“Each struggle has its own sell-out and Tsvangirai is our own
Nyathi,” said Tendai Biti.
Biti was comparing Morgan Tsvangirai to the infamous Morrison
Nyathi, a liberation war fighter who turned coat and became an informer for the
enemy. He is the one who led the racists Rhodesian Army deep into Mozambique to
Liberation Camps resulting in the slaughter of thousands liberation fighters
and the civilian refugees.
“While Mugabe is a thief who stole our collective dream of a
prosperous nation after independence, Tsvangirai is a bigger thief who nicked
our dream of a new nation, our dream of re-birth in our lifetime,” continued
Biti.
There is no doubt that had MDC implemented the democratic
reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship brick by brick and
rebuild new democratic institutions in its place this would have resulted in a new
Zimbabwe, “re-birth in our lifetime”.
There is also no doubt that just as Morrison Nyathi was
offered a reward by the white racist regime of Ian Smith to betray his fellow
freedom fighters and the nation, Tsvangirai was offered a reward for betraying
the nation and not implement the reforms. Mugabe offered the MDC leader the post
of Prime Minister of the Republic of Zimbabwe (without any meaningful power or
authority but Tsvangirai was too foolish to notice), the $4 million Highlands mansion,
a chance to gallivant round the world chasing women of ill repute, a ministerial
car and all the other glittering-today-but-gone-tomorrow attractions.
Tsvangirai accepted the bribe and kept his end of the bargain – not even one
democratic reform was implemented. Not one!
“Where did you want me to live? In the bush!” said Tsvangirai
with palpable agitation and aggression when he was pushed to deny that the $4
million Highlands mansion was not bribe.
Of course the mansion was a bribe and Tsvangirai sold-out!
What is wrong with Tendai Biti and the rest of the
MDC-Renewal’s narrative of this modern day Morrison Nyathi sell-out is just
that – it was not one individual, Morgan Tsvangirai, who sold out but the
entire MDC leadership!
Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma, of all the MDC leaders, knew
exactly what the raft of the democratic reforms were because they were the
MDC-T negotiators involved in the writing of the GPA calling for these reforms.
Throughout the five year life of the GNU they were aware that none of the
reforms had been implemented. Together with Tsvangirai and the other MDC
leaders Biti and Mangoma had received reminders from SADC leaders concerned at
the lack of progress in implementing the reforms. Reminders they all ignored.
Why?
Simple, Mugabe bribed all the MDC leaders. Tendai Biti got Minister
of Finance portfolio (he was to latter complain of another parallel but secretive
body collecting all the revenue from the dooming but secretive diamond trade),
ministerial car, etc. The other leaders got their share of the gravy train
goodies.
There is no doubt that all the MDC leaders colluded in doing
nothing about implemented the reforms. Indeed they were so pleased with their new-found
benefactor they were tripping over each other in taking turns to sign the
Mugabe’s praises. It was Tendai Biti himself who called the tyrant “unflappable
and father to the nation”!
“Vanhu veMDC vadzidza kudya vanyerere!” remarked one Zanu PF
loyalist, mockingly. (MDC leaders have learnt to enjoy the gravy train life and
not make a fuss!) He was commenting at the metamorphic transformation in MDC
leaders from the impassioned reformers determined to deliver real democratic
changes and regime change to these placid poodles content to licking the tyrant’s
feet.
What Tsvangirai and his fellow MDC leaders thought was that
they would still win the coming elections even if not even one democratic
reform had been implemented. So by doing nothing about the reforms they would
keep Mugabe happy and he will reward them by keeping them all well supplied
with all those gravy train goodies. Come election day, the MDC vote will
overwhelm whatever vote rigging schemes Mugabe will have planned.
MDC were naïve to underestimate the elaborate vote rigging
scheme Mugabe would device given a free hand use all the state institutions and
resources as he pleased. By noon of the 31 July 2013, the main voting day, it
was clear to all that Mugabe and Zanu PF were heading for a landslide election
victory; Mugabe’s vote rigging scheme had disenfranchised millions of MDC
voters whilst generating millions of fictitious votes for Mugabe.
In fact MDC leaders had not just been naïve but had shown
throughout the GNU years to be breathtakingly incompetent.
“He has sold out the struggle. I asked him to seek the
people’s forgiveness following the poll loss last year and he refused. He could
not get himself to swallow his pride and admit he had failed the nation,” said
Tendai Biti of Tsvangirai.
Mr Tendai Biti when are you going to stop lying to the people
of Zimbabwe that it was Morgan Tsvangirai alone who failed the nation? You were
all breathtakingly incompetent.
Indeed it is not just a matter of Tsvangirai “swallowing his
pride” and you yours; you are all hankering to get back on the gravy train and
therefore to public acknowledge that you were breathtakingly incompetent would
be political suicide because you will have the impossible task to prove that
you are not still breathtakingly incompetent.
We both know that you were and still are breathtakingly
incompetent and you will never ever delivery any meaningful democratic change.
You failed to do so during the GNU when MDC had the trump cards, what chance do
you have of doing so now when Zanu PF is holding all the trump cards? None!
Zero! Naught!
18 comments:
@ Kiri
I agree that Biti has a problem but he is right that Tsvangirai sold out. Biti's problem is that he wants to pretend that our modern day Nyati went to State House alone time and time again for five years selling out the struggle to the tyrant without his (Biti) and the other MDC leaders' knowledge! That is simply preposterous, absurd and an insult to all thinking people who hear it!
@ Murozvi
You insistence on "attracting crowds to show your have a strong support from the grass roots" shows that you have not learnt the lesson from the GNU fiasco. Tsvangirai attracted huge crowds to all his rallies but that did not stop Mugabe rigging the elections and retaining power.
The lesson you should have learned is that the democratic reforms are important and they must be implemented if we are to finally dismantle this corrupt and oppressive Zanu PF dictatorship!
@ Sammy Moyo
“If it were not for Morgan standing tall and brave in the face of Zanu while clowns like Biti sat cowering do you really think Biti would have the guts to shout his stupid mouth off,” you said.
Now many times have you heard Mugabe and his hardboiled thugs say, “If it were not for Mugabe standing tall and brave in the face of racist white regime while clowns like Tsvangirai sat cowering do you really think Tsvangirai would have the guts to shout his stupid mouth off!”
If I have heard it once I have heard it a thousand times!
No one is in any way trying to belittle what Tsvangirai has done in “standing tall and brave in the face of Zanu PF” no more than anyone is trying to belittle Mugabe’s liberation war contribution. The issue here is the dream of freedom, justice, liberty and human rights; which both Tsvangirai and Mugabe will swear they stood tall against the respective oppressor of the day fighting for; has remained but a pipe dream. If saying so is belittling these two individuals then so be it.
Both Mugabe and Tsvangirai are yesteryear’s liberation heroes who went through a metamorphic transformation when they got into power and became a corrupt, neurotic and murderous tyrant in the former and a blundering village idiot in the latter.
The nation is going through hell right now with unemployment a nauseating 90% plus, 300 000 or 80% children out of school, 16% or 2 million people are living in abject poverty, etc. We need to do something to get out of this hell but to do so we have to acknowledge that Mugabe is a corrupt, neurotic and murderous tyrant and that Tsvangirai is a blundering village idiot because that is what they are! There is no time to waste in sentimental nonsense and blind loyalty to failed leaders!
You need to get your head out of Tsvangirai’s a*** and see him for the blundering village idiot he is!
"Most of these people who are plotting against Mujuru do not have structures on the ground unlike us. We will fight in the politburo to stop the attempt to introduce undemocratic means to prop up one faction," said a Mujuru ally.
"Come congress, if the elections are free and fair we are assured of sweeping at least eight provinces because we have the numbers."
But that is exactly the point here; elections are NOT free and fair! When has Mugabe ever held free, fair and credible elections? This is exactly the same mistake MDC made last year; they failed to implement the democratic reforms throughout the five-year life of the GNU and AS-SUMED the elections will be free and fair. The elections were anything but free and fair and MDC trounced!
Since August when Grace Mugabe bust on the political scene, Mai Mujuru and her supporters have been sitting wringing their hands, afraid to do or say anything. Meanwhile Grace has been out trashing Mai Mujuru’s name and reputation and threatening the living daylight out of her sup-porters. Now there is this shadowy body revising the party’s constitution.
The Mujuru faction should have started the fight to ensure Zanu PF was a democratic party with a healthy respect for free and fair elections a long time ago. They did not and now all they can do is cross their fingers and hope for the best – as Tsvangirai and MDC did last year!
Simba Makoni is spot on Grace Mugabe has been “disruptive and usurping the powers of the state president”. Indeed even the state president would not publicly accuse his senior staff of doing nothing, chillaxing, and dumping them. She even said if Mugabe did not dump them, she will do it herself. Grace has certainly usurped the presidential power.
If Mugabe was to sack Mujuru now, he will only be doing what Grace told him or else she was going to do it herself.
"As private citizens they have a right to protect and defend their dignity; I would not sit there and be harangued in the manner that she is doing," said Makoni.
The nation must take that with a pitch of salt, coming from someone who sat next to Mugabe for decades notably through the Gukurahundi "moments of madness" as the tyrant himself has admitted! Why did you not leave then Dr Makoni?
@ Teejey
Who are you kidding? Grace wants Mugabe's job and has made that clear with all that talk of man who are sleeping on the job must not be surprised when the woman takeover. However Grace also knows that Mujuru has been gunning for the same job herself and will not stand a chance against her and hence the reason Grace has gone out to get Mujuru out of the way.
Grace has not even assumed the Women's League chairperson post yet and already she is flexing the power of state president. Indeed she is tell Mugabe if he does not dump Mujuru, she will do it herself; she is not just president but Supremo President already - even Mugabe is answerable to her now!
@ Dr Diva
Mugabe will never back Mujuru now because the Mnangagwa faction will walkout on him and his wife and the Mujuru faction will move in for the kill. Mai Mujuru is not smart but even she will know that this was a close call and if she gets half a chance now, she must seize the crown and not waste time.
Both sides know this is it. Whoever blinks now is out of the game!
Mugabe should have known that playing one side of Zanu PF against the other was a dangerous game because sooner or later the two sides will clash and blood will spill. This was coming, Grace has only precipitate the clash.
@ Sound of blackness
If Grace hangs on to the presidency then Mugabe will have had the last laugh because he would have stopped both Mujuru and Mnangagwa getting it after all these years of making each side it was theirs for the taking. As things stand, that seems to be the most likely out come here.
@ Mhukahuru
Mugabe did not want Mnangagwa or Mujuru to take over and by forcing the weaker Mnangagwa faction to accept his wife as their candidate and use his own excessive presidential power to impose Grace on the party makes Mugabe is the winner here.
His only wish is for him to live a bit longer and help Grace consolidate power because is he was to go too soon the party will gang on her and she will be thrown out!
I have heard of cheap propaganda and it does not get any cheaper than this!
Dr Grace Mugabe has left an “indelible mark in the lives of women and youths yearning for eco-nomic fortunes to touch their lives,” we are being told.
62% of Zimbabweans are poor and 16% or 2 million are living in abject poverty, many of them amongst those who attended Grace’s rallies. So it will be fair to say these people are definitely yearning for a change in their economic misfortune.
“In all her speeches Dr Mugabe spoke strongly about the revival of the economy decrying fac-tionalism as the evil barricading development in the country besides the illegal sanctions.”
For years now all the Zimbabweans have heard from this regime that we, the masses, are poor because of “illegal sanctions”. These sanctions are not even have any effect of those on the sanctions lists like the Mugabes; how can they be affected if they can afford a $5 million wed-ding for their daughter? Now Grace tells us we must added the factional fighting in Zanu PF as a new cause of our economic misfortunes.
“Dr Mugabe spoke passionately about how she and her husband His Excellency President Mu-gabe would love to see the electoral pledges made in the run up to the July 31, 2013 fulfilled. She rallied heads of Ministries to religiously live up to the expectations of the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zimasset),” the people were told.
Well this is the usual Zanu PF propaganda bull, because it is now a year since the rigged July 2013 and there has not been even one out of the 2 million jobs promised has been created. In-stead companies have continued to close throwing hundreds of workers on the Mount Everest high unemployed heap. The ministers were not waiting for Grace’s plea for them to finally start doing their jobs!
“In a rare move alien to the revolutionary party Dr Mugabe took a swipe at under achievers in the ruling party and government hinting that time had come for leaders to be appointed on merit with perennial failures running the risk of facing the chop.”
What is worth noting here is that it was indeed a rare admission that there are under achievers and corruption in Zanu PF. These problems are rampant and they are the real causes of the country poor economic performance. The only “indelible mark” Grace’s rallies should leave on the people of Zimbabwe is that the regime will never tire of lying about the real causes of the country’s economic meltdown and as long as this Zanu PF regime remains in office the economic situation will only get worse.
ONLY SOMEONE WHO IS POLITICAL NAÏVE WOULD HAVE FAILED TO SEE THE FAC-TIONAL FIGHTING TIRING ZANU PF APART, COMING WAY BACK. MUGABE HAS RUN ZANU PF ON RATS IN A GRANARY ETHOES – EAT AND MULTIPLY. IT WAS JUST A MAT-TER OF TIME BEFORE HE RAN OUT OF THE CUSHY JOBS, CORRUPT DEALS, WHITE-OWNED FARMS TO LOOT, ETC. AND THE LAST YEAR WITH THE ECONOMY IN TOTAL MELTDOWN IT WAS CLEAR MUGABE HAD NO MORE BRIBES TO OFFER HIS FOLLOW-ERS. WORSE STILL EACH FACTION KNOWS ABJECT POVERTY AWAITS ALL THE LOS-ERS.
THOSE WHO ARE HOPING AGAINST HOPE THAT MUGABE WILL SMOOTH THE ROUGH FEATHERS AND EVERYONE WILL BE HAPPY ARE EQUALLY NAÏVE. NOW THAT THE GRANARY IS EMPTY IT IS IRRELEVANT THAT THE NEST IS BIG TO ACCOMMODATE ALL THE RATS MANY MUST GO BECAUSE THERE IS NO FOOD TO FEED THEM ALL.
THOSE WHO GET KICKED OUT OF THE ZANU PF RATS’ NEST KNOW THAT ABJECT POVERTY AND EARLY DEATH FROM WANT AWAITS THEM. YES THIS IS A LIFE AND DEATH MATTER AND THUS FEAR OF THIS FACTIONAL FIGHT TURNING UGLY IS COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED!
ON HIS RETURN FROM ROME, MUGABE SAID NOTHING ABOUT THE FACTIONAL WAR TIR-ING ZANU PF APART OR THE ECONOMIC MELTDOWN THAT HAS FORCED 2 MILLION INTO A LIFE OF ABJECT POVERTY. HIS ONLY COMMENT WAS TO APPLAUD THE CHURCH’S PO-SITION NOT TO RECOGNISE GAY RELATIONS.
THE CHURCH DOES NOT CONDONE GAY RELATIONS FOR THE SAME REASON IT DOES NOT CONDONE ANY SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS OUTSIDE MARRIAGE - THERE ARE ALL SINS IN THE EYES OF GOD AND THEREFORE THE CHURCH. THE STATE IS A SECULAR AND NOT RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION AND HAS NO BUSINESS EVEN COMMENTING ON ONE’S RELA-TIONSHIP WITH HIS OR HER GOD.
"WE APPLAUD THEIR STANCE." BIG DEAL! WILL THAT FILL THE STOMACH OF THE 2 MIL-LION LIVING IN ABJECT POVERTY OR SEND BACK TO SCHOOL THE 300 000 CHILDREN WHO HAVE DROPPED OUT?
OR DOES MUGABE THINK APPLAUDING THE CHURCH OF HOMOSEXUALITY HAS EARNED HIM THE TICKET TO HEAVEN REGARDLESS OF THE BLOOD OF OVER 30 000 HE HAS SHED! WHEN IT COMES TO RIGGING ELECTIONS, YOU HAVE A LOT OF EXPERIENCE; STILL RIGGING YOU WAY INTO HEAVEN IS A BRIDGE TOO FAR!
@Chkonobaya
He can avoid saying anything about the economic meltdown; it does not matter more companies will closed, etc.
He can say nothing about the Zanu PF fighting those sharpening their knives will continue because every-one knows those who will be dumped will face abject poverty.
After decades of worrying about eating too much it will be a shock to the system to find oneself worrying nothing to eat, no running water, mounting bills, etc. Many of them have seen it happen to others like the late Nathan Shamuyarira, his wife could not even afford the bus fare to see him on his death bed!
Comrades the fall from the dizzying social height Easy Street to depths of depravity of S***t Alley is a long and dangerous one. Even those with a thick blabber from all the years of good living, can be sure of bad bruising and a few broken bones.
Life in S***t Alley is tough, very tough; it is especially tough for the newly arrivals used to the comforts of silk sheets. Poverty and death are as inseparable as Siamese twins you will soon learn.
You have visited S***t Alley in the past but never really believed such a s**ty place existed. Now you will experience what it really means to live in abject poverty and to have no hope. As long as Mugabe and Zanu PF remain in power, the economy is certain to get worse and here in S***t Alley you will feel it worst of all. You too will be clamouring for regime change and for the first time open your eyes to the injustice of vote rigging, corruptions, etc.
People like Cephas Msipa who think that Zanu PF could continue to live as one big happy family spoilt rotten with all their absolute political power, wealth, seized white farms, overseas educated children who go on to hold their $5 million weddings, etc are frankly naive and stupid. The whole social, political and economic system Mugabe and Zanu PF have fostered on the nation these last 34 years is simply unsustain-able because it is wasteful of the nation's material and human resources.
Zimbabwe is going through a serious economic meltdown after decades of miss rule by this Zanu PF party. The economy is in ruins and 16% or 2 million are living in abject poverty and even the ruling elite are feeling the economic heat. The factional fighting in Zanu PF is just a manifestation of the ruling elect fighting over the shrinking resources just to stay afloat economically.
The infighting in Zanu PF will only load shed some of the ruling elite with the remaining hoping they can continue with business as usual.
This Zanu PF inspired social, political and economic system is wasteful and unsustainable; whether the number of ruling elite is reduced or not will not change anything. Those like Cephas Msipa who have failed to see this even now after all these years are unbelievably naïve and politically blind.
@Diva
They are in trouble already, many of the rank and file soldiers are being forced to take two week leave every month because there is no money to but food for them all. Unless soldiers who are on leave do not eat, what the army is saying is starve but do so away from here!
@ gutter poet
I think the solution here is to make the electorate aware that MDC messed up big time and that they, the voters, messed up too big time is following leaders like Tsvangirai blindly. Until the people are cured of this weakness of following blindly then the nation is going nowhere.
We are in this mess because we, the people, have shown again and again that we do not have the foggiest idea where we are much less where we are going but are as keen as mustard to follow. There has not been a shortage of leaders, since being leader has become such a profitable occupation, to lead although they too do not have a clue where they are and where they are going. The herd do not know that and are not bothered by such niceties all they want is someone to follow. The herd will be even more impressed if the route is the easy and not hard one, downhill and not uphill, etc. which so happens to be the surest way to hell.
After 34 years of misrule by Mugabe the nation's life expectancy has dropped from 68 years in 1980 to 34 years in 2004 according to some reports. It would be a lot worse if donors had not step in. Since 2008 it is the donors who have paid 98% of the country's medical needs, for example. The regime says it has no money but had $5 million to spend on Bona Mugabe's wedding!
16% or 2 million Zimbabweans now live in abject poverty and the number is growing every day as the national economy continue to sink. As long as the electorate continue to have this laissez faire to life and elect tyrants like Mugabe and village idiots like Tsvangirai this nation will never get out of this mess.
My fellow Zimbabweans, welcome to hell! If this is not hell-on-earth then I do not know what is!
ZUJ complain of Grace Mugabe’s threats against independent media journalists during her rallies. She accused them of “advancing the interests of a certain faction of the (ruling) party”.
This is a regime that has ruled by fear and brute force; now that it is feeling its hold on power is being threatened it is not surprising that it is going to resort to its tried and trusted means to consolidate its hold on power. The journalists, opposition, the public; anyone the regime considers a threat, including an op-posing faction in the regime, is fair game as far as the regime is concerned.
Most political analysts had correctly forecast the factional war in Zanu PF hotting up as hot air from one region meet cold air from the opposite region. What the analysts did not know was this was to develop into a hurricane Grace. The nation is now in for some serious bad weather!
Hurricane Grace has hit Zimbabwe's political landscape and it is stirring up the worst emotions in those amongst our people known to be ruled by passion than by reason for her own selfish gain. Zanu PF has ruled the country through chaos, fear and bloodshed and the regime is fearful that power is slipping out of its grip and is thus resorting to its most tried and trusted ways of consolidating power - chaos, fear and bloodshed.
What Grace Mugabe must know is her husband, Robert Mugabe, has tried to rule the country using the same tactics she is using now chaos, fear and has shed the blood over 30 000 innocent Zimbabwe during his 34 years in power but it is now clear that he has failed to achieve his ultimate goal of retaining absolute power for as long as he lives. The regime is wasteful of human and material resources and has brought tragic human suffering and unnecessary deaths to the nation. And it is the regime’s failure to deliver freedom, justice, basic human rights and to grant the ordinary man, woman and child a fair share in the country’s wealth and riches that has undermined Mugabe’s iron grip on power.
There can never be peace where millions are forced to live in fear denied of hope in the future. Sooner or later the human spirit will protest. This dog-eat-dog happening within Zanu PF itself is just a manifestation of the human protest that has been brewing in the land.
Whilst Grace may in the end subdue Mai Mujuru and her Zanu PF supporters with all her “baby dump-ing” threats and sending off the militant war vets on a war foot; she will NOT do the same with the rest of the populous. 16% or 2 million Zimbabweans are living in abject poverty already; proof that this oppressive system of rule by chaos, fear and bloodshed, has failed; this cannot go on much longer. There must be regime change and now!
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