Thursday 20 July 2017

Only when their own lives, not povo's, or burnt bar will opposition accept reforms.

A few months ago, Tendai Biti, PDP President's rural home was attacked in what he claimed was a politically motived move. On Tuesday night, it was Elias Mudzuri, one of the three MDC-T VPs whose home was attacked. A grass thatched shed cum bar, was burnt down.

"For me, this is nothing less than malice. It cannot be theft. It's targeted destruction," said Mudzuri.

"It is difficult to discount politics or anything else for that matter.

“Hekanhi waro!” (Saves you right!) as one would say in Shona.

It is IMPOSSIBLE to feel sorry for anyone of these politicians when they are the victims of the country’s political violence because they are the ones who have not only failed to end it when they had many chances to do so but, worse still, they are the ones who are helping to perpetuate the culture. The best chance, by a long mile, to end the Zanu PF dictatorship was during the GNU when all MDC leaders had to do was to implement the democratic reforms agreed in the 2008 Global Political Agreement. They failed to get even one reform implemented in five years. Not one!

President Mugabe lauded the MDC leaders with the trappings of high office; ministerial limo, very generous salary and allowances, a former white owned farm and a $4 million mansion for Welshman Ncube and Morgan Tsvangirai respectively, etc. Tsvangirai & co. responded by kicking all the reforms into the tall grass. Not even repeated reminders by SADC leaders to implement the reforms got the MDC to do anything on the matter.  

MDC leaders had a last-minute chance to redeem themselves and finally get the reforms implemented in June 2013, just a month before the July 2013 elections. All they had to do this time was to refuse participating in the elections until the reforms were implemented.

“Of course, they (the elections) can (now) be postponed,” explained Dr Ibbo Mandaza.  “In 2013 the Maputo Summit, in June 2013, before the elections, the Maputo Summit was all about having the elections postponed – the SADC summit. I went there.

“I was there at the Summit and Mugabe pretended to agree to a postponement of the elections. If you recall, the postponement was based on the need to reform at least electoral laws.

“And after that Summit, Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, all of them were called to a separate meeting by the Heads of State of SADC in the absence of Mugabe, that same evening. And they were told; I was sitting there outside the room with Mac Maharaj; they were told ‘if you go into elections next month, you are going to lose; the elections are done’.”

But once again, MDC leaders did not pay any heed to the warning, even when they witnessed the blatant vote rigging with their own eyes they still contested the flawed elections regardless as David Coltart, former MDC Senator and Minister of Education, admitted in his book.

“The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious – withdraw from the elections,” confessed Coltart. 

“The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility.”

Everybody, including the MDC leaders themselves know that the nation gained absolutely nothing from contesting the July 2013 elections. Instead we have suffered the double blow of having Zanu PF rigging the vote and staying in power for another five year. And, worst of all, we have forfeited yet another chance get the all important reform implemented!

If we do not contest next year’s elections we will force Zanu PF to accept the implementation of the reforms. It is therefore infuriating that it should be none other than the same sell-out MDC leaders who are doggedly seeking to contest next year’s elections the results and consequences are almost certain to be a repeat of the July 2013 elections!

Tendai Biti has already said he would be contesting next year’s election regardless of the attack at his home. Mudzuri will probably do the same. It is not that these politicians are not scarred of the violence, they are. They are the worst cowards one will ever meet; it is just, like any coward, they provoke but always with an eye on their escape route.

Zimbabwe’s opposition politicians are renowned for encouraging povo to confront by Zanu PF thugs head on but are rarely ever present to lead by example. Last time Tsvangirai got wind of someone was after him; he made a mad dash for the Netherlands Embassy, not even Usain Bolt would have caught him.

There is no doubt that both Biti and Mudzuri would soil their pants if they learnt of a determined attack on them. It is one thing that is guaranteed to force them to finally accept that Zimbabwe’s political culture of violence is a very serious and immediate problem to be dealt with here and now. If Biti, Mudzuri and the rest knew it was their own life and limp and not that of povo, whom they consider to be no more that pawns in their high stakes chess game, at stake if they contest the flawed elections they never contest and election ever until all the reforms are implemented.

Mugabe needs Tsvangirai and company to contest his flawed elections to give the process credibility as David Coltart rightly pointed out in the quotation above. It would be foolish for the tyrant to eliminate the opposition’s big chess pieces so easily and expose their credibility. So Mudzuri knows Mugabe would have told his henchmen to take it easy on the matches, burn the bar and not the house! Just as Mugabe has allowed Tsvangirai to keep $4 million Highlands mansion but the tyrant is even paying the MDC leader’s SA hospital bills.

The saving grace for Zimbabwe is that the international community especially SADC can see that Tsvangirai and his opposition camp friends have lost all political credibility and the only reason they continue to contest flawed and illegal elections is for the scraps Zanu PF offers them. SADC would particularly want to put an end to this electoral sham because Zimbabwe’s worsen economic crisis is threatening the political stability of not just Zimbabwe but the whole Southern Africa region.

Only the other day, Zimbabwe’s Social Welfare Minister, Priscah Mupfumira, confirmed in a speech read of her behave, that 72% of the people in the country now live in poverty. There is no doubt that another rigged election will trigger a new flood of Zimbabwean economic and political refugees into neighbouring countries, especially SA.

There are 3 million or so Zimbabweans in SA at present and the country is fighting a losing battle of xenophobia attacks targeting foreigners accused of taking jobs from the locals. No SA government would want to be seen to be encouraging the political chaos in Zimbabwe to continue by endorsing rigged elections. The pay back for that will be certainty of a new flood of Zimbabwean refugees!

SADC leaders KNEW Mugabe rigged the July 2013 elections a month before the voting, as the warned MDC leaders. They allowed Mugabe to get away with it then but not so this time, there is a lot at stake. The possibility of SADC rejecting next year’s flawed elections is hanging over Mugabe’s head like the sword of Damocles! 

4 comments:

Patrick said...

Engineer Elias Mudzuri was one of the MDC leaders who love the trapping of power more than delivering on his election promises. We all remember him for fighting for the trapping of Executive Mayor with dogged determination and ignoring the serious problems the people of Harare were facing. When Zanu Pf forced him out of office very few people were sorry to see him go!

Whenever there is trouble Engineer Mudzuri is nowhere to be found but his love of power is very strong. I do not see him ever refusing to contest the elections as long as there is a chance of winning a gravy train seat and he can melt away at the first sign of trouble.

Patrick said...

“Mugabe and ZANU PF must leave office either through an election, resignation or mass demonstrations, ZANU PF rule is intricately linked to the crisis resulting in the unpalatable suffering of our people,” you said.

I agree with you there with just one qualification, since MDC failed to implement the reforms to ensure free and fair elections and, by contesting flawed, are helping to keep Zanu PF in power; the first thing Zimbabweans must do is make sure the get rid of the corrupt and incompetent opposition politicians who are selling them cheap.

If the people of Zimbabwe can force these opposition opportunists from contesting next year’s election then Zanu PF will have no choice but accept the reforms just as it in 2008. If the people fail to force the opposition to stop contesting the flawed elections then they must demonstrate that those who do take part have no public support and thus no political credibility.

President Mugabe knows that the international community especial SADC are sick and tired of him rigging elections particularly now when the Zimbabwe economy is in total meltdown threatening the political stability of the country and the whole region. Mugabe will rig next year’s elections but whether SADC will let him get away with it is his biggest worry this time. Last time Botswana refuse to endorse Mugabe’s electoral victory, this time President Mugabe will be shocked to find it is not just Botswana who refuse to accept the rigged elections.

Patrick said...

@ Nyamha

Dr Moyo has never publicly acknowledge that Zanu PF rights elections and uses violence to achieve its political goal of winning elections. He has done so in subtle ways like confining his campaigning to door to door. In the rural areas where the regime's thugs rule the roost, his door to door campaigning will not stop the thugs beating people suspected of supporting the opposition and frogmarching them to party rallies. Is Dr Moyo suggesting these rural voters have no right to free and fair elections like everyone else!!!

We should demand the implementation of the reforms and sort this matter once and once for all and stop all this messing around!

Zimbabwe Light said...

"I recall sometime back when council pipes were stolen around this area it did not take them day to arrest the thugs using the system, so politics is overriding justice here," said Elias Mudzuri.


The only positive thing about political violence is when the politicians themselves are the victims. It took the burning down of his bar for him to talk about political violence and mean very word he said. Or is he just posturing for votes, if he was to hear there are Zanu PF thugs in the neighbourhood, he will disappear into thin air.

If people like Mudzuri were to be cornered, harassed and beaten the same way povo have been harassed, beaten, raped and thousands murdered in cold blood then they would have implemented the reforms during the GNU without any need to be prompted to do so.

No, Mudzuri it is not “politics overriding justice”; it is greed my friend. These Police officers know which side of their bread is buttered, something you and your MDC friends know and understand only too well! After all was it not greed that stopped you lot implementing even one reforms for five years even with prompting from SADC leaders. And it is the same greed that is making you lot contest next year’s elections even thou you know Zanu PF will rig the vote and will harass, beat, frogmarch povo, or worse to win.

I think the victims of any political violence will one day sue selfish politicians like Mudzuri who have grown fat on the suffering of povo! MDC leaders have no excuse why they failed to implement even one reform during the GNU. None, other than selfish greed!