After all the grandstanding and finger pointing by Chamisa following the recall of the party’s elected officials, the case ends with yet another humiliating defeat for CCC. The High Court challenge of the recall ended before it has even began with CCC withdrawing the case and apologising profoundly with their tails tucked between their legs!
“Justice Munamato Mutevedzi of the Harare High Court has reserved judgement in an application brought by recalled CCC MPs and Senators who want the court to declare that Sengezo Tshabangu had no legal authority to cause their recalls. Judge said ruling before November 7,” reported Bulawayo 24.
“The MPs have withdrawn their relief which they sought against the Speaker of Parliament where they accused him of illegal expelling them from Parliament at the behest of the Interim Secretary General Sengezo Tshabangu.”
The people of Zimbabwe have been slow to recognised MDC/CCC leaders for who they really are, the corrupt and incompetent and blundering from pillar to post.
Chamisa dragged the nation into the 23 August elections claiming he had closed all the vote rigging loop-hole. It was all nonsense of course, the voters’ roll was in shambles and he failed to do even something as basic as deploying elections agents at all the polling stations. What mattered is that he managed to con many Zimbabweans to participate giving the process some modicum of credibility.
This High Court challenge of the recalled MPs and Senators is just one more case of CCC’s endless blunders.
The people of Zimbabwe are grateful to the SADC Election Observers (SEOM) who decided to look at the evidence in the conduct of the August elections and ignore CCC’s posturing. SEOM condemned the election process as a farce and rightly so too.
The people of Zimbabwe have risked life, limb and livelihood to elect MDC/CCC leader into power for express purpose they would implement the necessary democratic changes to end the Zanu PF dictatorship. After 23 years including 5 in the GNU MDC/CCC have failed to implement even one token reform. Not one!
Many Zimbabweans still continue to put all their hopes for democratic changes on Chamisa and his friends because these people have no clue what these necessary democratic reforms are much less how they were to be implemented. Even today with the benefit of hindsight, they still have no clue Chamisa and company sold out big time be failing to implement even one reform.
If you have no clue what the reforms are, how can you blame some one for failing to implement something you don’t know!
On Saturday 4 November 2023, SADC heads of state and government are meeting in Angola to decide what to do with Zimbabwe visa vie the damning SEOM report. It was pretty damning alright!
“Conclusion 13.3
The SEOM noted that, as detailed in sections 6 and 7 of this report, some aspects of the Harmonised Elections fell short of the requirements of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Electoral Act, and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021),” stated the report.
The only rational course of action for SADC heads is to uphold the report and deny Zanu PF and their political side-kick, CCC, political legitimacy. When SADC came up to a similar conclusion following the flawed and violent 2008 elections, the regional body invited the three main political parties at the time, Zanu PF led by Robert Mugabe, MDC-T and MDC- M led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara; to form the 2008 to 2013 GNU.
The primary task of the GNU was to implement the democratic reforms to restore the people’s freedoms and rights and put an end to the curse of rigged elections and bad governance. But, as we already know, not evening toke reform was implemented.
This is no doubt in my mind that back in 2008 SADC leaders must have considered the possibility that the 2008 to 2013 GNU would fail to implement at least many of the reforms given the leaders in all the three parties were corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent. If SADC leaders doubted the competence of 2008 GNU to implement reforms this time they know that having Zanu PF and CCC leaders in any interim arrangement means no meaningful reforms will be implemented.
What Zimbabwe needs going forward is a National Transition Authority comprising of technocrats who can be entrusted the primary task of implementing the democratic reforms. This would be the second chance the nation has had to implement the reforms and get the nation back on a democratic footing. We must make this one count.
10 comments:
@ Brett
I salute your passion.
You are being taken to task because you are white, some of us are black and are taken to task because we are puppets or CIO. These people will never address the important issues you have raised because they do not have the intellectual ability to deal with such matters. They support political leaders blindly for the same reason.
In his book, Animal Farm, George Orwell, wrote about Boxer the horse, who took as long to learn the first letters of the alphabet as other took to learn all the alphabet. He took just as long again to learn the next four letter but by that time it was discovered he had forgotten the first four letters.
Boxer could not formulate any coherent idea of his own and so accepted everything Napoleon said, no questions asked. “Napoleon is always right!” was Boxer’s motto!
Like it or not we have many Zimbabweans with the Boxer mentality. Worse still, they are very aggressive when it comes to defending their respective demigod be it Chamisa or Mnangagwa.
The Greeks were right, democracy; government of the peopler the people and by the people; only works when the people are educated, informed and diligent. Most of our people are brain-dead, their brain has ossified into fat you cannot even reason with them! Worst of all, many of them even have university qualifications but zero common sense! That is Zimbabwe my friend!
After 23 years, including 5 in the GNU, MDC/CCC have failed to implement even one token reform. The only reason many people still continue to follow Chamisa and company is because they have no clue what the reforms are much less how they are implemented. The ignorant and naive do stupid things!
@ Evangelist
Don’t worry you will never get it! I have explained to you that the democratic reforms could be implemented by MPs, senators of ministers but none of it has ever sunk in! You have no clue what the reforms are much less how they are implemented.
The worst thing for Zimbabwe is that ignorant and foolish nincompoops like you have the vote and you are the ones keeping the corrupt, incompetent buffoons in power!
However, Uriri argued that their case had no merit. He stated, "Their case, after their statements, was even weaker than before. No amount of legal maneuvering can salvage their case. They came to court accusing the Speaker and Senate President but failed to make a substantive case against Tshabangu. By withdrawing their claims against the Speaker, Senate President, and ZEC, they left themselves with no legal grounds to stand on."
Uriri contended that the High Court lacked jurisdiction over the matter since the applicants were raising constitutional issues. He insisted that only the Constitutional Court had the authority to hear this case.
Additionally, he argued that the Speaker had acted within his mandate by implementing the recalls without investigating the motivations behind the contentious order, as the Speaker and Senate President were parliamentary functionaries.
Uriri also pointed out that the MPs had made a critical error by not including their political party in the legal proceedings, stating, "Without the party's involvement, they cannot resolve the dispute that has arisen. The CCC remains silent because it is in favor of the recalls. The applicants are not party members due to their expulsions.”
Zimbabwe is a failed state facing very serious economic and political challenges. Instead of addressing these challenges the opposition is wasting time and energy on trivial matters. In the last parliament the opposition were fighting amongst themselves over leadership of the party after the High Court had ruled that Chamisa had usurped power following Tsvangirai’s death. This time they are fighting over who is who in CCC, it is clear not even Chamisa himself knows that!
I pray that SADC leaders tomorrow will declare the 232 August 2023 elections flawed and illegal and thus both Zanu PF and CCC are illegitimate. What the country need desperately is the appointment of technocrats who will be tasked to implement the democratic reforms. Both Zanu PF and CCC were in the 2008 to 2013 GNU that failed to implement even one reforms; they should play no part in the transition arrangement.
Indeed Zanu PF and CCC are the reason why we are in this mess. They are the problem, they cannot be the solution too!
https://www.zimeye.net/2023/11/03/after-all-posturing-ccc-withdraw-court-challenge-of-recalled-mps-blundering-incompetence-zimbabwe-can-ill-afford/
@ Dubzn
“Siyanai nekuBlamer opposition, muvake nyika.
Nguva yekugadzira economy toiwana nguvai muchiri kurwisana neOpposition day-in day-out in which maElection akaitwa akapera.”
Zimbabwe is still stuck with this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship precisely because we do not have quality opposition. We are stuck with corrupt and incompetent opposition because there are village idiots like you who will never accept that Chamisa and company are corrupt and incompetent. Never!
If MDC leaders had implemented the democratic reforms during the GNU we would not be in this mess. They have been participating in flawed elections knowing fully well that would give Zanu PF legitimacy and still went ahead out of greed. You don’t believe me, here is David Coltart saying the same thing.
“The (2013) 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,” confessed David Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.
Not that will make any difference with people like you. After 43 years of Zanu PF mafiosi rigging elections you still believe the oxymoronic nonsense of CCC winning big!
The Greeks were right, democracy demands an informed and diligent electorate. Zimbabwe has more than its fair share of village idiots and, to crown it all, they have the vote!
“Siyanai nekuBlamer opposition, muvake nyika!” So you think you are building a prosperous and democratic Zimbabwe by keeping a corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless opposition in power? How naive! Nhamo inenharo!
@ Bullet Train
“The way you do it is quite an obsession. You're always attacking Chamisa.... Hapana kana paunombopa credit to him. VanaMwonzora who wined and dinned with Zanu Pf kana kutombovapa chematsenganzungu. Ndizvo zvandinenge ndichiramba. You're always on overdrive when it comes to to attack Chamisa. Hapana pandakamboona uchitsoropodza Zanu Pf with all those glaring atrocities it is committing to your fellow citizens..... Nothing at all. 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️”
It is you who is obsessed about Chamisa, you think he is a demigod who cannot be held to account. Who are you to tell me or anyone else how many times we should hold Chamisa to account over what matters, etc.? I have told you this many time and will tell you again; all those holding public office are accountable to the public - that is not negotiable.
Chamisa and company were elected to deliver democratic changes to end the Zanu PF dictatorship and after 23 years, 5 of which in the GNU; they have failed to implement even one reform. Of course, they have a lot to account for and they will be held to account!
This is just another one claiming to know what God wants! Chamisa himself said CCC would win big because "God is in it!" Well if God was indeed in it then why did Chamisa fail to win big?
A GNU or NTA in which Zanu PF and CCC play a part will be a disaster for Zimbabwe - the same idiots failed to implement even one token reform in the 2008 to 2013 GNU. What hope is there they will do any better?
@ Jabulo
“There exists a significant question surrounding the capabilities of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU) in resolving the discontent arising from the recent elections held by the Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) in Zimbabwe. A thorough examination has been conducted to ascertain whether these organisations have a history of effectively resolving disputed election outcomes within their member states. However, to date, no precedent or case has been identified wherein the AU or SADC successfully resolved such a dispute.
Upon scrutinising the mandates of the AU and SADC concerning the elections they observe in member states, it has been found that their roles predominantly encompass observation and recommendations. There is a distinct absence of provisions allowing these bodies to overturn election results or mandate new elections in any sovereign member state. The recommendations they make are not legally binding, lacking the authority of parliamentary or court-drawn decisions. Consequently, member states are not legally bound to implement these suggestions, leading to a conclusion that the scope of influence these organisations hold in altering election results appears limited.”
Beggars cannot be choosers! You are right that both SADC and AU do not have a track record of doing good. Both SADC and AU condemned the 2008 elections forcing Mugabe to accept the GNU. The primary purpose of the GNU was top implement the democratic reforms and stop a repeat of the 2008 cheating and wanton violence. SADC was the guarantor of the Global Political Agreement and still they failed to ensure the reforms were implemented.
SADC leaders are set to decide on what to do regarding the flawed and illegal Zimbabwe election tomorrow. I would be much happier if someone else was in charge. The trouble is there is no one else.
Indeed, to be fair to SADC, it was not the regional body’s fault that not eleven one meaningful reform was implemented in five years of the GNU. It was our own fault; MDC leaders for selling out and us the people for failing to to hold them to account!
The secret to Singapore’s success is MPH
M - merit
P - pragmatic if the cat catches mice it is a good cat, be it black or white
H - honesty
One of the reason we have failed to stamp out corruption is that we, the people, have encourage our leaders to be corrupt by placing them on pedestals and worship them as infallible demigods.
For decades after independence people would admit to a minister being corrupt or incompetent but be keen to exonerate Mugabe as if he had nothing to do with it even though he was the one who kept the minister in power decade after decade! Many people treat Chamisa with the same reverence even with all the evidence MDC/CCC sold our on reforms and have been participating in flawed elections out of greed.
@ Prudence PualaTete
“What will be the nature of the NTA?and from which party will these so called technocrats come from? I think you need to write an article solely clarifying your NTA idea. According to Jonso ZANU PF cannot and will not reform itself out of power.In Africa any NTA is naturally headed by the army and in Zimbabwe's case we know who controls the levers of power and that person is now an ex officio member of the Politburo.”
You are right, Zanu PF will never reform itself out of office or ever allow any meaningful democratic reforms to be implemented to dismantle the now well established Zanu PF autocracy. If Zanu PF is in the new GNU or NTA, we can be certain of one thing they will be there to throw the spinner in the works at every opportunity.
Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Mugabe bribed them with the trappings of high office, the ministerial limos, very generous salaries and allowances, a US$4 million mansion for Tsvangirai himself, etc., etc. It worked! No even the constant nagging by SADC leaders such as Minister Lindiwe Zulu could get MDC leaders to implement even one token reform.
MDC leaders have managed to get away with the treasonous betrayal of failing to implement even one reform because most Zimbabweans had no clue the primary purpose of the GNU was to implement reforms. They did not know what the reforms are much less how they are implemented. Even to this day most people do not know what the reforms are much less that MDC/CCC leaders sold out.
MDC/CCC have taken full advantage of the people’s ignorance to create the narrative the nation does not need reforms implemented because they, the opposition, have devised winning in rigged elections strategies. “God is in it!” Chamisa has often argued. The ignorant and gullible public have swallowed the hook, sinker and line.
How anyone would give up their right to free and fair elections for the oxymoronic promise of winning rigged elections, beggars belief; especially after 43 years of Zanu PF mafiosi rigging elections!
Nelson Chamisa and his CCC friends are not interested in implementing any reforms but they also know they will not win rigged elections. They have been participating in flawed elections knowing this will give Zanu PF legitimacy; they did care as long as they win a few gravy train seats making them the country’s main opposition.
MDC/CCC know that 43 years of gross mismanagement and rampant corruption have left the country in economic ruins and the people desperate for change. They will wait for Zanu PF to burn the country down or for the people to risk all in violent protests, which ever comes first, to deliver power to them in a silver platter.
If CCC ever got into power, their number one priority would be to consolidate their hold on power by making sure the key players in the Zanu PF autocracy switch their allegiance to CCC. Indeed, one of the reasons MDC failed to implement any meaning reforms during the 2008 GNU was the belief MDC could talk the top brass in the Army, Police and CIO to switch by promising them all the benefits they were getting from Zanu PF!
The solution for Zimbabwe must be a NTA composed of technocrats who can be trusted to implement all the reforms. This is not viable solution only because many people fear that Zanu PF will make the country ungovernable. The only relevant question one must therefore ask is: Are we going to let Zanu PF hold this nation to ransom?
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