Chamisa expecting to win big 2023, #Godisinit, but will not implement even one token reform, just like Achebe's Unoka W Mukori

 How do you expect political change in these 2023 elections when nothing, absolutely nothing, has changed since the 2018 rigged elections? It really beggars belief that the whole nation is being dragged into this utterly meaningless charade at the very time when we are in deep economic trouble, we are a failed state for Pete’s sake, and desperate to end this nightmare.

I have often wondered how frustrated the young boy Okonkwo must have felt when his father would not take the advice “to work like man” and thus condemning the family to hunger and poverty.  

“Many years ago when Okonkwo was still a boy his father Unoka, had gone to consult Agbala. The priestess in those days was a woman called Chika. She was full of power of her god, and she was greatly feared. Unoka stood before her and began his story,” wrote Chinua Achebe, in his book Things Fall Apart.

“’Every year,’ he said sadly, ‘before I put any crop in the earth, I sacrifice a cock to Ani, the owner of all land. It is the law of our fathers. I also kill a cock at the shrine of Ifejioku, the god of yams. I clear the bush and set fire to it when it is dry. I sow the yams when the first rains has fallen, and stake them when the young tendrils appear. I weed –‘

‘Hold your peace!’ screamed the priestess, her voice terrible as it echoed through the dark void. ‘You have offended neither the gods nor your fathers. And when a man is at peace with his gods and his ancestors, his harvest will be good or bad according to the strength of his arm. 

‘You Unoka, are known in all the clan for the weakness of your machete and your hoe. When your neighbours go out with their axe to cut down virgin forests, you sow your yams on exhausted farms that take no labour to clear. They cross seven rivers to make their farms, you stay home and offer sacrifice to a reluctant soil.

‘Go home and work like a man!’”

Zimbabwe is a failed state, a pariah, ruled by corrupt, incompetent and murderous Zanu PF thugs who believe they, as the men and women who spearheaded the fight to end white colonial oppression, have the right to rule the country. They have rigged elections ever since the country’s independence in 1980 to secure their claim. Their claim to power is such they would rather see the whole country burnt to ashes than see some one else rule.

After 43 years of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and brazen lawlessness, Zimbabwe is in economic ruins, a pariah state and already 49% of our people are living in abject poverty. Zanu PF’s wish to burn down the country to ashes has started in earnest. 

The nation has had many opportunities to end the Zanu PF dictatorship with the best chance coming during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. The task of implementing the democratic reforms were entrusted to opposition MDC/CCC  party (Unoka) led by Morgan Tsvangirai then and Nelson Chamisa now. MDC failed to implement even one token reform in five years. Not even one!

When the SADC leaders, who were the guarantor of the agreement that gave birth to the GNU, realised that no meaningful reforms had been implemented they wanted the 2013 elections postponed until reforms were in place. “If you go into the elections next month, you will lose. The elections are done!” they warned Tsvangirai and his errant MDC fiends to their faces. 

Just like Unoka, MDC paid no heed to the sound advice and Zanu PF went on to blatantly rig the 2013 elections, as SADC leaders had predicted. MDC went on to participate in the 2018 elections with no reforms and, once again, Zanu PF rig the elections to retain its iron grip on power. The gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and brazen lawlessness continued dragging the nation deeper and deeper into economic poverty and despair. 

The EU send a 246 member strong Election Observer Team and they condemned the 2018 Zimbabwe elections as a farce. 

“The right to an effective legal remedy was not adequately provided for, there is no equal suffrage and shortcomings in the registration of voters somewhat compromised universal and equal suffrage. Notably, major shortcomings in the pre-election environment impacted on the free expression of the will of electors, state resources were misused in favour of the incumbent and coverage by state media was heavily biased in favour of the ruling party,” states the EU Observer Mission final report. 

“Further, the electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner. The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability. Finally, the restrictions on political freedoms, the excessive use of force by security forces and abuses of human rights in the post-election period undermined the corresponding positive aspects during the pre-election campaign. As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards.”

The EU Election Observer final report made 23 reform recommendations which, implemented, would bring Zimbabwe’s elections to acceptable international standards. It was for the erratic MDC/CCC to push for the implementation of the reform. They were not even paying attention. 

Nelson Chamisa and his now rebranded CCC team have given up on implementing democratic reforms to ensure free and fair elections in favour of an endless string of Winning In Rigged Elections Strategies (WIRES). Yesterday, 21 June 2023, CCC and the rest in the opposition camp submitted their nomination paper to signify their official entry into the 2023 elections although ZEC has failed to produce something as basic as the verified voters’ roll. 

 

Yes Unoka (CCC) has sacrificed a cock to Ani (#Godisinit) and plant the yams on exhausted farms that take no labour to clear (entered the 2023 elections without even a token democratic reform implemented). And he is expecting bumper harvest (to win big)! I know exactly how Okonkwo felt! 

Zimbabweans are expecting CCC to win big on 23 August although the nation has done nothing to stop Zanu PF rigging elections. After 43 years of Zanu PF Mafiosi blatantly rigging elections and it is rigging these elections! Of course, this is insane. 

Of course, nothing will change and the nation will continue to suffer and rightly so too. If we want good governance then we must implement the democratic reforms just as Unoka had to ‘Go home and work like a man!’