Yesterday there was a report of Home Affairs
Minister, Obert Mpofu saying “Zimbabweans should be guided by the culture of
Ubuntu which is embedded on love, peace and harmony saying elections are not
war and as such people should be able to move forward in oneness for
development to take place.”
Today it is Foreign affairs minister, Sibusiso
Moyo, preaching the same message.
"It is important for us as leaders to
advocate for peace in everything we say and do! Let's continue on this peaceful
road! Yes, it does begin with me and today I pledge to be peaceful in my
conduct. Retweet if you pledge to remain peaceful," he tweeted.
The regime is stage one of its all-out charm
offensive, this time, to promote peace when it is the one that has just rigged
the elections and thus blowing the country’s chances of economic recovery and
peace.
After last November’s military coup, the junta
made a big song and dance about the new democratic era, a new dispensation, and
promised to hold free, fair and credible elections. When people asked President
Mnangagwa to implement the democratic reforms; which everyone in 2008 agreed were
a prerequisite for free and fair in the wake of that year’s blatant cheating
and wanton violence; he dismissed them as barking dogs.
“Zanu PF ichatonga! Igo tonga! Imi
muchingohukura! Nokuhukura!” (Zanu PF will rule! And rule! Whilst you (calling
for reforms) bark! And bark!) boasted President Mnangagwa.
Whilst the elections were conducted in relative
peace, at least compared to the barbarism of 2008 no one in their right mind
would ever say the elections were free, fair and credible. How can they be when
there was no free public media. 2 to 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora were
denied the vote; the authorities could have charge a fee to cover all expenses,
so cost was just a feeble excuse. ZEC failed to produce a clean verified voters’
roll, this was the smoking gun to all manner of vote rigging shenanigans.
Zanu PF robbed the nation blind to bankroll its
vote rigging and vote buying schemes. In a country where many of its provincial
hospitals do not have a reliable ambulance service; it is disheartening that
Zanu PF bought each of its 30 parliamentary and senatorial candidates and 30
local Chiefs a brand new vehicle! And the list goes on.
By failing to hold free, fair and credible
elections President Mnangagwa and his junta have just scuttled all hope of an
meaningful economic recovery. The much talked about and hoped for flood of foreign
direct investment will never happen because investors and lenders do not do
business with pariah states ruled by vote-rigging thugs.
With unemployment sitting at a nauseating 90%,
with 75% of the population living on US$1.00 a day, most basic services such as
supply of clean running water and health care all but collapse, etc. it goes without
saying that Zimbabwe is in serious economic trouble. Of course, the people are
getting restless and when they realise that the economic recovery they have
been hoping for will never happen, you can bet the people will feel betrayed and
they will be justifiable angry.
This Zanu PF regime had the opportunity to hold
free, fair and credible elections and thus end the country’s pariah state
status and put the nation back on track for economic recovery an end the tragic
human misery. The regime refused to embrace change for selfish reasons of holding
on to absolute power at all cost.
The regime knows the people are getting
increasingly restless at the injustice of a system that has produced a few filthy
rich ruling elite at the expense of a filthy poor majority. The impoverish
majority are inflamed by the patronising indifference of the ruling elite who
preach peace by day but continue to rig elections and loot the nation blind by
night!
The over the top “shot to kill” response to the
1st August street protest was a foretaste of what the regime will do
to silence all dissent to its increasingly autocratic and tyrannical rule. The
regime is seeking peace but on its very strict terms – it has and wants to keep
its boot on the neck of the downtrodden majority grovelling in the dirty. Only
a fool would see that as a basis for lasting peace!
“I pledge to be peaceful in my conduct!”
twittered Minister Moyo. Well you were not so peaceful in your conduct in
November 2017 when stage the military coup or rigged one election after another
these last 38 years!
“I pledge to be peaceful!” Nonsense! Try, “I
pledge to be just and peaceful!” History teaches us, there will never be peace
without justice. There will never be peace in Zimbabwe in the face of the
glaring injustice of grinding poverty and ruthless oppression of the
downtrodden majority. Never ever!
12 comments:
People like Nelson Chamisa, Noah Manyika and all the opposition candidates who took part in last month's elections are opportunist and traitors. It is beggars belief that anyone with half a brain would ever agree to take in an election where the authorities have failed to produce something as basic as a clean and verified voters' roll. The only reason all these opposition candidates participated is greed.
“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 (2013) elections,” explained MDC Senator David 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.”
Noah Manyika had his few week of glory which he will, no doubt, want to milk for all it is worth for years to come. Meanwhile, by participating, he and the other opposition candidates have given credibility to the flawed and illegal process. And it is the long suffering ordinary Zimbabweans who pay dearly for it all.
There was absolutely no reason why these elections went ahead without the necessary reforms to ensure they were free, fair and credible. This madness must be stopped, why should millions continue to suffer in damn anguish to gratify an idiot like Chamisa and Manyika's hot air balloon size ego!
“The events of August 1 to the present had been deeply troubling to the international community and my government in particular. President Mnangagwa’s commitment to transparency in investigating those events is very important for my government,” said the new USA Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Brian Nichols.
These elections were not free, fair and credible by a long mile and the ordinary people of Zimbabwe will feel short-changed if the international election observers failed to make this emphatically clear to this Zanu PF junta regime. The ordinary Zimbabweans have paid dearly for the 38 years of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF rule and all they want now is an opportunity to end this nightmare.
By declaring these elections null and void, the international community will give Zimbabwe a chance to clear the deck, implement the democratic reforms designed to dismantle the de facto one party dictatorship. There is nothing of value to be gain in trying to make this Mnangagwa junta work.
@ Gumede
These elections should not have gone ahead without first implementing the democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections. MDC had the golden opportunity to implement the reforms during the last GNU but failed to get even one reform implemented because they sold-out.
What Zimbabwe needs is a realistic way out of this cycle of rigged elections. By declaring these elections null and void the country will clear the deck to allow the appointment of an interim administration that will be tasked to implement the reforms and hold fresh free, fair and credible elections.
Having another GNU with MDC and Zanu PF is a waste of time, why should they implement any reforms when they failed to do so last time.
MDC Alliance presidential aspirant Nelson Chamisa’s election figures are a figment of his fertile imagination, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson Justice Priscilla Chigumba has said.
In her response to the opposition leader’s Constitutional Court petition demanding that he be announced winner of last month’s presidential, Chigumba tore into shreds figures provided by the petitioner.
MDC have been very coy about their evidence suggesting that it was not solid!
The truth these elections were not free, fair and credible for many other reasons like the failure to produce a clean and verified voters' roll, no free public press, etc. These elections must be declared null and void and the country given a chance to implement the democratic reforms designed to end this madness of rigged elections!
And, thanks to the recent Zimbabwe example, Kabila can do so knowing that the region may not complain. It may not complain about the irregularities on the voters’ roll. It may not complain about the use of live ammunition against unarmed civilians. It may also not complain when state security agents round-up opposition leaders en masse.
In Zimbabwe, Sadc once again set the democratic bar distressingly low. Congolese citizens could be the next to face the consequences of its inaction.
“Akachenjera anobetsera kudzima moto wapisa imba yasawira usati wayambukira paimba yake!” (A wise man would help put out the fire burning the neighbour’s house because a sudden gush of wind may set his own house ablaze.)
The deafening silence from the ordinary people in SADC at the foolish decision to rubber stamp Zimbabwe’s rigged election was very disappointing and now it is the ordinary people who will pay dearly for it. Every leader in the region will be tempted to rig the elections using the same dirty tricks. Monkey see, monkey do!
MDC should have never gone into these elections without first implementing the democratic reforms. "MDC has stringent measure to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!" Chamisa insisted. He lied and everyone knows that, Zanu PF rigged these elections and so what are these people praying for?
Judiciary sources said Malaba stunned the meeting attended by Chamisa and Mnangagwa’s lawyers, as well as some respondents when he gave an “extraordinary directive” that any respondent who would want to make a submission supporting Chamisa in the case will not be allowed to do so.
However, any respondent backing Mnangagwa will be allowed to make a submission without any problem. Malaba did not explain why. Those in the meeting did not ask why either, sources said.
This is very interesting but not surprising given this is the same judiciary that said military coups are legal in Zimbabwe!
Justice Chigumba will never get away from the fact that she was the chairperson of the ZEC that failed to produce a clean and verified voters' roll and thus throwing the door wide open for Zanu PF to rig these elections. Just because the nation had the misfortune of having the opposition whose greed blinded them they could not even see beyond the tip of their noses is another matter!
These elections were not free, fair and credible and now the nation will pay dearly for this in terms of lost treasure, lost opportunities and most expensive of all human suffering and deaths. I sincerely hope people like Chigumba choke on their thirty pieces of silver and their bloodline is cursed for all time!
By endorsing Zanu PF's rigged elections SADC and the AU have thrown the door wide open for all other African leaders to rig elections in whatever way they can as long as they keep a lid on the violence. Having lowered the bar for free, fair and credible elections Africa will now find how difficult it is to raise it again.
@ King Hang
You talk too much and, worst of all, say a lot of nonsense!
"If Zimbabweans desire democracy, we will have to fight for it on our own and not expect any help from anyone. Furthermore, it will have to be a collective effort and not just leave everything to Chamisa and expect him to liberate us on his own," you say.
The people of Zimbabwe did fight for a free, just and democratic Zimbabwe. You should stop listening to Zanu PF propaganda suggesting that it was only the Zanu PF thugs who liberated Zimbabwe, that is nonsense. Except for the few sell-outs who worked with the white colonial oppressors, notably those who fought in Smith's Army; every other black Zimbabwean contributed in the liberation of the country.
The tragedy is that Mugabe and his cronies hijacked the revolution to push their own selfish agenda to become the country's new oppressors.
You have been brainwashed by the MDC village idiots into believing the people of Zimbabwe are "leaving everything to Chamisa to liberate them!" It is the ordinary people who have risked life and limb to elect these MDC leaders into office on the promise they would bring about democratic change. As soon as these MDC leaders got into power they sold-out too just as Zanu PF thugs have done.
How has Chamisa "liberated us" by failing to implement even one democratic reform even when MDC had many golden opportunities to do so during the GNU?
How has MDC liberated the nation by dragging us into an election process without even bothering to demand the production of a clean and verified voters' roll?
The country's stuck in this hell-on-earth with the economy in total meltdown because we have a totally dysfunctional political system composed a corrupt and tyrannical ruling party, Zanu PF, with its army of apologists followed by an entourage of corrupt and incompetent opposition parties with their own army of dimwit minions.
It is not that the people did not fight for democracy, they did before independence and then to put these MDC village idiots in power. The people are out there fighting for change every day.
What has been lacking here is someone to coordinate the people's individual effort so it has a focus and purpose. But most important of all the is a crying need for the people themselves to understand why their past efforts and sacrifices have failed to deliver them into the Promised Land. Knowing why the country is in this mess will empower the people to make sure they are not short changed ever again.
It was Samuel Johnson who said, "If a madman were to come into this room with a stick in his hand, no doubt we should pity the state of his mind; but our primary consideration would be to take care of ourselves. We should knock him down first, and pity him afterwards."
In Zimbabwe it is not just one madman but a whole army of them and they came into the country not carrying sticks but AK 47 rifles. Povo, not even armed with sticks, found themselves looking up the business end of the AK 47 rifle; they did not even argue but did as they were told.
The country's first none-racial elections in 1980 were about give the Zanu PF power to stop the civil war, appeasing them by giving them all they demanded - absolute power. As soon as they got into power Zanu PF leaders have left no stone unturned to make sure they returned power at all cost.
There have been a number of opportunities to end the Zanu PF dictatorship in the last 38 years but sadly the chances were given to MDC leaders who have since turned out to be some of the most corrupt and incompetent politicians ever. MDC had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms during the GNU and yet failed to get even one reform implemented in five years.
In Zimbabwe, we a stuck with corrupt and murderous tyrants in government and corrupt and incompetent opposition politicians who pretend to wrestle power from the tyrants but are in reality nothing but the tyrants' acolytes!
@ Maoda Daniels
"Wilbert Mukori How can one player refuse to play while others are ready to fulfil the mandate you must see with open eyes and read situation with open mind they do this thinking MDC will fail to participate the elections that was the main aim," you say.
You are not saying anything new or original. After MDC leaders sold-out big time by failing to implement even one reform during the GNU; Robert Mugabe knew Tsvangirai and company will never boycott the elections no matter how flawed and illegal the process got as long as Zanu PF dangled a few gravy train seats in MDC leaders' faces. David Coltart is one of the MDC leaders who have admitted this.
"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," explained Senator 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."
If you ever get a chance to read his book, you will see why he must have agonised over this admission but in the end he had no choice because it there was no running away from the fact that greed got the better of them.
To argue that MDC must participate in flawed elections giving the process credibility just because if they do not someone will, is stupid because why would Zanu PF ever accept holding free and fair elections if they know they will get away with rigged elections? It is not for MDC to give Zanu PF the excuse for rigging the elections, at least do so under the pretext they are doing the ordinary Zimbabwean a favour!
The MDC and all those participating in flawed and illegal elections are after the few gravy train seats Zanu PF is offering as bait, they are selling-out, pure and simple!
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