Mphoko justify storming Police - no one is more blind than he who refuse to see. N Garikai

There is no one more blind than he who close the eyes and refuse to see! VP Mphoko is one refusing to see because he has his eyes shut!

"How could they (Police) arrest people, who were in the meeting, accusing them of throwing stones, and letting those who had come to disrupt the meeting go scot-free? How does someone in a hall throw stones, getting them from where? This is what the Acting President (Mphoko) wanted addressed," Zanu PF Bulawayo provincial secretary for security, George Mlala, explained.

This relates to the story of VP Mphoko storming into the Police Station and accusing the official of failing to do their duty following the arrest of Zanu PF members after fighting broke out amongst the party members in the on-going factional war.

Even if the Police had indeed arrested the victims of the violence and not the perpetrators; is this not standard practice in Zimbabwe’s mudded political waters? Surely VP Mphoko must know the history of our troubled nation enough to know that Zanu PF instigated violence is the norm and that the party’s thugs are above the law!

As recent as 2008 over 500 innocent MDC supporters were murdered in cold blood and no one has ever been arrested because President Mugabe himself set up operation “Mavhotera papi!” (Who did you vote for!). He wanted to reverse the 73% electoral defeat to Tsvangirai in the March vote. He led the operation from the front!

“What was achieved by the bullet cannot be undone with the ballot!” He thundered!

It worked; he won the July run-off by a staggering 84%, the biggest ever vote swing in human history.

In the Zanu PF factional war, VP Mphoko is with the G40 faction, and he is outraged that G40 supporters were ever arrested; even if they were they were the ones who stormed the meeting and throw the stones. Mphoko is outraged at the arrest of his Zanu PF factional supporters and yet when hundreds of opposition members are murdered he sees nothing wrong! The sheer arrogance and hypocrisy of the man is an insult to the nation!

No wonder the nation is a real mess; with corrupt and murderous thugs like Mphoko, Mnangagwa, Mugabe, etc. at the helm, it is naïve to expect anything else. The need for meaningful political change and remove the thugs from office in now a matter of life and death for this nation.

During the 2008 to 2013 GNU, SADC leaders present the people of Zimbabwe with a way to end the country’s culture of political violence, vote rigging and lawlessness. All the nation had to do was implement the raft of democratic reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship. The important task of implementing the reform was given to Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends. They had five years to complete the task. They failed to get even one reform implemented. Not one!

President Mugabe bribed the MDC leaders with the gravy train lifestyles, a seized white farm for Welshman Ncube, a $4 million Highlands mansion for Tsvangirai, etc., etc. And, in return, MDC leaders kicked all the reforms straight out of the window. SADC leaders tried their best to get Tsvangirai & co. to implement the reforms but the warning fell on deaf ears.

MDC leaders themselves became aware of their folly of failing to implement the reforms in the dying months of the GNU. They could, even at this eleventh hour, have forced the implementation of the reform but greed once again got the better of them, as former MDC cabinet minister, David Coltart, readily admitted.

“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,” wrote Coltart in his book.

“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.”

The country lost two golden opportunities to dismantle the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship; first, during the GNU by failing to implement even one reform in five years. Second, by participating in the flawed 2013 elections we gave the process credibility and acceptance and thus forfeiting our chance to have the elections condemned and force through the reforms.

It is clear that Zanu PF has not changed in any way, as VP Mphoko’s arrogant and hypocritical actions clearly shows. The regime will rig next year’s elections as readily as it rig the 2013 elections. Claims by Tsvangirai and his opposition friends that they will win are as empty as the similar claims of yesteryears. The opposition leaders like Tsvangirai cannot see the wood from the trees because their minds are a fog, they are afflicted by the sickness of greed.

Zimbabwe has the chance of forcing the implementation of the democratic reforms and thus finally dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship for all times! All we have to do is stop the sell-out opposition politicians contesting the 2018 elections until all reforms are implemented.

Zanu PF got away with rigging the 2013 elections because the opposition granted the regime the legitimacy by participating. Stop the opposition participation and Zanu PF will not get away with rigging elections. Stop opposition participation in flawed elections and you starve Zanu PF the oxygen keeping it alive!

If withdrawing from the flawed 2013 elections was the “obvious” thing for MDC to do in 2013, it is the obvious and only thing to do now. MDC leaders promised they will not contest another election until reforms are implemented. “No reform, no elections!” they said. It our solemn duty as the concerned citizens of Zimbabwe to hold Tsvangirai & co. to account and not let the fog of greed win the day again!