.

He further argued that many established democracies maintain similar systems in which citizens elect legislators rather than the executive directly.

Examples cited included the parliamentary systems of the United Kingdom and India, where prime ministers are selected by parliamentary majorities rather than through direct national votes.

Even in the United States, Moyo noted, the president is formally elected through the Electoral College rather than by a direct popular vote.

Origins of Zimbabwe’s executive presidency

Moyo traced the introduction of Zimbabwe’s directly elected executive presidency to constitutional changes following the Unity Accord between ZANU-PF and PF-ZAPU.

He said the 1987 agreement, signed by Mugabe and nationalist leader Joshua Nkomo, aimed to consolidate political power within a unified party and establish a socialist political framework.

Following the accord, the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 7) Act of 1987 abolished the prime minister’s office and created the executive presidency, combining the roles of head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief.

Mugabe was subsequently installed as Zimbabwe’s first executive president on December 30, 1987, after being elected by Parliament.

Moyo argued that the later introduction of direct presidential elections in 1990 was designed to reinforce a system that anticipated the dominance of a single ruling party.

Collapse of the one-party state project

According to Moyo, several developments undermined the anticipated transition to a formal one-party state.

These included the formation of the Zimbabwe Unity Movement by former ruling party member Edgar Tekere in 1989, which provided the first significant electoral challenge to ZANU-PF.

Moyo also cited broader global changes, including the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union, which weakened ideological support for socialist one-party systems worldwide.

Economic reforms introduced under the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme in the early 1990s further accelerated the shift toward a multiparty political environment, he said.

Dispute over referendum call

Moyo also rejected Muchena’s call for a national referendum on the proposed Constitution Amendment No. 3 Bill.

He argued that the constitution only requires referendums for amendments affecting specific protected provisions, including the Declaration of Rights and agricultural land clauses.

“All other constitutional amendments require only a two-thirds majority in Parliament,” Moyo wrote, citing Section 328 of the constitution.

He therefore described the referendum demand as legally unfounded.

Support for proposed reforms

Moyo said the Amendment No. 3 Bill would address what he described as a longstanding constitutional imbalance created by the 1987 executive presidency.

The proposal includes shifting presidential selection to Parliament, extending the electoral cycle from five to seven years, and introducing electoral reforms, he said.

Moyo also welcomed plans to allow Zimbabweans living abroad to vote through changes to the Electoral Act.

He concluded by saying the reforms would strengthen political stability while preserving universal suffrage.

“The Bill reforms the electoral system, not individuals,” he wrote. “Individuals can only be reformed by God.”

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Source: How televising Anymore Zvitsva’s confessions risks creating a ‘Ted Bundy’ cult in Zimbabwe

Tendai Ruben Mbofana

The spectacle of the First Lady entering the grim confines of Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison to sit face to face with Anymore Zvitsva is a moment that should give every Zimbabwean pause.

If you value my social justice advocacy and writing, please consider a financial contribution to keep it going. Contact me on WhatsApp: +263 715 667 700 or Email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com

Zvitsva stands accused of a series of brutal murders and rapes in the Guruve district.

This campaign of terror claimed nineteen lives over the course of more than a year, leaving the Guruve community shattered and paralyzed with fear by the time of the suspect’s arrest in early January 2026.

While the state media has framed this encounter as a humanitarian inquiry by the “Mother of the Nation”, the reality is far more troubling.

This visit represents a dangerous intersection of political theater and the subversion of the criminal justice system.

It is an act that risks glamorizing a suspected serial killer while undermining the very legal protocols designed to ensure that justice is served.

One of the most immediate concerns is the complete lack of professional qualification guiding this interaction.

The First Lady is not a forensic psychiatrist nor is she a trained criminal profiler.

In the world of high-stakes criminal investigation, the mind of a serial killer is a complex and often manipulative landscape.

Professionals in these fields spend decades learning how to navigate the psychological barriers of individuals who commit such heinous acts.

They use clinical distancing to extract information that can be used for public safety and rehabilitation.

By contrast, a motherly or spiritual approach is ill-equipped to handle a personality like Zvitsva.

We can look at the case of the BTK killer Dennis Rader in the United States as a cautionary tale.

Rader lived a double life as a church leader and family man for decades.

He was a master of manipulation who easily fooled those who approached him with simple moral or religious frameworks.

Only specialized forensic interrogation eventually broke his mask.

By allowing a non-expert to lead the inquiry, Zimbabwe risks receiving a performance rather than a true psychological profile.

Furthermore, we must confront the reality that serial killers often thrive on the very headlines and attention their crimes attract.

History provides us with chilling examples of this phenomenon, most notably Ted Bundy.

Bundy was a man who relished the spotlight.

He played to the cameras and turned his legal proceedings into a media circus.

He even acted as his own lawyer to ensure he remained the center of attention.

Bundy drew immense satisfaction from the fact that the entire world was watching him.

By providing Zvitsva with a platform on national television, the state has essentially handed him the ultimate prize.

For a man accused of living on the fringes of society and committing egregious acts to assert power, being visited by the wife of the President is an unprecedented elevation in status.

It is a perverse bonus that validates the ego of the perpetrator.

This level of public attention creates a significant risk of glamorization.

When the state media apparatus turns a prison visit into a national event, they risk creating a dark celebrity.

There is a documented psychological phenomenon known as hybristophilia, where individuals develop an attraction to those who commit gruesome crimes.

This is fueled by high-profile exposure.

We saw this with the Night Stalker Richard Ramirez, who received thousands of letters from “fans” during his trial.

When the narrative shifts from the tragedy of the victims to the personality and confessions of the killer, the gravity of the crimes is diluted.

The focus should be on the suffering of the families in Guruve and the restoration of their security, not on a televised interview with the man who allegedly took their loved ones away.

From a governance perspective, the visit is a legal minefield.

Zimbabwe operates under the principle of sub judice.

This principle dictates that matters currently before a court should not be discussed publicly in a way that might prejudice the outcome.

Zvitsva has not yet been convicted in a court of law.

By broadcasting what appear to be confessions or incriminating statements before a trial has concluded, the state risks polluting the judicial process.

Any competent defense lawyer could argue that the right of their client to a fair trial has been compromised by this level of prejudicial publicity.

If a high-ranking state official conducts an interrogation without legal counsel present and broadcasts it to the nation, the entire case could be thrown into jeopardy.

We should remember the 1954 case of Dr. Sam Sheppard in the United States.

His conviction was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court because “massive, pervasive, and prejudicial publicity” prevented a fair trial.

The quest for a quick media win in Zimbabwe could result in a long-term failure to secure a legal conviction for the murders in Guruve.

We must also consider the message this sends to those who might be driven by a desire for notoriety.

It is a well-known fact in criminology that some individuals commit horrific crimes specifically for the attention they will receive.

This is often seen in school shootings or mass casualty events where the perpetrators leave manifestos intended for the media.

However, the risk goes even deeper.

Many criminals actively follow the media coverage of their own crimes, deriving an immense sense of power and satisfaction from seeing their names in the headlines and their faces on the news.

This creates a feedback loop of narcissism and control.

For a suspected serial killer like Anymore Zvitsa, watching his own televised “confession” from a prison cell—shared with the highest office in the land—is not a moment of accountability; it is the ultimate validation of his “accomplishment.”

By turning his crimes into a prime-time event, we are essentially allowing the perpetrator to act as the editor-in-chief of his own dark legacy, rewarding his violence with the very notoriety he likely craves.

When the highest office in the land responds to such violence with a personal visit and a camera crew, it sets a dangerous precedent.

It suggests that the path to national visibility and personal engagement with the corridors of power is through the commission of unthinkable acts.

This is an incentive structure that no society can afford to maintain.

Finally, the silence surrounding the victims in this narrative is deafening.

While the cameras were focused on the dialogue in Chikurubi, the nineteen families in Guruve were left to watch the man who allegedly destroyed their lives become a subject of national curiosity.

These families lost mothers, daughters, and neighbors in a series of attacks that were described as ritualistic and exceptionally cruel.

True social justice is not found in the confrontation of a killer for the sake of a headline.

It is found in the quiet and rigorous work of the police and the courts.

It is found in providing psychological support and material restitution to the survivors.

The role of the First Lady should be to champion the institutions that protect the vulnerable, not to bypass them for a moment of drama.

The criminal justice system must be allowed to function with professional independence.

To do otherwise is to turn the tragedy of nineteen lives into a spectacle that serves the ego of the killer and the optics of the state while leaving the scales of justice dangerously unbalanced.

• Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. To directly receive his articles please join his WhatsApp Channel on: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaqprWCIyPtRnKpkHe08

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