WAR veteran leader Blessed Geza has announced an indefinite national shutdown beginning today, which he calls a “final push” to force President Emmerson Mnangagwa to step down.
According to Geza, Mnangagwa has been allegedly “surrounded by criminals” who are milking the country of its resources, at a time when most Zimbabweans are struggling to put food on the table.
The indefinite shutdown, according to the war veteran, will only end when Mnangagwa has stepped down and a “criminal cabal” that is allegedly looting the country’s resources has been arrested.
The indefinite shutdown, unprecedented since independence in 1980, presents the biggest threat to Mnangagwa’s rule, seven years after assuming the reins.
Geza believes only non-violent methods, such as a stayaway, will be effective, as going to the streets will be met with brute force from security agents.
He is riding on the success of the March 31 stayaway, which virtually shut down the country.
The war veteran is leveraging on a deteriorating economic environment that has plunged companies into corporate rescue or closure, throwing thousands of employees onto the streets.
His call against corruption comes amid a widening gap between the rich and the poor amid the rise of mbingas, which Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga said were “growing big bellies” from the proceeds of corruption.
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Some of the proceeds are being thrown like confetti at a wedding.
The health sector has all but collapsed, without painkillers and bandages.
The indefinite shutdown is a big test for Geza, in a country whose economy is highly informalised, with seven out of 10 employees found in the informal sector. They eat what they kill daily, and the question is whether they will last the distance.
It appears Geza was galvanised by the results of the March 31 call, appealing to those in the informal sector to be prepared to take the blow for the betterment of the country.
What appears to be lost on authorities is that what Geza is saying resonates with most Zimbabweans.
Yet, the government appears to be burying its head in the sand with Information minister Jenfan Muswere describing Geza as a “content creator”, “madman” and “cyber terrorist” whose days are numbered.
It will be a badge of honour for Geza to be labelled a cyber terrorist for calling for an equal share of the national cake, an end to runaway corruption and that the government must address bread and butter issues.
The war veteran has called for sacrifices, urging retailers to give citizens groceries for free to be “paid for by the new government” after presenting evidence that the transactions had been blessed by at least five senior managers.
The system, if implemented, will be prone to abuse.
