DEAR President Emmerson Mnangagwa, By Tendai Ruben Mbofana Your Excellency, if ever I was to be asked what I valued more than anything else on this planet, my answer would be swift and unhesitant — unity, love, peace, and joy — which I regard more than all the silver and gold in this entire universe, I would rather be financially and materially poor, but live lavishly in the opulence of love … that is where all my joy comes from. However, as with any other treasure that is worthy possessing, there is extremely hard work and sacrifice involved in attaining this well-deserved richness, and can never be forced onto a people, or wished into existence, especially when a relationship had already been severely damaged. Let me give an example, if a neighbour was to brutally rape and murder your most beloved daughter, what would be the most reasonable steps to take in resolving this cruel and vicious act — if ever the two families were to live in unity, love, peace and joy? Would it make any semblance of sense if the perpetrator of this heinous crime was to merely declare that there should be unity and forgiveness between him and the family of the victim and simply let bygones be bygones — without even the slightest acknowledgement of his sadistic deed, let alone a sincere apology? In fact, all the perpetrator manages to offer is to rebury the remains of the girl! How would you feel, as the father, mother, brother or sister of the raped and murdered child? Would this not be the most cruel and cold-hearted insult and slap in the face you would have ever heard in all your life? Your Excellency, yesterday December 22, 2020, marked the 33rd anniversary of the signing of the so-called Unity Accord between the country’s two main political parties — Zanu and Zapu — during the period stretching from the liberation struggle to the 1980s post-independence era. But what was that misnamed Unity Accord all about? Did it truly unite the people of Zimbabwe, as is the common narrative, largely peddled by the political party that benefited from this agreement, Zanu PF? Your Excellency, I am sure all those who listened to your address to commemorate this day would have detected a huge worrisome omission. There was no mention of why this Unity Accord was signed, and the events that led to this apparently “landmark” event. Let us never forget that history is a “continuous, usually chronological, record and study, of past important or public events, especially human affairs, or the accumulation of developments connected with a particular nation, person, thing, and so forth” — and, as such, any genuine attempt at marking any historical event, requires the complete narrative of exactly what transpired. We never heard any of that in your speech, neither have we ever heard it from anyone else linked to the ruling establishment. Why? Well, the answer to that is quite simple and straightforward, which requires basic common sense to understand — firstly, this is the same regime (with some of the major players still holding pistons of power in the admini