Tsvangirai keeps "marching up hill, down again with no reforms - if not now, when?" ask Zimvigil

“It is cold out there!” Is Professor Jonathan Moyo’s, Zimbabwe’s best known political turn-coat, famous catch phrase; on par with the historic “Dr Livingstone, I presume!” Professor Moyo was expressing his true feelings on how tough life had outside Zanu PF, deprived of all the material comforts and countless privileges that absolute power brought to the party’s ruling elite.

The Professor was booted out of Zanu PF following the infamous 2004 failed Tsholotsho coup plot to ouster Mugabe from power. Moyo made the apt observation after being readmitted back in the party after a few years in the cold. He was lucky!

Kundakwashe Bhasikiti and many ruling elite were booted out of Zanu PF together with Joice Mujuru in 2014 and have since been finding out for themselves just how cold it is out there. Bhasikiti, like the others, has quickly found out for himself that Moyo was right, it is bloody freezing!

Bhasikiti was MP for Mwenezi and Masvingo Provincial Minister, he lost both post soon after he was booted out of Zanu PF. He found himself being haunted off a commercial farm he owned, he was landed with an astronomical electricity bill of over $133 000, etc. Joice Mujuru admitted that many of the Zanu PF bigwigs who were booted out of the party with her were suffering from stress related illnesses; just to underline just how tough they are finding things to be!

It is therefore not surprising that the top priority for all those unlucky to find themselves outside Zanu PF is to fight to be readmitted back in the party or else get back on the political gravy train by whatever other meanings they can.

With the door back to Zanu PF slammed shut in their faces Bhasikiti and company formed their own party, ZimPF. The Mwenezi East by-election offered Bhasikiti the chance to regain his old parliamentary seat and all the MP privileges that comes with it. It was no small thing therefore that forced Bhasikiti to throw in the towel and concede defeat before the first vote in the by election was cast!

Bhasikiti withdraw from the by-election citing voter intimidation and vote-buying.

Zimbabwe Peace Project (ZPP), a local Human Rights NGO led by Justine Mukoko, herself a torture victim of the regime, confirmed some of the intimidation in their report.

“Those that turned up for the intended ZimPF rally were allegedly followed to their homes by the Zanu PF district committee members and ordered to stop supporting opposition political parties,” reported ZPP.

Bhasikiti is himself a veteran of Zanu PF’s dirty politics, he played a key role in the wanton violence of the 2008 elections, as he himself has since admitted. He must have thought he could stomach the harassment, beating, etc. that he had dished out to others so liberally. He was as sick as a parrot after just a few weeks of the dish!

“It’s no longer a threat (to withdraw),” announced Bhasikiti to the world. “Combined with the deadlock we declared against ZEC (on Tuesday) as opposition political parties, we have no business participating in anything managed by the current partisan ZEC.”

None of the former MDC factions have contested any of the by-elections since the rigged July 2013 elections, following their “No reform, no election!” respective party congress resolutions. ZimPF knew of the resolutions and that not even one reform has been implemented and yet decided to contest the by-election regardless.

The failure to get any meaningful reforms implemented is a very serious matter which ZPP have too highlighted in their report. but decided to ignore them. ZPP said it was worried by the unfolding events in Mwenezi East and more concerned that with each by election conducted the same issues were being raised, but no one was taking any action to ensure that the electorate exercises its political rights in a conducive environment free of intimidation and other malpractices.

All the country’s opposition parties are gearing up to contest next year’s elections although no reforms would be in place.

Zanu PF has learnt that as long as it gives away a few seats during general elections it will always be assured of opposition parties contesting the elections regardless how flawed the process. It is these bait seats the opposition party are after.

“Like the Grand Old Duke of York, Morgan Tsvangirai marched his men up to the top of the hill on Wednesday. And, as goes the English nursery rhyme, he promptly marched them down again,” wrote the London based Zimvigil group.

“'Circumstances dictate the situation and today is not the day to stage street protests', he told supporters in Harare campaigning for electoral reforms. But, the Vigil asks, if not now, when? Yes, the police had predictably placed last minute obstacles in the way of the protest. Can anyone see the day coming when they won't?”

Zimvigil was referring to Tsvangirai’s decision call off the street protest last Wednesday after the Police refused to grand the protestors permission to do so. Zimvigil could well have said the same thing about the opposition’s promise to implement the democratic reforms and failing to get even one reform implemented after five years of the GNU. And more recently, the opposition’s reneging on their “No reform, no election!” resolution.

Here is the Zimbabwe’s vicious political cycle:   

Zimbabwe’s political vicious cycle.

The real losers in Zimbabwe today are the ordinary people, povo who are being cheated by Zanu PF in that they are the ones paying dearly for the corrupt rule which has left them desperately poor and yet stuck with the regime because it is denying them their freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country. Povo are also being cheated by the opposition who keep promising the people change is on the way when they know there is none.

The solution to Zimbabwe’s vicious political cycle is for povo to know they are caught in the pincer movement between Zanu PF and the conniving opposition; it is not just Zanu PF that is betraying them as many believe. When it comes to elections Zanu PF has devised many ways of falsifying their vote and so there is nothing povo can do directly to deny Zanu PF legitimacy. What the people can do is demonstrate that the opposition parties that contest the flawed elections have no grass root support.

The people of Zimbabwe have waited for 37 years now for free, fair and credible elections they must put their foot down and demand free and fair elections and nothing else. They must do everything in the power to disrupt any elections short of free and fair elections.