Is Zimbabwe going to have rigged elections in 2028? Alas! Yes! W Mukori

 “Is Zimbabwe heading for yet another rigged elections in 2028?”

That is a very good and relevant question.

“Yes!” Is the simple and honest answer. 

Mnangagwa and Zanu PF blatantly rigged the 2023 elections. All the election observers including SADC and AU have condemned Zimbabwe’s 2023 election process as “flawed and illegal”. 

“The SEOM (SADC Election Observer Mission) noted that, as detailed in sections 6 and 7 of this report, some aspects of the Harmonised Elections fell short of the requirements of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Electoral Act, and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021),” stated the SEOM 2023 report.

Alas! Zimbabwe has not implemented even one token democratic reform since the 2023 elections and there is very little hope of any reforms being implemented before the 2028 elections. The election ground rules have not change and there is nothing to suggest three main protagonists in this national political drama will behave any differently than they did in 2023 elections.

Mnangagwa and Zanu PF

Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies’s hunger for absolute political power and the looted wealth it has brought them these last 45 years, is insatiable. Zimbabwe is a failed state, 45 years of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption have left the country in economic ruins. All talk of economic revival, much less the Vision 2030, is just that - talk, hot air. Everyone in Zanu PF knows free, fair and credible elections is a luxury they cannot afford.

Zanu PF will never implement any democratic reforms to ensure 2028 elections are free, fair and credible. Never!

Nelson Chamisa and his fellow opposition sellouts

Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC colleagues had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms and thus end the Zanu PF dictatorship during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Mugabe bribed them with the trappings of high office and in return they forgot about the reforms. And ever since the GNU debacle the MDC/CCC sell outs have participated in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy out of greed. And they have know this to be so all along!

“The (2013) 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,” confessed David Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.

Millions of brain-dead opposition supporters

MDC/CCCC leaders have sold out on implementing reforms and got away with it because the party had the great fortune in having millions of party supporters who have no clue what the opposition leaders were elected to do. They did not know what the democratic changes, reforms, the nation was dying for were much less that the 2008 to 2013 GNU offered the best opportune to get the reform implemented. And so they have never understood that MDC/CCC leaders sold out in failing to implement even one token reform during the GNU. 

Chamisa & co. have likewise taken advantage of their supporters’ ignorance and naivety to con them to participate in flawed and illegal elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy, opposition leaders a few gravy train seats whilst perpetuating the dictatorship and the nation’s suffering. 

Chamisa & co. have conned the supporters with idiotic lies of having winning in rigged elections strategies (wires). These supporters have believed this lies even after 45 years of Zanu PF rigging elections; they are more than insane, they are brain-dead. 

Chamisa took a sabbatical leave from politics last January and has just returned to active politics. It is as clear as day that millions of his Chamisa chete chete brigade members will believe his next idiotic wires lies and participate in the flawed 2028 elections. 

Conclusion

Zimbabwe is a failed state, stuck with this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF regime and its equally corrupt and useless MDC/CCC opposition side-kick for 45 years and counting. And all because we have failed to define what constitute free and fair elections in this day and age. Of course, we deserve to suffer and, until we learn, we will suffer.

Mankind has the intellectual potential to move from primeval level of "Dominate or be dominated" not all will make it! W Mukori

 

Rule of law, Civilisation

Supreme law: Do unto others as have them do unto you

Level 2: (Democracy)

Regression

Lost wisdom, laziness, fear, tyranny, etc.

Acquired knowledge, courage, etc.

Ignorance and chaos, Primeval    Only law: Dominate or be dominated

Level 1: (Dictatorship)

Mankind operate at either level 1 Primeval, the default                              level, others have progressed to level 2, civilisation.

 

  

  

Our No. 1 task is ending curse of rigged elections. "Love is the missing essential," said Chamisa. How so? W Mukori

 Zimbabwe is a failed state blundering from pillar to post. Why? Well, one of the reasons for the blundering from pillar to post is our failure to pay attention to detail. We blunder from pillar to post very often repeating the same mistakes over and over again because we did not learn from the past. 

Detail matters! Detail is everything!

The people of Zimbabwe have risked livelihoods, limbs and even lives to elect MDC/CCC leaders into power these last 25 years on the understanding these leaders would implement the required democratic changes, reforms, to stop Zanu PF rigging elections. The MDC leaders had the best chance to do this during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. 

Anyone paying attention to detail KNEW then that the 2008 to 2013 GNU offered the best opportunity ever for Zimbabwe to implement the democratic reforms the nation had been dying for. Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends, the banded mongooses, failed to implement even one token reform in five years of the GNU. Not even one!

Robert Mugabe bribed the mongooses with the trapping of high office; E-Class Mercedes Benz for all the deputy Ministers, Ministers, deputy Prime Ministers and Prime Minister Tsvangirai, generous salaries and allowances all round, a mUS$4 m mansion for Tsvangirai himself, etc., etc. In return the MDC leaders throw the reforms out of the window. 

“Mazivanhu eMDC adzidza kudya anyerere!” (MDC leaders have learned to enjoy the gravy train good life, [they will not rock the boat])! boasted Zanu PF cronies when asked why MDC leaders were not implementing the reforms during the GNU.

It is disappointing to note that many Zimbabweans out there had no clue what the democratic reforms were about much less that the primary purpose of the GNU was to implement the reforms. Even now, with the benefit of hindsight many still have no clue MDC leaders sold out big time by failing to implement even one toke reform during the GNU.

Ever since the GNU debacle MDC/CCC leaders have abandoned implementing reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections arguing they have devised Winning In Rigged Elections Strategies (WIRES). They have stubbornly refused to give details of what these strategies, arguing doing so would forewarn the vote rigging Zanu PF. 

The tragedy for Zimbabwe is that millions of Zimbabweans believed these idiotic WIRES and were conned again and again into participating in these flawed elections only to give Zanu PF legitimacy and perpetuate the nation’s suffering. It is the failure to pay attention to detail that has made millions of Zimbabweans sitting ducks, conned into one foolish thing after another. 

Zimbabweans should have taken MDC leaders to task for failing to implement even one token reform during the GNU. They did not because they had no clue what the reforms are much less that the primary purpose of the GNU was to implement reforms. 

When MDC/CCC leaders abandoned implementing in favour of WIRES the people should have taken these leaders to task each time Zanu PF blatantly rigged the elections - proof the strategies had not worked. The MDC/CCC admitted Zanu PF rigged the elections but have never ever admitted to having lied about having strategies to stop Zanu PF rigging. 

Zimbabwe is a failed state and all because for 45 years and counting the nation has been stuck with this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship. The regime has rigged elections to stay in power. The curse of rigged elections and bad governance is the number one problem on national agenda - nothing can ever be accomplished until we cure ourselves of this curse. 

Will yet another dose of WIRES end the curse of bad governance?

Here is Nelson Chamisa’s latest WIRES offering. "A new nation founded on love - Zimbabwe shall be a new and great nation governed by love, truth and justice, not hate, violence, lies, deceit and corruption," he said. "Love is the missing essential! Love is the foundation.”

The bottom line is Chamisa would want Zimbabweans to participate in the 2028 elections with not even one token democratic reform implemented confident Chamisa and his new political party will win the flawed elections because Chamisa will inject the essential ingredient we have lacked all along - LOVE. 

Detail matters and so one must ask Chamisa: How exactly is love going to stop Zanu PF rigging elections? Surely it is insane to participate in yet another election process, “so flawed, so illegal the only logical step is to withdraw,“ as David Coltart aptly put it. 

So, it has taken Chamisa 25 years before he realised the new Zimbabwe he was promising the nation up to now had no foundation! All these “#Godisinit!” were all lies because God would never ever be in a hare-brain scheme build a house with no foundation! 

Chamisa & Co.’s WIRES are just idiotic excuses to justify participating in flawed elections out of greed. They have got away with these idiotic lies only because the people themselves were not paying attention to detail. WIRES has not worked and will never ever work, we should have the common sense of finally acknowledge that and move on.

Zimbabweans must revert to the original and common sense solution of implementing the democratic reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections. Just because MDC/CCC leaders have sold out on reforms does not mean we do not need reforms and/or that there is no one else competent to implement the reforms. 

The immediate task is to stop participating in flawed elections conned to do so by idiotic WIRES lies. If Zimbabweans do not participate in the flawed 2028 elections in their millions as in the past they will deny Zanu PF legitimacy and thus forcing the nation into a new GNU arrangement. This time an attentive populous will ensure all the democratic reforms are implemented. 

Zimbabwe is a failed state. So, who will care for the carers when they are old? W Mukori

 Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? "Who will guard the guards themselves?" or "Who will watch the watchmen?” Asked Roman poet Juvenal.

Zimbabwe is a failed state because we, as a nation have failed to answer the question: Who will guard the leaders (guardians) if they should become corrupt? Zimbabwe is a failed state because our corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical leaders have become the runaway freight train. 

Millions of Zimbabweans have left the country as economic and or political refugees. Many have accepted the low paying wages and are living from hand to mouth. We have become a nation living from hand to mouth. 

By failing to deal with the curse of rigged elections and bad governance we have created an even worse problem for ourselves - we live for the day like a fruit-fly.    

To paraphrase Juvenal; Quis curam habebit curatorum cum senes erunt? “Who will care for the carers when they are old?”

The problem of restoring the people’s power to hold leaders to democratic account is one Zimbabweans must address with the sense of urgency the matter demands. As long as the leaders retain their carte blanche power to rig elections and get away with it, Zimbabwe will remain a failed state sinking deeper and deeper into the economic and political abyss. 

Timba and Tshabangu CCC factions engaged in a parliament caucus fight, both are sell outs and, per se, irrelevant. W Mukori

 The official opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) parliamentary caucus held a formal briefing at Parliament yesterday, attended by 38 Members of Parliament, with 11 others sending apologies, bringing the total number of MPs affirming the caucus to 49. This is according to an attendance register released by the caucus leadership.

Several MPs who did not attend were reportedly deployed on legislative duties across various provinces, participating in at least three active parliamentary committees.

The official caucus meeting, convened under the CCC's recognized parliamentary leadership, appeared to rattle the Jameson Timba-led Citizen National Assembly (CNA) faction, which is widely seen as fronting the political interests of former party president Nelson Chamisa. In response, the CNA-aligned group hastily arranged a rival gathering at a private residence on Cheshire Road in Mount Pleasant, Harare.

This splinter group branded their meeting as a "progressive caucus," borrowing a term commonly used in South African opposition politics. However, there is no such structure officially recognized in Zimbabwe's Parliament, and no party formally registered under the name CNA.”

Chamisa and his CCC cronies participated in the 2023 elections knowing fully well that Zanu PF was rigging and that participating would give Zanu PF legitimacy. The went ahead regardless, out of greed. 

Even when both SADC and AU condemned the elections process as flawed and illegal the winning CCC members insisted on taking up their gravy train seats.SADC could not deny Zanu PF legitimacy given the CCC leaders’ reaction and the millions of Zimbabweans participated in the elections.

Some of the winning Chamisa backed CCC leaders lost their gravy train seats to the Sengezo Tshabangu CCC faction within weeks of taking the seats. The two factions have been fighting each other over dominance ever since. As to which faction wins it is a matter of indifference since they participated in the 2023 elections out of greed and their continued presence in government is giving this illegitimate regime some modicum of legitimacy.  

Both the Jameson Timba and Tshabangu led CCC factions are sell outs only those who have no clue what is going on here think one faction is better than the other. What matters is they have both played their part in participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy. And, worst of all, they are both set to continue selling out in future! 

Chamisa conned millions of the party's brain dead followers to participate telling them he "had plugged all the Zanu PF vote rigging loop holes. #Godisinit!” They believed the idiotic lie. Having an ignorant and gullible electorate that is so easily conned to do stupid things has been one of Zimbabwe’s curses!

This Zanu PF regime has not implemented even one token democratic reform since the rigged 2023 nor is it likely to implement any reform before the next elections in 2028. And so we are heading for yet another rigged elections with the usual opposition leaders participating to give Zanu PF legitimacy out of greed. Our only hope of putting an end to this madness is making sure the brain dead opposition supporters are not conned again to participate. Easier said than done, give the followers are, indeed, brain dead!

"Zanu PF has captured all institutions," confessed Biti - most notably, captured MDC/CCC W Mukori

Tendai Biti is 100% correct in highlighting the extensive capture of the nation’s institutions by Zanu-PF and attributing this as the root cause why Zimbabwe is a failed state.

"We have had a policy and a polity pillared on the emasculation of State institutions. There is no institution in Zimbabwe that is independent. There is no institution in Zimbabwe that is not an extension of Zanu-PF's Politburo.”

I ask you to rewind back to the 1990s. By the late 1990s is was clear to the people of Zimbabwe that Zanu PF was NOT going to deliver mass prosperity, “Gutsa ruzhinji!” as Mugabe never tired of repeating it. The country’s economic was in decline and the nation was heading for mass poverty instead. 

More significantly, the nation also realised that as long as Zanu PF retained its carte blanche de facto one-party state (imposed after the signing of the 1987 Unity Accord) dictatorial powers, including the power to rig elections, the nation was stuck with the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF regime. 

The nation needed to elect opposition political leaders whose number one task was to bring about all the necessary democratic changes, reforms, to end Zanu PF’s dictatorial excesses. Morgan Tsvangirai, Tendai Biti, Nelson Chamisa, David Coltart and all the other MDC leaders and members launched the party in 1999 to answer the nation’s cry for democratic change. They even named the party Movement for Democratic Change. 

Back to the present. Mnangagwa and Zanu PF blatantly rigged the 2023 elections - proof MDC/CCC leaders have failed in their set number one task of delivering democratic changes, reforms, to end Zanu PF’s dictatorial powers. 

MDC/CCC leaders have failed to implement even one token democratic reform in 25 years, including the 2008 to 2013 GNU years when they had the golden opportunity to do so. Mugabe bribed Tsvangirai & Co. with the trappings of high office, the E-Class Mercedes Benz, generous salary and allowances, US$4 million mansion for Tsvangirai himself, etc. And in return, MDC leaders throw reforms out of the window!

Ever since the GNU debacle, MDC/CCC leaders have participating in flawed knowing fully well that would give Zanu PF legitimacy and perpetuate the nation’s suffering. They have conned millions of their brain dead followers to participate on the basis of idiotic lies of the opposition winning RIGGED elections. They have done all this for the same reason they failed to implement reforms during the GNU - greed 

"Every institution—including those I cannot mention because I am a practicing lawyer—every institution in Zimbabwe has been captured and captured thoroughly," confessed Tendai Biti.

Well the one institution that Zanu PF has “captured and captured thoroughly in the MDC/CCC! It is a great tragedy that MDC/CCC are Zanu PF team B in all but name, playing for team A to win and have legitimacy. 

After 25 years with not even one token reform to show for it, one would think that ALL Zimbabweans would now have finally awakened to the police reality the MDC/CCC too have been captured by Zanu PF. Alas! This is not so. There are millions especially the Chamisa chete chete brigade who consider Chamisa a demigod who can do no wrong. 

How is it possible that anyone can be so thoroughly brainwashed to think a mere mortal a demigod; especially the likes of Chamisa with a well documented track record as corrupt, incompetent and a liar! 

Tendai Biti was speaking at Dr Ibbo Mandaza SAPES platform calling for National Transition Authority (NTA) as a way out of this political crisis. 

"The sum collection of this is that we have a crisis that needs to be managed to avoid an implosion. That is where the NTA comes in. The NTA is an idea that is anchored on dialogue.

"The citizens of Zimbabwe must talk and dialogue, where the first process has to be a national conference. The convention must articulate issues that speak to Zimbabwe's fragility and vulnerability, and these issues must be put on the table," argued Tendai Biti.

The 2008 to 2013 GNU was the golden opportunity for Zimbabwe to reset its failed political system. Sadly the opportunity was wasted because the MDC/CCC leaders were Zanu PF team B, completed captured by Zanu PF. The tragic reality is these politicians ARE still captured by Zanu PF. 

The proposed NTA is expected to implement the democratic reforms the 2006 to 2013 GNU failed to implement. The NTA is doomed to Zanu PF thugs and their thoroughly captured side-kicks play key roles in the new arrangement. 

45 years after independence we are still failing the simple test of holding free and fair elections. W Mukori

 “And we are failing to cross the street!” remarked President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania was told about the Americans landing on the Moon in 1969.

I have always admired President Nyerere for that quotation. It represents an honest admission of Africa’s shortcomings and, more significantly, a concerted effort to answer why Africa has lagged behind.

Zimbabwe is a failed state. The evidence we are a failed state is there for all to see. I will go straight to the why we are a failed state, and not what time restating the evidence or rebutting the denials.

One of the reasons why Zimbabwe is a failed state is our failure to hold free, fair and credible elections. The nation has been stuck with this corrupt, incompetent and murderous Zanu PF dictatorship for 45 years and counting. The party has rigged elections to stay in power and, up to now at least, the nation has all but failed to stop Zanu PF rigging elections.

It is no secret that Zanu PF has an inbuilt electoral majority from the rural vote. Zanu PF withdraw many of its freedom fighters to Assembly Points as agreed in the Lancaster House Agreement during the 1980 elections. The operatives remained in the field and their election campaign message was that if Zanu PF did not win the elections, the bush war would continue. Many of the rural areas with these Zanu PF operatives were “no go areas” for other contesting parties.

The rural voters, at least, voted to end the bush. One does not argue looking up the business end of an AK47 rifle!

Rural areas have remained, to this day, Zanu PF strongholds and no go areas for all the other parties. Zanu PF kept the rural folk poor by deliberately denying title deeds to even a few square metres of land on which their mud huts stand. This is the one right that would mean everything to these people and would set them for meaningful economic and political empowerment. 

It is no surprise that Ian Smith’s white colonial regime realised this and it too denied rural blacks title deeds for the same selfish political reasons. 

Indeed, when blacks was the war of independence was fought over the land issue, that is exactly what they are talking about. Why were the whites allowed to own vast tracks of land and yet the blacks were denied the right to own even a postage stamp size yard!

The seizure of white owned farms, often accompanied by the gratuitous violence, was supposedly to give the land back to the landless peasants. In practice, the seized farms were given to the Zanu PF ruling elite and their cronies. 

Mnangagwa has announced the recipients of the former white owned farms will now get title deeds to the farms and with it the full legal ownership rights. The Regime continues to demolish houses in Ruwa and other rural areas where Land Barons had given away land underlining the regime’s policy that rural folk must not be given title deeds to any land. 

The bottomline is Zimbabwe’s rural folk, constituting 60% of the electorate, are nothing more than medieval serfs beholden to the Zanu PF ruling elite and the proxies, the village heads, chiefs, war veterans, Zanu PF militia, etc. It is no secret that party operatives have repeatedly frog-marched rural folk to attend party rallies and to vote for the party. How could Zanu PF lose an election with such a built-in majority? 

The one occasion in the March 2008 election when Zanu PF, under pressure from SADC, was forced to loosen its electoral control, the nearest the country ever got to holding free and fair elections; the party lost the vote. The party intervened to stop the results being announced. The party ordered a recount of 5 million votes which was to last six weeks. The presidential vote count was last to be announced; Tsvangirai’s 73%, according to Mugabe’s own Freudian slip, had been whittled down to 47%. Enough to force a run-off.

During the run-off Zanu PF launched Operation Mavhotera Papi (Whom did you vote for) desired to punish the voters for having dared to reject the party in the early vote. If anyone had thought Zanu PF’s threat to use violence to win elections was a bluff, Operation Mavhotera Papi left no one in any doubt this is not an empty threat.

Both SADC and AU refused to accept Zanu PF’s political legitimacy and forced the party to agree to the formation of GNU. The primary purpose of the GNU was to implement the democratic reforms to end Zanu PF’s political struggle hold especially on the rural voters to ensure free, fair and credible elections.

Alas! Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends who were entrusted the task of implementing the democratic reforms during the GNU, failed to implement even one token reform in 5 years. Mugabe bribed them with the trappings of high office, the E-Class Mercedes Benz, the generous salaries and allowances, a US$4 million mansion for Save himself, etc., etc. And in return MDC leaders kick the reforms into the Cactus thicket!

Zanu PF emerged out of the GNU with all its carte blanche dictatorial powers including its heavy boot on the throat of the rural voters. 

Even now, with the benefit of hindsight, many Zimbabweans have no clue the primary purpose of the GNU was to implement the democratic reforms much less that MDC leaders sold out.

Last month, Zimbabweans observed the country’s 45th year of independence, 45 years of rigged elections and there is nothing to suggest the penny has finally dropped. The nation will be going into its next elections with the same skewed electoral system in which Zanu PF thugs retain their heavy boot on the throat of the rural voters to guarantee the party’s in-built majority. 

45 years after independence and we are still failing to cure ourselves of the curse of rigged elections and bad governance. We are failing to cross the street when others are landing on the Moon.

“And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand.” Genesis 4: 9 - 11.

Forget being our brother’s keep; by turning a blind eye to Zanu PF thugs keeping their heavy boots on the neck of the rural people we denied ourselves the blessing of good governance. 45 years after independence in this day and age and we still failing to cross the street of free and fair elections.Of course we deserve to suffer the curse of rigged elections.