ZIMBABWEANS are choosing to turn a blind eye on presidential candidate Saviour Kasukuwere's dirty past, United Zimbabwe Alliance (UZA) President Elisabeth Valerio has said.
Valerio, whose candidature is not yet set after failing to pay nomination fees on time, said she was amazed at how much Zimbabweans were portraying the self-exiled Kasukuwere as a 'hero' yet he was at one point head of Zanu PF's system of injustice.
Her comments on Kasukuwere came hours before Zimbabweans remembered 2008's fatal attacks on opposition MDC-T supporters, some of which he led.
Over 200 opposition supporters across the country were killed by state security agents in the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), army, police and ruling party members all intent on ensuring a runoff win for late President Robert Mugabe after his loss to Morgan Tsvangirai.
Mugabe had for the first time been officially beaten in a poll for presidency, managing 43.24% against Tsvangirai's 47.87%. Results were withheld for months, during which period the likes of Kasukuwere terrorised mainly rural constituencies ahead of the re-run.
According to documents released by the then-Tsvangirai-led opposition, Kasukuwere personally oversaw the assault, poisoning, murder and abduction of over 300 MDC-T supporters during what is regarded as one of Zimbabwe's darkest periods.
Kasukuwere, who hails from the Mt. Darwin area in Mashonaland Central Province, is said to have become a 'willing participant' in politically motivated violence that received widespread condemnation there.
"Someone said to me today if Jesus himself was on the ballot, Zimbabweans would not vote for him," said Valerio.
"This got me thinking about all the heroism Kasukuwere has received recently on social media. Are Zimbabweans turning a blind eye and forgetting that for a time Saviour Kasukuwere was the vanguard for much of the injustice and exploitation in our country? Only the amoral would seek refuge in Kasukuwere.
"Do we no longer know the difference between right and wrong? Have we lost all sense and ethics - perhaps as a consequence of having lived for so long in such a highly corrupt society? Will Zimbabwe ever wake up?"
Zimbabweans vote in general elections on August 23 this year.
Kasukuwere's name still commands fear in Mashonaland where he operated from.
A former CIO operative, Kasukuwere was known as Paraquat at the time, a name derived from his use of the poisonous herbicide on opposition supporters caught by his 300-strong Zanu PF squad.
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After spending the majority of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's terms exiled in South Africa Kasukuwere has indicated his desire to 'save' Zimbabwe from the Zanu PF supremo's blundering administration,
He reckons Zimbabweans have suffered enough.
Kasukuwere is yet to speak of the 2008 period and has chosen to focus his campaign on the Indigenisation Policy and an array of accolades recorded during Mugabe's tenure.
"We will not forget the thousands who were displaced, whose livelihoods were destroyed, and their lives changed forever," said Heal Zimbabwe Trust in a statement Tuesday.
"We continue calling the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) to bring healing, reconciliation and wholesome transitional justice to bring finality to this dark chapter in our history.
"The Special Investigative Units established by Section 133J of the Electoral Act must investigate, (ensure) prosecution and bring to justice all perpetrators of political violence and intimidation."
