Dear Leonard Koni
“Zimbabwe is a like a soldier marking time and not going anywhere,” you
wrote in Bulawayo 24.
“Our government has been so dysfunctional for a very long time, but the
majority of the people feel in the air the winds of change blowing in from all
four corners of the country.”
You are right, Zimbabwe has indeed been “marking time (40 years to be
precise) and not going anywhere”!
“Insanity is repeating the same thing over and over again and expecting
a different result,” said the great Physicist Albert Einstein.
We have been participating in rigged elections for 40 years, 40 bloody
years, and every time we have expected a different result, expected Zanu PF to
lose. If that does not speak volumes of the insanity in our country then
nothing else will!
The tragedy about insanity is the insane rarely ever have the intellectual
sober moment to comprehend their serious mental limitations, especially when
years of making the same foolish mistakes has become the norm.
It is common for the insane can even consider themselves wiser than King
Solomon! “Hupenzi inyama yengakava!” (The insane are stubbornly insane!) as one
would say in Shona.
“This is the right time for people who have suffered under the
leadership of this regime to rally behind enterprising politician Jacob
Ngarivhume who has set the pace and taken it upon himself to lead the struggle,”
you argued.
“The joining of Nelson Chamisa of MDC-Alliance, Dr Noah Manyika from
Build Zimbabwe and Nkosana Moyo of APA to join the masses is a welcome move.”
These four gentlemen, you are arguing the nation to rally behind, are quintessential
examples of the “insane being stubbornly insane”! Nelson Chamisa and his MDC
colleagues stubbornly refused to implement the democratic reforms designed to
stop Zanu PF rigging the elections during the 2008 to 2013 GNU.
The four named gentlemen plus hundreds of other opposition candidates,
there were 23 presidential candidates alone, participated in the July 2018
elections although it was clear Zanu PF was rigging the elections. By
participation gave credibility to the flawed electoral process which in turn
gave some modicum of legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF regime.
"We want political reforms and these reforms must have people's
consultation. We want credible elections in this country. We don't want a
repeat of the past," announced Nelson Chamisa in his hour-long e-rally.
"So, there are no 2023 elections without reforms. We have the
capacity to say there are no elections, and they will not be held because we
are the people. We want elections with comprehensive electoral and political
reforms.”
Chamisa was just saying that to fool people into believing the penny has
finally dropped, he now fully appreciates the futility of participating in
these flawed and illegal elections. He has made similar undertakings in the
past only to discard them. He will do so again.
Ever since the embarrassment of having to share power with MDC during
the 2008 GNU, Zanu PF leaders have learned they can continue rigging the
elections as long as the party allows the opposition to win a few gravy train
seat. The opposition’s participation has been the façade that Zimbabwe is a
healthy multiparty democracy and therefore does not need another GNU.
Just before the 2023 elections, Zanu PF will probably amend the
constitution to create Leader of Opposition and Shadow cabinet; the holders
will be entitled to ministerial limos, generous salaries, etc., etc. Just to
spice up the opposition bait! Zanu PF knows it does not need to implement even
one reform to be guaranteed of the opposition’s full house participation in the
2023 elections. Chamisa will join in the scramble for the gravy train scraps.
“MDC has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging elections!” was
Chamisa’s feeble excuse for participating in the 2018 elections. Rest assured
he will come up with yet another feeble excuse for participating in the 2023
elections with no reforms!
“The people are ready from 31st July 2020 to occupy the streets in all
major cities and towns. Workers are planning to stop work except hospitals.
Diaspora must also play a role and occupy embassies,” you argued.
“Let the 31st of July 2020 be the start of a journey and mark the
beginning of peace and prosperity to progressive Zimbabweans. Together we can.”
A rousing clarion call indeed but all to no purpose. One look at what
you want the nation to join the street protests for; shows this is just another
exercise in futility!
“The current government lacks the inclusiveness of other progressive
ideas. It does not even attempt to engage the opposition and always suspect it
as the greatest impediment to its policies.”
In November 2017 Zimbabweans were on the street celebrating the removal
one dictator but only to replace him with another dictator. Now you want to remove
this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship but only to
replace it with the equally corrupt and incompetent MDC regime. The same MDC
leaders whose breath-taking incompetence costed the nation many golden opportunities
to end the dictatorship. Of course, this is just marking time and going nowhere.
How anyone can view that as making progress, beggars belief!
4 comments:
The people of Zimbabwe are like one of those circus performers who can only juggle with one ball when others juggle five flaming torches whilst riding a penny-farthing on a high wire 20 metre up in the sky! MDC leaders' track record as corrupt, incompetent and sell-outs is so well documented there really is no excuse for all these nostalgic sentiment nonsense of pretending they will be anything but a disaster for the nation if they should ever get into power.
MDC leaders have failed to implement even one democratic reform in 5 years because Mugabe bribed them. Their participation in the 2018 elections is the veneer of legitimacy Zanu PF has been wearing ever since. What else does Chamisa and company have to do to finally convince these naïve and gullible intellectuals like Leonard Koni that MDC leaders are not fit to hold public office.
One can understand the rural folk, who for not fault of their own, have no clue what the reforms MDC leaders were supposed to implement were and so have no clue the leaders betrayed them. What excuse does an articulate and well informed individual like Leonard Koni have for not knowing MDC leaders sold-out big time!
If we want the world to take us serious in our call for democratic change then we must show the world we are competent enough to elect competent leaders. Electing someone like Chamisa even with all his baggage from the past only shows we are not yet ready for democracy and good governance.
The world is not going to help us end the Zanu PF dictatorship only to see us create another dictatorship or be it will new faces and a new name. The real world needs an electorate that can have a critical view of the ruling party and the opposition, juggle two balls at the very least!
@ Frank Mupasi
“People as long as we do not have guns to fight these ZANU guys forget about the change.”
Well we had guns and we fought the white colonial regime of Ian Smith and forced it out of power. But even you have to admit that has not done the nation any good. Indeed, you are advocating having guns to drive the Zanu PF thugs out! This is just a vicious circle as the new liberators will, in all probability, become the next oppressors just as Mugabe and his cronies did.
The country had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms that would have ended Zanu PF’s dictatorship. Morgan Tsvangirai had five years during the 2008 to 2013 GNU to implement the reforms and failed to get even one reform implemented.
It is shocking that you are already searching for the gun to end the Zanu PF dictatorship and yet have not even explored any of peaceful options. Of course, Zanu PF can be pressured to step down if these MDC village idiots stop giving the regime legitimacy by participating in flawed elections, for example.
"What if we stood up as citizens and pressured our own leaders to negotiate better deals for us when they are in government, in Parliament or in whichever office they hold so that we can have better livelihoods."
I agree that demos in the past have accomplished very little but your suggestion is nonsense. You are one of the leaders, as S G of Lead, don't tell me you have not negotiated a better deals for the people" because you were waiting for the people "to pressure you" to do so!
Zanu PF steps up the anti-opposition rhetoric.
The root cause of the social unrest in Zimbabwe is the worsening economic situation. Zanu PF has showed that it has no clue what to do to end the crisis but refuse to step down. Those who refuse peaceful change invite onto themselves violent change because change per se is unstoppable!
It is a great tragedy that Mnangagwa and Zanu PF have refused peaceful democratic change. It is equally tragic that MDC sold-out and failed to implement the democratic reforms which would have ended the Zanu PF dictatorship. The country is left with no choice but to go down the route of violent change.
The trouble with these street protest, military coups, etc. is the will remove the dictator at the price of death and destruction but very rarely ever deliver the democratic change the nation has been dying for. Look at what is happening in Libya and Iraq!
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