"Zimbabwe (Zanu PF) and China enjoy excellent relations" - of course, China guarantees no regime change P Guramatunhu

 Zanu PF and its apologists are renowned for their single mindedness belief in offence as not only the best but only defence. It is therefore a novelty to see them scrambling to mount a rear-guard defensive action!

“Zimbabwe does not hold China responsible for the emergence and spread of Covid-19 and the two countries continue to enjoy excellent relations, Government has said,” reported the Zanu PF controlled Sunday Mail.

“This follows the circulation of a purported telephone conversation between the Minister of Defence and War Veterans Affairs, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri and political activist-cum-journalist Simba Chikanza where he infers that Government blames China for the pandemic.”

Of course, “Zimbabwe does not hold China responsible for the emergence and spread of covid-19!” It was a Freudian slip of the tongue on the part of Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri! 

In other words Zimbabwe holds China responsible; everyone knows China, being a secretive nation, tried to keep the outbreak a secret and thus giving the virus a head start. And like everyone else, Zimbabwe has been making a concerted and conscientious effort never to publicly accuse China of anything! 

Indeed, when the number of corona virus cases and deaths started to soar in Europe and the Americas in March and April 2020; USA President Donald Trump blamed China. He insisted in calling it “The China virus!” It was none other than Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri who said the virus was God’s punishment of the West for imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe.

Officially, Zimbabwe has one of the lowest per capita corona virus cases and deaths in the world but only because the Zanu PF government, like the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is super sensitive about criticism and so has been under reporting the figures. 

However, the corona virus cases and deaths have soar in the last month Zimbabwe’s wilfully inadequate health care service was quickly overwhelmed. In her interview with Simba Chikanza, Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri described how she had been running around like a headless chicken trying to get medical help for a relative with covid-19. 

“Zimbabweans are dying. This is serious. Covid 19 is serious,” a tearful Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri told Chikanza.

“The Chinese, the disease is now on a fresh peak now. Cases are rising again. They are the ones who started their experiments and things got out of hand and now their experiments are costing us. They cannot control this now. They have costed us…. those whom we call our all weather friends, look at what they have done to us.”

At moments such as this it is near impossible to keep up the phoney lies bottled in.

The gene is out of the bottle; Zimbabwe, just like many other nations out there, blames China for the corona virus. The CCP’s lack of democratic accountability and its obsession with secrecy to hide its blundering failures is costing us all the earth!

The Zanu PF regime and its apologists’ rear-guard action claiming Zimbabwe is not blaming China for the corona virus is futile. The gene is out of the bottle and cannot be put back. 

"We wish to make it clear that the sentiments expressed do not reflect the position of the Government of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe and China enjoy excellent relations,” continued the statement from Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Rubbish! Zimbabwe’s so called “excellent” relationship is one of the tick to the cow; the tick gets all the blood it wants and get so bloated it cannot even move, the cow gets absolutely no benefit from the relation. Indeed, the Zimbabwe cow has been sucked dry it is weak and sickly. 

“An army-linked miner, Anjin Investments (Pvt) Ltd, grabbed the most lucrative diamond claim in Marange from a firm owned by the government after being relicensed under unclear circumstances, it has emerged,” reported The Independent/Bulawayo 24 last week.

“Investigations carried out with support from Information for Development Trust, a non-profit organisation helping journalists to expose corruption and bad governance, established that Anjin has effectively taken over Portal B, a diamond-rich zone in Marange that was being mined by the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC), a government outfit set up in 2016.”

The root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown and political paralysis is corruption and the wholesale looting in Marange has become the epicentre of it all. 

In 2016 Robert Mugabe revealed that the country was being swindled out of a staggering US$ 15 billion in diamond revenue. The one nation that has been behind the looting in Marange is China, Anjin is a Chinese company. 

Mugabe fell-out with the Chines big-time accusing them not fulfilling their promise to fund Zimbabwe’s mega-deals. The Chinese, in turn, accused Mugabe of not paying his debts. Mugabe booted out Anjin out of Marange. 

It is widely believed the Chinese played a major role in Zimbabwe’s November 2017 military coup which booted Mugabe out of office. Mnangagwa was the chief beneficiary of the coup and he not only arranged for Anjin’s return but, as we can now see, claim the most lucrative diamond claim! 

It has been said Zimbabwe is stuck with this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship because China will never allow free, fair and credible elections and regime change. Never! 

The destiny of Zimbabwe is not and has never been in the hands ordinary Zimbabweans but in the Chinese!

Oh please, we are not all stupid and blind not to know the difference between “Zimbabwe and China enjoy excellent relations!” and “Zanu PF and China enjoy excellent relations!” 

Corona virus ups the ante on bad governance; more suffering and more lost lives - until we learn N Garikai

 There is no one out there who still believe Zimbabwe’s official corona virus cases and deaths are 26 109 and 666 respectively when figures in other  countries better resourced to deal with the pandemic are soaring. Still the regime is determined to ram the lie down the nation’s throat!

“Vice President and Health and Child Care minister Constantino Chiwenga yesterday said Zimbabwe was still in good stead to handle the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that public health facilities were still not yet strained,” reported News Day.

“But early this week, Medical and Dental Private Practitioners of Zimbabwe Association president Johannes Marisa urged government to decentralise COVID-19 testing and management as well as turn all council clinics into COVID-19 centres.”

It is no secrete that at the outbreak of the corona virus pandemic in March 2020, Zimbabwe’s economy was already in total meltdown and its health care services had all but completely collapsed. The country was ill positioned to deal with the virus and, now the number of cases are soaring, the few and feeble facilities out there are being overwhelmed.    

"In light of widely circulating reports alleging that there is a serious deficit of hospital beds, let me point out that these were embellished social media allegations by some pen-mercenaries," was VP Chiwenga’s response. 

Here we go! Instead of dealing with the message; blame the messenger! 

Given Zimbabwe’s unfortunate starting position of a failed economy and collapsed health care service, the Zanu PF regime knew the country’s corona virus cases and deaths would be some of the worse in the world. 

Whilst other nations discussed measures to stop the virus getting in the country number one; two, once there are cases in the country, test, trace, track and isolate and contain the virus and third be prepared to treat the very sick and bury the dead without making the bad situation worse. Zanu PF’s number priority was to make the truth about Zimbabwe’s corona virus situation remained a closely guarded state secret! 

Only the Ministry of Health and Child Care and the designated Government official were the only authorised source of information on corona virus. Anyone else reporting on the matter faced a 20 year jail sentence. 

Government has carried out most of the corona virus tests up to now and Zimbabwe has one of the lowest tests per capita. Last Month when SA was carrying out over 44 000 tests per day, for example, and Zimbabwe’s 1/4 SA’s population and therefore should have been doing 11 000 tests per day; Zimbabwe was barely doing 1 500 tests per day. By keeping the number of test low, Zimbabwe has also kept the official corona virus cases low. 

The down side of not testing and isolating is that many infected people are never picked out and left to spread the virus far and wide.

After a years of falsely claiming Zimbabwe had contained the corona virus the chickens are coming home to roost; the number of corona virus cases are soaring and the country’s feeble health care service is overwhelmed. And the regime’s response is to deny the truth and to silence all those dare say otherwise.

The last weeks have seen the number of corona virus cases and deaths surge far above the official figures. There is no doubt that the Zanu PF regime is deliberately falsifying the seriousness of the country’s corona virus situation for the purpose of hiding government’s blundering incompetence in the handling of the pandemic. 

Zanu PF has turned an otherwise tragedy corona virus pandemic into a Biblical catastrophe and is not only trying to pull wool over the nation’s eyes but is, as usual, threatening to punish all who dare open their eyes. 

The corona virus pandemic has once again brought to the fore the heavy price the nation, any nation, has to pay for having a corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical government such as Zimbabwe has. And we are not out of the woods yet!

Whilst other nations have already started vaccinating their people, Zimbabwe does not have the money to buy the vaccines and will be looking to free donations. It could be another year before the vaccination is rolled out. Another years of these frightening covid-19 cases and deaths!

Make no mistake about, the post corona virus economic recovery will be a serious challenge even to the developed nations. A corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF government will certainly not be up to the task to preside over the recovery.

Zimbabweans have allowed, for 40 years and counting, this demonic Zanu PF regime to ride roughshod over them, denying them their basic freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful vote and even the right to life. The real big question here is “How long will Zimbabweans allow this madness to go on before they finally open their eyes?”

In the long run, nations get the government they deserve. Zimbabweans, by decades of omission, certainly deserve this corrupt, vote rigging and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship. And by God, we are paying dearly for our folly, instead of just the usual price of sweat, lost treasure and human suffering corona virus has upped the ante - more sweat, more lost treasure, more human suffering and many lost lives!  

MDC A calls for "streetifying the people's anger" - it is real change they want, implementing reform P Guramatunhu

 “It is Zanu PF itself that has become a super-spreader of perfidy and unbridled falsehoods as exemplified by its statements alleging growth in the country’s economy and the cheap allegation that victims of State-sanctioned abductions are faking their own abductions,” wrote Luke Tamborinyoka in Zimeye.

“The regime has now simply run amok. No one is safe as Mnangagwa’s government takes perfect cover under the lockdown to repress citizens and to engage in a vain but violent attempt to decimate the people’s project called the MDC Alliance.”

There is no denying that Zanu PF “has become a super-spreader of perfidy and unbridled falsehoods as exemplified by its statements alleging growth in the country’s economy, etc., etc.” But it that an excuse for you to compete with Zanu PF in trading falsehood of your own.

Nelson Chamisa’s seizure of power following Tsvangirai’s death was against the MDC-T constitution and common sense and decency and his greed has comeback to haunt Chamisa and the party. Yes Zanu PF has taken full advantage of the chaos born by Chamisa’s ill-advised palace-coup but to suggest Zanu PF is responsible for MDC’s implosion is nonsense. 

The reason why the nation cannot hold Zanu PF to democratic account of the economic meltdown, the political oppression, the blundering incompetence in the handling of the corona virus, etc. is because Zanu PF has a super majority in parliament. 

Mnangagwa rigged the July 2018 elections to get the presidency and his parliamentary majority. By participating in the elections MDC A and the rest of the opposition opportunists gave the vote rigging Zanu PF regime legitimacy. And worst of all Chamisa et al knew they were giving the illegal regime legitimacy. 

“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,” wrote Senator Coltart in his book The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.

“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.”

The three main MDC factions plus three other political parties did form a coalition, MDC Alliance, before the 2018 elections and still they participated in that year’s plebiscite for the same reason in the 2013 elections - greed.

“MDC A has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the (2018) elections!” boasted Chamisa. It was all “perfidy and unbridled falsehoods” as we know. 

Zanu PF has all but ignored all calls for democratic reforms, Mnangagwa is super confident all the MDC factions will participate in the 2023 elections with not even one token reform in place. The opposition’s greed for the few gravy train to entice them to participate in flawed and illegal elections got the better of them in past it will do so again. 

Lest we forget, the MDC leaders should have implemented the democratic reforms when they had the chance during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. They failed to get even one reform implemented. Not one!

It has been easier to get hen’s teeth than to get MDC leaders to admit the sold-out big time during the GNU. The odd occasion they have said anything about the GNU years, it has been to blame SADC or Zanu PF for the GNU’s failure to dismantle the dictatorship.

“Streetifying the people’s anger is now more of an imperative than it was a few months ago when Zimbabweans exhorted each other to peacefully and constitutionally express themselves in July 2020. It is now urgent, given the exigency of the moment, for citizens to streetify their genuine grievances in line with the dictates of the Constitution,” argued Luke Tamborinyoka.

The most important thing for Zimbabweans to know here is that MDC leaders will not only implement any reforms, they are quite content to let Zanu PF rig elections and stay in power as long as they get a share of the spoils of power. 

So without implementing the reforms we are stuck with this Zanu PF regime. 

Street protests are useful in pressuring Zanu PF to implement but without someone to implement the reforms the opportunity will be wasted just like so many other similar opportunities. 

We need to replace the MDC leaders with the competent and focused men and women we can trusted to implement the reforms - MDC leaders have proven they are not to the task. To stage any street protests in the hope that MDC leaders will implement the reforms will be tantamount to going into war with the same misfiring and therefore utterly useless gun.

After 40 years of corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF misrule Zimbabweans must now fight for democratic change, the restoration of their freedoms, human rights and, indeed, their very survival and not just to vent their anger and frustration.  

"Mnangagwa must stop selective application of law" - for Pete's sake, he is tyrant and that is what tyrants do P Guramatunhu

 Zimbabwe has been a nation of protestors and human rights activists contend to say what is wrong in society but rarely ever come up with what should be done about and rarest of all do it!

“The Zimbabwean Constitution enshrines the principle of separation of powers among three distinct arms of government, which are the executive, consisting of the President and Cabinet, the legislature, which is the Parliament, and the judiciary (Courts),” wrote Mirian Mangwaya in Weekly Digest/Bulawayo 24.

“Nevertheless, the independence of the judiciary from the executive has been largely indistinct. The implementation of the principle of separation of powers in Zimbabwe, including guarantees for judiciary independence, is important for the revival of the country's image and economy.”

For Pete’s sake! Zimbabwe is a Banana Republic, a pariah state, ruled by corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and murderous thugs. Mnangagwa, and before him Mugabe, and his Zanu PF cronies have ridden roughshod over the people denying them their freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful vote and even the right to life for the last 40 years and counting! 

The number one task Mugabe set himself ever since the day Zanu PF got into power following the 1980 election (which the party made sure it would win by making it clear the civil would continue if it lost) was to undermine the multi-party democratic Lancaster constitution to create a de facto one-party dictatorship. The 1983 to 1987 Gukurahundi massacre in which over 20 000 innocent civilians were murdered to pressure Joshua Nkomo and his PF Zapu to join up with Zanu PF; cemented the dictatorship. 

After 4 decades of enjoying absolute power, it is no exaggeration to say a very state institution in Zimbabwe has been throughly corrupted and politicised it is a department of the party in all but name; there to serve the party above all else. 

Following the 15 November 2017 military coup which booted Robert Mugabe from State House (it was the only way given the party rigged elections); High Court Judge George Chiweshe ruled the coup was “legal, justified and constitutional”! 

Of course, that it is utter nonsense; there is no democratic constitution in the world that would make something as blatantly lawless as a coup constitutional. It is equally nonsensical for one to still be wittering after that of an “independent judiciary” ignoring all the mountain of evidence we have captured judiciary. 

“The law appears to be favouring government protégés while the executive is using it to suppress dissent and incarcerating 'detractors', in what Alex Magaisa, a law lecturer at Kent University said as a law fare by President Emmerson Mnangagwa's regime,” continued Mirian.

"It (Mnangagwa regime) has normalised selective application of the law, aided by the lack of resistance to it," Magaisa posted on his Twitter.

What Mirian should have said is that Alex Magaisa was the Chief Adviser to then Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC-T leader in the 2008 to 2013 Government of National Unit (GNU). The primary task of the MDC in the GNU was to implement the raft of democratic reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF’s dictatorship, restore the individual freedoms and rights, end the curse of rigged elections and restore democracy and good governance. 

MDC failed to implement even one token reform in five years. Not one! 

Without any doubt the 2008 GNU offered us the best opportunity ever to end the Zanu PF dictatorship peacefully; it was our get out of jail card. And MDC failed to implement even one token democratic reform in five long years and the opportunity was lost. 

So what was the Chief Adviser, Alex Magaisa, doing if it was not to advise MDC to implement the bloody democratic reforms and get the nation out of the hell-hole Zanu PF had dragged us all into! Of course, it is infuriating to be blubbering about Zanu PF using the law selectively, when one knows Zimbabwe is a Banana Republic. And most infuriating of all when those blubbering the loudest are the ones who failed to dismantle the dictatorship when they had golden opportunity to do so.

Indeed, since the MDC leaders’ blatant betrayal during the 2008 to 2013 GNU they have completely given up the fight for democratic reforms. They have participated in all elections since 2013 knowing fully well Zanu PF would rig the elections and that doing so would give legitimacy to the vote rigging Zanu PF regime. 

Zanu PF has offered a few gravy train seats to entice the opposition to participate in the elections regardless how flawed and illegal the process got. The MDC leaders have found the bait simply irresistible. 

"President Mnangagwa should work to restore public confidence in the independence and competence of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC), by openly defending and enforcing the principle of separation of powers," said Dewa Mavhinga, Director for Southern Africa Human Rights Watch.

I have yet to hear Mavhinga and many of the other Human Rights activists criticise and hold the MDC to democratic account for failing to implement even one reform during the GNU. To Mavhinga and many other Zimbabweans out there the 2008 to 2013 GNU and the opportunity it present to end the Zanu PF dictatorship never happened.  

Like it or not, Zimbabwe is a dysfunction Banana Republic ruled by ruling elite comprising the corrupt, incompetent and vote rigging Zanu PF thugs and the equally corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless MDC opportunists. How long are we going to pretend Zimbabwe needs just a fine tuning to make it a working democracy.

After 40 years of gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and rank lawlessness it is naive, indeed insane, to expect Zanu PF to reform itself out of power. Wake up Zimbabwe!

98 covid-19 positive out of 123 tested; proof test regime is wilfully inadequate - "Seri kweguva!" Still, lessons to be learned W Mukori

 Zimbabwe has handled the corona virus pandemic like it has everything else the characteristic blundering incompetence. 

“Masvingo marked a record single-day increase in the number of Covid-19 cases on Tuesday (11 January 2021) as it emerged that the Province is operating with only a single isolation centre for the public,” reported the Masvingo Mirror.

“Health officials confirmed 98 new cases of the novel coronavirus out of 123 tests done on Tuesday. They also confirmed that four people died during the same day. 

“The cumulative cases in the province stood at 872 most of which are health officials. The national death toll is 446 as of yesterday.”

Zimbabwe has had very, very low corona virus cases and deaths up to now and we all know why - the country has not been testing anywhere near the level recommended by WHO and common sense would dictate. On many, many occasions Masvingo has reported zero cases and deaths only for one to notice the Province has not carried out even one single test that day. 

So there were 123 test and 98 came out positive. Of the 872 cumulative cases in the province we are being told “most of which are health officials”. These facts point to one thing - the Province’s test regime has been wilfully inadequate. 

By failing to test diligently many of the people with the virus were missed out and they continue to mix in society spreading the virus. And now the Province is paying dearly for it; the corona virus cases and deaths are soaring. 

“Masvingo is operating with Rujeko Clinic as the only working isolation centre for Covid-19 patients, forcing health officials to release most patients home for self-isolation,” continue the Mirror report.

“The province does not have capacity to deal with cases since it lacks ventilators as well as qualified personnel to operate the machines, putting patients at risk of dying,”

The problem of failing to test adequately and keep track of the virus is not only a Masvingo Province problem alone but is one replicated country wide. 

Some day, one of these fine days, Zimbabwe must carryout a through, no holds barred, investigation into why Zimbabwe had one of the lowest corona virus tests per capita in the world. And how much this single blunder contributed to the corona virus cases and deaths - many of which were missed from the official record - in the country. 

“Seri kweguva hakuna muteuro!” (We cannot bring back the dead!) so goes the Shona adage. Still, if we can learn the lesson why so many people have had to suffer and many have dead when by testing widely the suffering and deaths could have been easily avoided!

Mwonzora will be "biggest opposition party in 2023" - and perpetuate dictatorship, deplorable lack of imagination N Garikai

 The trouble with Zimbabweans is they have no clue what constitutes a competent leader and it is little wonder the nation has blundered from pillar to post, the blind leading the blind into the ditch. 

It therefore is no surprise that some Zimbabweans are already seeing Douglas Mwonzora, the recently elected MDC-T leader, as the man who could lead the nation.

“What l would like to state clearly and as background knowledge is that the powers of the opposition have been going down since 2008 when MDC got 110 seats in parliament, then 2013 got 60 and then 2018 they got around 40 and if the probability that we learnt at school is to be applied it means the opposition is likely to get 30+/- seats in 2023 unless there comes a third political party,” wrote Kumbirai Chivhuna in Bulawayo 24.

“The second thing is that Zanu learnt a big lesson in 2008 with Mugabe clearly telling the politburo Kuti kukurukura hunge wapotswa and from there they made sure that they win the first round election and no room for rerun or runoff.

“Then thirdly Zanu Pf has monetized politics to an extent that whoever has the money will have more than 50% odds in favour of him before the campaign starts.”

Any one who does not understand what the 2008 GNU was about is not ill qualified to propose a way forward for Zimbabwe. Chivhuna has no clue what the GNU was about. 

The first thing Mugabe and his Zanu PF thugs learned from the 2008 to 2013 GNU was that MDC leaders are corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent. There is no deny that Mugabe bribed them to forget about implementing the reforms and not even the repeated nagging by SADC leaders to implement the reforms could get MDC leaders to do it. 

The second thing they learned was that they can keep their dictatorial powers including the powers to blatantly rig elections, as long as they bribe MDC to participate in elections no matter how flawed and illegal the process.  

So Zanu PF has rigged the elections to secure the presidency plus the 2/3 or so parliamentary majority. The party has then used the remaining 1/3 of the gravy train seats as bait to entice the opposition to participate in elections regardless how flawed and illegal process got!

Douglas Mwonzora is a long standing senior MDC leader and he was in the 2008 to 2013 GNU that failed to implement even one reform. 

Mwonzora participated in the 2013 and 2018 elections without any reservations.

MDC-T is going to receive $ 13.6 million, its share of the $100 million 2021 national budget allocation from the Political Party Finance Act (PPFA). And as the party’s new leader Douglas Mwonzora will get 20% or $2.72 million. 

One can ever talk the likes of Mwonzora to demand the implementation of reforms and boycott elections to pressure Zanu Pf to implement reform is naive. Mwonzora and company will never risk losing the MP and Senator salary and allowances, the PPFA payout and the other benefits Zanu PF is offering.

“l would say that Mwonzora stands a big chance become the biggest opposition by 2023 if he plays well but with regards to winning the presidential election that's far fetched coz Zanu has solidified maybe for 2028,” argued Kumbirai.

Participating in the 2023 elections with no reforms will only serve to perpetuate the Zanu PF dictatorship, the very thing the nation is desperate to end. Of course, it is foolish to seen stagnation as progress! 

Anyone suggesting the MDC idiots who have already proven to be corrupt and incompetent are fit to hold any public office much less the highest office in the land suffers a deplorable lack of imagination!

After 40 years of rigged elections, the root cause why we are stuck with this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship, Zimbabwe is going to implement the democratic reforms and finally hold free, fair and credible elections. 

If Zanu PF and its cohort opposition opportunists do not implement the reforms, then the 2023 elections must be declared null void. 

There will be no compromise in the demand for reforms and holding of free, fair and credible election.

Another MDC A leader arrested as fight for "headlines" hots up - not one is fighting for reforms P Guramatunhu

 The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was launched by Morgan Tsvangirai and his friends in 1999 to answer the nation’s cry for democratic changes as the only way to end the de facto one party, Zanu PF, dictatorship. Ever since the people have risked life and limb to elect MDC leaders into power on the understanding to party will deliver the changes and thus end the dictatorship. 

MDC has been on the political stage for over 20 years, 5 of which in the 2008 to 2013 GNU, but, alas, has nothing to show for it. The party has failed to implement even one meaningful democratic reform in 20 years. Not a sausage!

Why?

The overarching reason why MDC leaders have failed to implement even one democratic reform even in the five years of the GNU, when Zanu PF leaders had committed themselves to reforms by signing the SADC sponsored 2008 Global Political Agreement; is that MDC leaders are corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent. 

Ever since the end of 2008 to 2013 GNU with all the damning evidence of their selling-out of reforms, MDC leaders have all but thrown in the towel on getting any democratic reforms implemented and on free, fair and credible elections. They are now fighting skirmishes that they know will do nothing to dismantle the dictatorship. 

“MDC Alliance spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere has been arrested and charged with 'publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the state' for posting widely circulated video which purported to show a baby killed by a policeman's baton stick while strapped to its mother,” reported Bulawayo 24.

MP Job Sikhala, MDC A Vice Chairperson, has already been arrested for the same charge. 

Last year Sikhala and fellow MDC A leader, Jacob Ngarivhume were arrested to calling for the 31 July 2020 public protests. 

Nelson Chamisa, MDC A President, claimed that he was the winner of the July 2018 presidential race and the party has refused to accept Mnangagwa as the legitimate President. The party has resolved to stage public demonstrations as one way of pressuring Mnangagwa and Zanu PF to accept a power sharing arrangement in which Chamisa and a few of his fellow MDC A leaders will be given cabinet positions. 

No one of substance, notably the EU, Americans and SADC, have taken Chamisa’s claims seriously because they all know the whole elections was a farce, Zanu PF blatantly rigged the elections. ZEC failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll. Chamisa failed to produce the V11 forms, summary of the votes count from each Polling Station, to show where his 2.6 millions vote came from. 

Not even ZEC was able to produce all the V11 forms to show where Mnangagwa’s winning votes came from! ZEC’s submitted affidavit to the ConCourt had only 90% of the V11 forms and hence the reason why the commission ended up with three different tallies of the votes; without the V11 no one could trace and verify all the figures.

MDC A and the rest of the opposition should have never participated in the July 2018 elections without first implementing the reforms. “MDC A has stringent measures to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections!” boasted the Chamisa before the elections. 

By participating in the flawed and illegal elections, MDC A gave the process credibility and gave the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy. What is so infuriating is that the MDC leaders have known this all along, as David Coltart, MDC A Treasure General, readily admitted in his book! 

“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,” wrote 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.”

MDC leaders have been participating in flawed and illegal elections because they could not resist the few gravy train seats Zanu PF was offering to entice them to participate. MDC leaders have sold-out on reforms and free, fair and credible elections. 

Instead of fighting to implement the reforms and thus guarantee free, fair and credible elections MDC leaders are now insisting they can win rigged elections.

Instead of fighting to implement the reforms MDC leaders are fighting for headline grabbing skirmishes that will keep their names and faces in the public eye and keep up the illusion the MDC is still fighting for the common cause of free and fair elections. 

Of course, it nonsensical for MDC A to participate in the flawed and illegal elections and thus give the vote rigging Zanu PF regime legitimacy and then try to remove the regime from office by public protests. Why did they give Mnangagwa legitimacy in the first place!

Make no mistake about it, Fadzai Mahere, Job Sikhala, Tendai Biti, Nelson Chamisa, Douglas Mwonzora and all the other opposition opportunists are will all gearing to participate in the 2023 elections with no reforms in place. It is incumbent on every thinking Zimbabwean to put an end to this madness. 

Expose the MDC A leaders for the sell-outs they are, for selling out on reforms for selfish gravy train seats, and the opposition will lose credibility. A vote rigging Zanu PF regime cannot get legitimacy from a discredited opposition. 

If the 2023 elections go ahead with no reforms, it is clear both Zanu PF and the opposition want this, then the plebiscite must be declared null and void. And with a discredited opposition and illegitimate Zanu PF, it will easy to get everyone this time, including SADC, to condemn the elections as a farce.