What is all this nonsense about people needing political dialogue, to unity, find each other, speak with one voice, etc., etc. In the 1980s Mugabe used the signing of the unity accord between Zanu PF and PF Zapu to not only justify the Gukurahundi massacre itself but the de facto one-party dictatorship that followed.
Mugabe had always wanted a one-party state, Zanu PF naturally, and used the presence of the dissents to justify crushing the only other political party in the country that stood in his way, PF Zapu. The sheer savagery of the Gukurahundi was aimed at destroying PF Zapu by going after the party’s support base.
By signing the 1987 unity accord, the late Dr Joshua Nkomo and his friends agreed to have, their party completely dissolved, and they join Zanu PF lock stock and darrel. So Mugabe got what he wanted - the de facto one-party state. He has been pretty ruthless in stopping any meaningful opposition emerging, accusing the political opponents of threatening the unity and peace of the 1987 unity accord.
In 1990, Mugabe tried to have the constitution changed so he could have a de jure; he gave up when there was public outcry against.
As the main opposition party PF Zapu did a pretty good job of holding Mugabe and his Zanu PF to democratic account. This stopped with the outbreak of the Gukurahundi. Zanu PF used the ongoing military operations to strengthen its hold on power in the 1985 elections and to undermine the country’s democratic institutions and constitution.
As much as the demise of PF Zapu suited Mugabe’s one-party dictatorship agenda it was a total disaster for the nation’s aspiration to build a democracy.
The core reason Zimbabwe is in this economic mess; of total economic meltdown, collapse health care, etc.; and political paralysis; having a corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical ruling party on the one hand and on the other a corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless opposition; is because Zimbabwe is a one-party dictatorship.
Zanu PF has rigged elections to stay in power and 39 years of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption have left the economy in ruins. And the lack of open debate and democratic space has made it impossible for quality leaders to emerge within the ruling party and the opposition resulting in the political paralysis.
Last year Emmerson Mnangagwa blatantly rigged last year’s elections in line with the de facto one-party state mentality. His claim that the elections were free, fair and credible has to wash especially given the damning reports by EU, Commonwealth and other reputable elections observer teams. Mnangagwa has looked rather foolish claiming election victory when the vote count could not be verified because the regime failed to produce something as basic as voters’ roll.
Mnangagwa has since abandoned his claim that the July 2018 elections were free, fair and credible; to promote his new initiative the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD), a grouping of all his political opponents to “talk and exchange ideas on how to take country forward”.
He has already got most of the 22 opposition contestants in last year’s presidential race. He is particularly keen to see Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the MDC Alliance. With 1/3 of the MPs to Zanu PF’s 2/3, MDC A is the official opposition party.
One does not need a degree in politics to see what Mnangagwa is doing with this POLAD, he does not want MDC A to hold him and his Zanu PF government to democratic account in parliament, as will be the norm in a healthy and functioning democracy. MDC A and all the other opposition politicians will air their concerns, criticism, etc. in the informal POLAD setting.
Ever since the emerging of MDC as the opposition party in 1999 Mugabe has tried all manner of dirty tricks to undermine the party’s effectiveness as an opposition party to his Zanu PF. Mnangagwa will be very pleased with himself the day Chamisa joins POLAD. Mnangagwa recruited former SA President Thabo Mbeki to talk to the MDC A leader on the matter.
Whatever little contribution MDC A had made in holding Zanu PF to democratic account, it has not been much given the poor quality of the opposition politicians, will seize completely the day Chamisa join POLAD. Mnangagwa will consider it equivalent to Mugabe’s 1987 unity accord achievement. To ordinary Zimbabwe is will be the second time the hope of building a democracy has been snuffed out! Deja vu!
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To reward those opposition political leaders who have already joined POLAD, Mnangagwa has allocated $88 million to the dead-end body. The country has no money to pay doctors and nurses a living wage but has money to pay good-for-nothing political sell-outs for doing nothing other than keep their mouths shut!
If the people of Zimbabwe are serious about getting out of the political and economic mess the country is in then the first thing they MUST do is accept the political reality that Zanu PF dragged us into this mess for selfish political gain, the party is determined to retain its political gains regardless of the tragic human suffering and deaths this is causing.
Zanu PF cannot be the solution to our problems because it IS the number one problem. As long as Zanu PF remains in power, the party is determined to remain in power at all cost including dragging the nation into the depths of hell, there will be no meaningful economic recovery! NONE!
Mnangagwa and his cronies do not care that hundreds of Zimbabweans are dying every day of curable diseases. They have made the decision to spend billions of dollars beefing up security sectors and have nothing left for health, educations, etc.; retaining their iron grip on power is more important than the education and lives of the millions of ordinary Zimbabweans! The only question to be answered here: is what are we going to do to end this madness?
@ Patson
At present MDC has 70 or so MPs; they have not said or done much of substance, I agree; but they are there on paper and could, again in theory, hold the regime to account. If Chamisa joins POLAD, he will be expected to air all MDC's concerns in POLAD and not in parliament, effectively silencing the MDC MPs in practice and in theory!
So, whilst we now still have an opposition party that can hold Zanu PF to account in theory, even this will go if MDC join POLAD. We have feeble democracy now but after POLAD it will be dead and buried!
Professor Jonathan Moyo who has been accused of sanctioning the bombings has denied being involved in the act.
Said Moyo, "That's how opportunistically evil the CIO and MID military operatives are. They took advantage of the legal dispute the Ministry I was heading had with Nyarota and his Daily News at the time to bomb the paper's printing press in order to have fingers pointed at me!"
Yeah and this is the "development and stability" Simon Khaya Moyo was wittering about!
The 1987 Unity Accord help clear the political space for the imposition of the de facto one-party dictatorship which has ruled the land ever since with an iron fist.
In a dictatorship a free media was a no!
Zanu PF is not going to reform itself out of office and after 39 years of rigged elections this is the one reality we must agree on. Those who still pretend that Zanu PF will ever deliver freedom and human rights are being naive.
@ Silungisani Ndlovu
If MDC A was a party of competent men and women and not a bunch of corrupt, incompetent village idiots masquerading as democrats then they would have implemented the democratic reforms a long, long time ago! MDC leaders failed to implement even one reform in five years during the GNU when they had the best chance ever to do so!
Only village idiots would take part in an election in which there is no something as basic as a verified voters’ roll!
The only reason why MDC has still supporters out there is because many Zimbabweans have no clue what the GNU was about much less that MDC leaders sold-out.
@ Susan Mbombela
“IF YOUR DEMOCRACY RESULTS IN THIS DISUNITY, POLARISATION, HOPELESSNESS AND UNPRECEDENTED STARVATION AND DEATHS---THEN TO HELL WITH IT!!!!!!!!—SIMPLE”
Zimbabweans have not woken up to the reality that Zanu PF has been selling them a dictatorship and denying them their freedoms and rights under the guise that democracy and the exercise of one's individual freedoms and rights threatens peace, unity and development.
A catch 22 since when the people found out there was no development they also found out they could not complain about it since they had also lost the freedoms and rights to do so as complaining and exercising any rights was considered a threat to unity and peace.
Zanu PF thugs did not want to be held to democratic account and took any such action as a personal affront. The regime has in fact been holding the nation to ransom by allowing a state of lawlessness each time it was being held to democratic account. Zanu PF has effectively made the holding of free, fair and credible elections a privilege the party can withhold if it election victory is not certain.
The people of Zimbabwe must stand firm and demand free, fair and credible elections not only as fundamental right but also as the only guarantee to good governance.
@ Susan Mbombela
“Wilbert Mukori DON’T LABEL PEOPLE,THUS ZANU PF ,AS THUGS THATS BACKWARDNESS---WE DON’T CONDONE HATE LANGUAGE. WE DON’T WANT BEHAVIOUR WHICH PROMOTE POLARISATION ANYMORE. PEOPLE HAVE SUFFERED ENOUGH FROM IT.”
As much as I would like to agree with you not to use hate language, etc.; still we must be careful that we do not do this at the expense of the truth.
We are dealing with here Zanu PF leaders who have all but destroyed the country’s economy because of decades of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and lawlessness. Unemployment has soared to 90% forcing millions into abject poverty. The country’s health care has all but completely collapsed; millions are suffering from easily curable ailments and hundreds across the land are dying.
The people of Zimbabwe have been totally helpless to stop the rot because Zanu PF rigged the elections. The regime has murdered over 30 000, 24 in the last year, innocent Zimbabweans to establish and retain the dictatorship.
Last week, in case you missed it, the regime was boasting that if “elections fail (to secure victory in 2023) we will try some other means (wanton violence being the most preferred).” All these Zanu PF leaders care about is retain power at all cost including denying the ordinary people their basics freedoms and rights.
Even with people suffering and dying without hope and despair they still demand a “pound of flesh”!
Well I do not know what you would call such individuals - I call them heartless, vote rigging thugs and murderers!
Am I angry? Damn right I am angry and do not make any apology for it.
If Jesus Christ lost His cool when He throw out the traders out of the temple. What Zanu PF is doing would try the patience of a saint!
Zanu PF leaders have never ever subscribed to the idea of a multi-party democracy, one man, one vote and all that! Mugabe and company failed to get a one-party state following the Lancaster House talks in 1979 but that only hardened the party’s resolve to impose a de facto one-party dictatorship.
The 1983 to 1987 Gukurahundi massacre was aimed at wiping PF Zapu off the political stage and clear the way for imposing the Zanu PF one-party dictatorship. PF Zapu leader, the late Dr Joshua Nkomo, has admitted that he and other signed the 1987 Unity Accord to stop the massacre of the party supporters.
Of course, PF Zapu capitulated and in joining Zanu PF propagated the de facto one-party dictatorship.
Ever since the signing of the Unity Accord with PF Zapu, Zanu PF has threatened all emerging opposition parties with the Gukurahundi massacre. Over 10 000 innocent Zimbabweans have been murdered in cold blood by Zanu PF operative since the Gukurahundi massacre.
Since Mnangagwa took over from Mugabe in the November 2017 coup he has been keen to send a strong message that he is not a softy. He has had 7 killed in 1 st August 2018 protest against rigged elections and another 17 killed for protesting soaring cost of living.
Mugabe used Unity Accord to muzzle Joshua Nkomo, GNU to muzzle Tsvangirai and now Mnangagwa wants to use POLAD to muzzle Chamisa!
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