Intelligence: The Case For Zimbabwe CIO....!!!

If there is anything that invokes feelings of fear, hate, rage & discomfort among the Zimbabweans it is the mention of the acronym CIO. Translated Central Intelligence Organisation, the CIO have become a legend among the Zimbabwe people; more like what aliens and terrorists are to American citizens. This perception goes back into history, reading the story of Gukurahundi one finds traces of CIO involvement with some acting as double agents to sabotage the newly formed black government. Independence brought with it reconciliation, the people were going to be one, set aside the guns and embrace the hoe to work for the common cause of Zimbabwe. Perhaps it was in this ambit that the CIO was transformed into a non-partisan force, whether this goal was achieved or not is for one to decipher. It could be the organisation was never given a chance to grow as events of the early 1980s show. Throughout the decades the dreadfulness of the reticent organisation seems to grow; more so after the birth of opposition party Movement for Democratic Change. Many abductions, torture and deaths of civilians are blamed on the CIO; but if my memory does not delude me this was never proven beyond reasonable doubt. In other circles there is mention that the secret agents are immune from prosecution. I have never really bothered to delve into the quagmire that is our laws, so patched here and there that if it was a piece of clothing every inch would have been graced by the pierce of a needle.

However one question that has never been asked but lingers in the subconscious of our minds is whether this organisation is important and whether it should be incorporated into a future democratic Zimbabwe? Some in political circles have voiced that it is not necessary to maintain such an organisation in a true democracy. But it is needful to think hard regarding this issue. The thought happened to fly past my subliminal as I was watching the commemoration of 9/11 by Americans