Could the end of the brutal and capricious invasions of white-owned farms in Zimbabwe be nigh? It appears that the new coalition government is set to end the farm invasions and restore the rule of law in what can stand as nothing if not a direct refutation of Robert Mugabe’s policies of the last decade. Score one for Morgan Tsvangirai.
Of course passing laws and enforcing them are two different things. But the government condemning acts that the previous gvernment sanctioned, tacitly at the least, represents a significant step forward. Let’s see if it is followed by a step backward in the form of renewed action on the part of the so-called war veterans who have been behind the forced acquisition of land in recent years. For so long Mugabe relied upon the willingness of his supporters to stir up chaos and foment anarchy. As Bill Berkeley has argued, government by anarchy has for long been a standard tactic on the part of Africa’s Big Men for well more than a generation. But by definition, once unleashed anarchy is difficult to control.
