A degree of uncertainty looms large as Robert Mugabe continues to throw spanners in the works of the new Zimbabwe government of national unity. Correspondent JERRY BUNGU picks on some of the potential lethal threats to the GNU

It is unfortunate that SADC and other stakeholders are not nurturing their baby in Zimbabwe that the laissez-fare perpetrated by the dominant partner Zanu-PF and its Mugabe continue to haunt the letter and spirit of the Global Political Agreement of September 15 2008.

Mugabe's show of no remorse over his governance styles in a new GNU does not work in its favour, but for the destruction of both itself and its reputation on the international community.

But since the new government was sanctioned by SADC heads of states, they have never condemned what is currently happening in strong sense. SADC and AU should hold the three parties to the GNU accountable to the letter and spirit of the agreement.

The quiet diplomacy approach will not serve the new government in any way because the offended parties are likely to relent.

Over the last weekend, while enjoying his lavish birthday party - at the expense of the hunger stricken masses - Mugabe categorically stated that farm invasions will continue despite the formation of the new inclusive government. And indeed, there are rampant farm invasions, as the youth militias are unleashing terror on the remaining white farmers, robbing them of their hard earned properties.

In like manner, the Zimbabwe's human rights record has not in any way improved, whereby as of now political activists from the opposition and human rights activists continue to be tortured by state security agents.

The arrest of Roy Bennett, an assistant minister designate and MDC senior member on the eve of his swearing in was a blow to the whole process of an inclusive government.

These acts by the Mugabe who is party to the GNU only serves to demean the purposes of which this set up was made and should be condemned outrightly.

Already a chasm is developing between Mugabe and Tsvangirai over lack of collective responsibility in making the government function without impediments.

The experienced attempts by Mugabe to sneak in ungazzetted number of ministers on the day of swearing reared an ugly head on the future of the inclusive government. This resulted in a delay of the whole process, while the mediators had to be called in to intervene.

This sowed a seed of mistrust , especially between Zanu-PF and MDC's Tsvangirai formation.

The GPA's basic flaws, however, is threatening the basic implementation of the deal.

In the same way, the Zanu-PF regime has repeatedly violated the premises of the GPA, including the on-going onslaught against MDC supporters and the reappointing of key cadres responsible for the economic meltdown and human rights decadence such as the Reserve Bank, governor Gideon Gono and Attorney General, Johannes Tomana respectively. This has also been done in the appointment of provincial governors where the MDC was excluded - in fact these key appointments were made in the interim period of negotiations.

Despite the negotiated settlement on the allocation of ministries and related issues, the creation of two power centres, (Zanu PF) and (MDC-T) by the GPA suggests that in the context of their intense mutual distrust, political paralysis would prevent serious action to salvage the economy from the doldrums. With the meltdown of vital social services, a cholera epidemic that has claimed thousands of lives, the flight of a third of the population to neighbouring countries where cholera is also spreading and a third of its remaining citizens facing starvation, putting an end to Zimbabwe's dilemma is going to require a fundamentally new commitment and tact.

This boils down to a point where prophets of doom have repeatedly said that Zimbabwe will need a transitional justice mechanism at some stage to come to terms fully with and move beyond its long nightmare.

Both national reconciliation and the practical necessities of pulling the country out of its immediate crisis require, however, that the agreement contains practical cushioning for the present political leaders and the security forces.

It is unfortunate that the armed forces are refusing to recognise the new dispensation under Tsvangirai and they refused from day one, when the prime minister was sworn in. In fact they had long declared their non-commitment to the GNU before the March 2008 elections.

In this case, a coup by the army and police cannot be ruled out.

A number of general factors, which in this case are threatening the survival of the inclusive government, commend the establishment of a truth, justice and reconciliation commission as an element of a comprehensive approach to transitional justice.

Other suggestions are that some formal justice mechanism is the well established international legal duty on the Zimbabwean state to not only refrain from violations but more positively to afford remedy and reparations to victims of human rights abuse, including through at least attempting investigations.

In Zimbabwe, because of the past oppressive rule, the criminal courts have been weakened and compromised. There could be such a degree of complicity by members of society generally that it is impossible to conceive of attempting to prosecute all possible offenders.

However studies have also revealed that in the event of prosecutions, even if it is politically possible, they do not necessarily achieve reconciliation or reduce tension.

The argument is that trials, by their nature, paint an incomplete picture of the past or even distort history.But however, the most obvious objective of the TRC is that through an official truth body, an accurate record of the country's past will be established, uncertain events will be clarified, victims will be assured of recognition and the silence and denial regarding human rights violations will be dealt with.

It has since been established that the copy of the GPA that was signed on September 15 2008 was not the original but the doctored one by one of the chief negotiators, Patrick Chinamasa of Zanu-PF.

The contents are believed to have been altered to suit the needs of Zanu-PF at the expense of the other parties.With the current distrust among the parties, the prospect of a truth commission in Zimbabwe is not something to be postponed while politics runs its course, studies have shown.