Chamboko, will coalition deliver free elections - focus on message not messenger

Let me say this upfront so there is no misunderstanding. I have met Moses Chamboko and found he has the very rare quality I admire most in anyone, man or woman – the ability to think! He has penned off some thought provoking articles but do not just take my word for it, google and see for yourself!

But just because I consider Moses one of the bright stars in the Zimbabwe political sky it does not mean I agree with everything he says or does. I do not and offer no apology for doing so; what I do offer is my reasons why I disagree. Good reasons I hope, but you can be the judge. It is in this light of open and honest debate that I reply his latest article “Unmasking 'Patrick Guramatunhu' and 'Nomsa Garikai' Bulawayo24.

“In a democracy, everyone is entitled to their view. It is not a crime for 13 million Zimbabweans to have 13 million different opinions on a single subject. What is wrong and totally unacceptable is to promote the misconception that only your views are correct and matter,” kicked off Moses.

13 million Zimbabweans and only 13 million different opinions on a single subject! No wonder Zimbabwe is in a real mess; too many people out there must be fast asleep. Man is a creature of reason and thus capable of holding all the different sheds of opinion in colour, texture, time, space, etc. One must never ever be content with monochrome or binary view of the world when there are all the colours of the rainbow to consider!

Yes, there are some views which one must hold and stick to like a stamp to a letter because they are factual. Once it is established and agreed that a compass always points North, for example, only the feeble minded would accept it is the compass and not the navigator’s fault when you are lost. Even if the 100% majority said the compass sometimes points East; that changes nothing, a compass set properly will always, always point North!

One must not confuse principle stand with stubbornness, the one is buttressed by reason and the latter is a wandering albatross, going wherever the air currents of public whim takes it. When you live in country like Zimbabwe where public opinion is governed by ignorance and fear and they look up to the politicians to give direction it is not surprising that the nation should find itself seriously lost!

“However, it becomes a concern if someone comes across as elevating himself to the level of an angelic analyst whose intention is to carve a career out of attacking Morgan Tsvangirai or other opposition players,” wrote Moses, getting to the meat of his criticism.

“It gets worse if this comes from someone who claims to be anti-ZANU PF. I have read many of Wilbert Mukori's articles. There is not one where he does not attack Tsvangirai for not implementing democratic reforms which Wilbert often confuses with electoral reforms.”

On contrary, I am not carving “a career” or anything for myself. Here are my reasons for attacking Tsvangirai for not implementing the democratic reforms, etc.

1)   It is true that Tsvangirai failed to implement the democratic reforms during the GNU and because of this failure Mugabe was able to rig the 2013 election landing us all in this mess. All those who deny this is so must put up, tell us why Mugabe was able to rig the elections if the reforms had been implemented.

Yes, Mugabe and Zanu PF dragged us into this political and economic mess but we cannot deny we had the golden opportunity to get out during the GNU only if Tsvangirai had implemented the reforms.

2)   Having established the fact that Tsvangirai and his MDC friends failed to implement not even one democratic reform in five years of the GNU, the next thing is to establish why. They knew about the reforms because SADC leaders reminded them; Samuel Sipepa Nkomo has admitted this even if the others MDC leaders continue to hide behind their little fingers.

The only logical explanation why MDC leaders failed to implement the reforms is because they are corrupt – Mugabe bribed them with gravy train lifestyles, the $4 million Highlands mansion for Tsvangirai, etc. – and incompetent. MDC leaders had no clue what democratic changes we need much less how they were going to be implemented during the GNU; many still have no clue even now.

3)   We still need the reforms implemented if we are ever going to have free, fair and credible elections. So the search is on for who will implement the reforms.

Moses Chamboko and many others are suggesting that Tsvangirai is our man to lead the nation out of this hell. They want nothing said about Tsvangirai’s past record and will attack all who dare bring up the subject. I dared and so they are attacking me. The nation’s fate is at stake here and it would be irresponsible to allow misplaced egos win the day.

Tsvangirai did not make a mistake in failing to get even one reform implemented during the GNU; he failed because he is corrupt and incompetent. It was us, the people, who made a mistake of failing to scrutinise the MDC leaders. Our failure to separate the wheat from the chuff is at the very heart of why Zimbabwe is in a mess and, more significantly, unless we take the task of electing competent leaders with the seriousness the matter demands, will never get out of the mess.

This time we have a mountain of evidence to show that Tsvangirai et al are corrupt and incompetent. It would be sheer folly to ignore the evidence elect him leader again.

4)   Those who say Tsvangirai, Mujuru, Biti, Mugabe, Mnangagwa and all the other scrap on our political stage is all the nation has, the next leader must come from one of them, are refusing to think outside the box.

Mugabe has made Zimbabwe politics a dirty game where one must be prepared to cheat, bribe, harass, beat, rape and even kill one’s political critics, opponents and voters to stay in power. It is little wonder then that politics has become the choice career of thugs, gangsters, failed lawyers and all the other scumbags of Zimbabwe society.

If we want competent leaders to get us out of this hell-hole then we must end the Zanu PF dictatorship by allowing open debate and democratic competition. The first truly free and hard-hitting media will force Joice Mujuru out of the presidential race by rubbishing her  hen’s teeth story of being “puppy blind” for 34 years, for example!

5)   The GNU was meant to clean it up Zimbabwe’s dirty and dangerous politics it did not for reasons stated above. To hold the next elections with no reforms if down right stupid. We must own up and admit we made a mistake, there is greater shame in ploughing on heedless and have yet another rigged election.

We need another GNU to same task of implementing the democratic reforms but with the subtle difference of having different players and not the corrupt and incompetent lot of the first GNU.

If the 2018 elections are not free, fair and credible then we will all hang our heads in shame – 38 years after independence and we still cannot say what we need for free and fair elections and have it done! I will bet my bottom dollar the next elections will be rigged if we do not implement the reforms first!

Tsvangirai won 73% of the vote in 2008, by Mugabe’s own admission, and yet the tyrant was able to “cook” the result turning a 73 into a 47. How is uniting all the opposition into a coalition going to stop Mugabe “cooking” the count yet again?

As for Moses asking who wrote the articles me or Patrick. It is the message you should be concerned with and not the messenger!

We should all be fighting to ensure we have free, fair and credible elections, we are not going to have any meaningful economic recovery until we solve this problem of bad governance. We should all be united across the political divide because this is a national issue and not a party political one. 

How sad and tragic that after 36 years of independence and we are still bickering about what constitute free and fair elections! We have all the information we could possible need on our own past elections and the history of all the other nation, we have the compass but we cannot agree it is pointing question North!