Caroline Nyamayaro:

Social media has become a platform for many people to grieve the death of their beloved ones or even strangers and the world has opened up a space for online memories. Unfortunately, people have lost their sense of Ubuntu, which advocates for due respect of the dead.

Many people are today abusing social media platforms to mock the deceased, hence triggering painful emotions for people who are in the throes of grief.

Local social media platforms users  have expressed mixed feelings following the death of former President Robert Mugabe after some took advantage of his death to abuse the platform by sending jokes to mock him, while others his past glory

Founder and executive director of Ignite Youth Organisation Tadzi Madzima posted on Facebook saying, Mugabe’s successes and failures are a lesson and a reminder that serves as a reminder to teach people what worked and what did not work.

“Let’s spread love and not hatred at this time.”

Another WhatsApp platform user, Author Kaseke posted, “It is not a joke that he is dead, he is dead indeed and has gone for good and never to come back, this is not the time to point out to Mugabe’s past mistakes, let’s remember his good works.”

Imagine Mugabe’s son, Chatunga just after posting on Twitter expressing his sorrow, a twitter user with the user name @VaMagejo commented: “Dai ndege ikamutakura akadonha akafa futi.”

It is Zimbabwe’s custom to respect and grieve over the dead despite how bad they were. However, things seem to have shifted as people show no concern and are busy creating and posting jokes on social media platforms to poek fun of the late.

A Facebook user with the user name Dumo Roy Jiyani responded below Chatunga’s post on facebook saying, “At least he will still get state of art burial. We never buried our parents, we don’t know where they were dumped. Others are singing songs of praise for your father when their parents were butchered in cold blood (Gukurahundi). More is yet to come.”

Another one posted: “He went out of the country for treatment and still came back dead, what was wrong with our doctors?”

Whatever one’s views on death are, Mugabe deaths has proven the vile that many kept bottled in their hearts and are thankful of the social media anonymity to vent it. Most likely the age of innocence is over and we have to adapt to the social media life.