“Charova seichando
kukwidza hamba mumuti!” (It will have to be a bitterly cold spell to force the
tortoise to climb a tree!) goes the Shona adage. Well the “tortoise” in the
Blue Roof has learned to climb trees!
“Nobody would have
thought that the same Mugabe who ignored calls for electoral reforms for almost
two decades is now set to demand the same,” wrote Robert Singauke, SA based
Political Analyst.
“The tide has
changed, indeed the donkeys have grown horns. His authoritative voice
commandeered almost everything in the country since 1980, now his own New
Patriotic Front (NPF) project will sulk "We urge the Emmerson government
to implement electoral reforms to create a conducive environment for free and
fair elections." How the mighty have fallen.”
Here is the man who
has done everything, absolutely everything in his power, legal and illegal, to
make sure that he and his party ever risk losing any elections by allowing Zimbabweans
to have free, fair and credible elections. Even the 1980 elections which
organised and conducted by the British, Mugabe saw to it that they were not
free and fair in his favour.
It is no secret that
Zanu PF did not withdraw all its Zanla freedom fighters from the field into
Assembly Points as per Lancaster House Agreement. Those left in the field were
instructed to tell the people that the civil war would pick-up from where it
left off should Zanu PF lose the elections. The late Cephas Msipa, a senior PF
Zapu member and Zanu PF’s main political threat in the 1980 elections,
confirmed that there were many “no go areas” for PF Zapu in that election. Zanu
PF operatives would not allow anyone else to campaign in those areas.
(History has the
habit of repeating itself. President Mnangagwa has deployed war veterans backed
by 2 000 Army personal country wide to replicate the 1980 success.)
Ever since Mugabe
got into power following the 1980 election victory, he has worked tireless to
undermine Zimbabwe’s democratic institutions to create a de facto one-party
dictatorship. His quarrel with his fellow liberation icon Dr Joshua Nkomo, for
whatever reasons, gave Mugabe the excuse to deploy his North Korea trained
Fifth Brigade to spear head the now infamous Gukurahundi. The primary purpose
of Gukurahundi was not destroy PF Zapu as a political party by targeting the
party’s leaders and supporters.
Although Mugabe did
not succeed in destroying PF Zapu; he did the next best thing, forced PF Zapu
to be disbanded in 1987 and join Zanu PF with Mugabe as the undisputed First
Secretary of the party. The foundation of the de facto one-party cum one-party
dictatorship was laid. Since then Mugabe has continued to work tireless to
consolidate his and Zanu PF political strangle hold.
Even when the people
became angry at Zanu PF’s failure to deliver economic prosperity whilst the
ruling elite grew fat, physically and economically; Zanu PF continued to win
elections regardless, thanks to the party’s ever-increasing vote rigging
capability. The Zanu PF vote rigging juggernaut faced its greatest challenge
ever in 2008 elections.
The regime had to
force ZEC to whittle down Tsvangirai’s 73% vote count to a 47% to force a
run-off in a six-week long recount. Everyone could see the regime was cooking
up the figures, everyone except Tsvangirai and his MDC friends and hence the
reason Zanu PF got away with it.
In the run-off Zanu
PF deployed its party thugs and war veterans supported by serving members from
the Army, Police and CIO. They were instructed to punish the people for having
reject Mugabe and Zanu PF in the March vote and to make sure they did not so again
in the run-off and in future.
“What was
accomplished by the bullet cannot be undone by the ballot,” Mugabe thundered.
The wanton violence
was barbaric. “Mugabe has declared war on the people,” complained Tsvangirai
when he announced his forced withdrawal from the race.
Not even SADC and
the AU would endorse Mugabe’s election victory as free, fair and credible, even
they could not stomach the blatant cheating and the gratuitous violence by the
Zanu PF vote rigging juggernaut. SADC forced Mugabe to sign an agreement to
implement a raft of democratic reforms to take away Zanu PF’s carte blanche
power to cheat and use violence to rig elections.
Sadly, not even one
reform was ever implemented in the five years of the GNU. Mugabe bribed Morgan
Tsvangirai and his MDC toads with the trappings of high office and they, in
return, left Zanu PF’s vote rigging juggernaut untouched.
When then Army
Commander Constantino Chiwenga and his posse of coup plotter woke Mugabe up in
the small hours of 14 November 2017 to tell him the game was up for him they
did not just force him to resign they also seized control of the Zanu PF vote
rigging machinery. Mugabe knows just how power and unbeatable the system is
hence the reason he is demanding that it must be dismantled!
What goes round,
comes round; the vote rigging juggernaut spend his political life creating and
fine tuning in now in his political rivalry’s hands. He does not like it but is
totally helpless to do anything about it now!
“Going towards
elections, the stakes will be very high. A militarised and illegitimate Zanu PF
government that will leave nothing at chance to secure victory and sanitise
itself,” continued Singauke.
“Then you have its
offshoot opposition (NPF) that consists of architects of some of the well-oiled
rigging machineries that kept Zanu PF in power for so long, watching like hawks
at every turn to see which one is being pulled this time.
“Then you have a
fractured opposition failing to contain itself because of power struggles. It
is rather disconcerting however, that traditional opposition voters will not
vote Zanu PF because MDC T is in disarray. They will rather abstain from the
process altogether.”
Actually, abstain
from this flawed and illegal process is the only sensible course of action.
With no reforms in place President Mnangagwa will rig the elections just as
readily as Zanu PF has always done. Although he has promised free, fair and
credible elections he has pointedly refused to implement any democratic reforms
and has even dismissed those calling for reforms as barking dogs.
Still, it is Mugabe
who is going to have the final laugh in all this. Whilst Mugabe inherited from
Ian Smith a robust, strong and very productive economy, a fat cow; he has handed
over to Mnangagwa an all but collapse and dysfunctional economy, a thin and
sickly cow. Mugabe had 37 years to turn the fat cow into the thin and sickly
one.
Mnangagwa has the
simple choice, implement the democratic reforms and someone else will be
appoint over you to implement the reforms and once the reforms are in place;
Zanu PF and Mnangagwa will lose the free, fair and credible elections.
The alternative is
for Mnangagwa to holdout and refuse to implement reforms. The price for failing
to implement reforms is that none of the foreign investors the country needs to
revive the economy will not come. Unemployment is a nauseating 90%, ¾ of the
population are living on US$1.00 a day, basic services such as health and
education have all but collapsed, water and electricity power supplies are erratic,
etc., etc.; if that is not a sick and dying economy then what is! With no new investors,
it will not be long before the populous realise that their economic situation
is not getting better as the coup plotters have been promising. The street
protests of 2016 will be back, only the crowds will be larger and very angry.
Mugabe’s reign
lasted 37 years because he inherited a fat cow from Ian Smith. Mnangagwa inherited
a sick cow from Mugabe, he will be very lucky if his reign last 37 months! He
will either lost power in a free and fair election, the price he must pay to
attract foreign investors. If there are no investors; the sick cow will die and
the impoverish nation will booted him out of office!
Last year, the people of Zimbabwe celebrated Mugabe's demise because they were at their wit's end last. They had tried everything to get rid of the tyrant and nothing seemed to work because of the tyrant and his regime's unlimited scope to cheat and use violence to rig elections.
ReplyDeleteSo, Mnangagwa, Chiwenga and the rest of the coup posse forced Mugabe to resign the people sighed a huge sigh of relief just to see the back of Mugabe. The nation thanked the coup plotters even though the same thugs were the ones who had rigged the elections to keep Mugabe in power all the years; such was the degree of relief the people felt.
The truth is the coup plotters only delivered the coup de grace, the economy had done all the hard work of softening Mugabe up. It was the failing economy that had fuelled all the dog-eat-dog factional fighting that has torn Zanu PF apart. Mugabe had cheated, bamboozled and even murdered his political rivals in his own party and outside to stay in power; he could not do the same with the economy. His 2013 election manifesto, ZimAsset, promised 2.2 million new jobs and he only created two, for his daughter and her husband.
Even if Mugabe had prevailed in the final act of the Zanu PF implosion, he would still be a worried man because his nemesis, the economy, would still be harassing and hurrying him every day and every minute of every day.
Mnangagwa grinned from ear to ear when he seized the presidency, the green ribbon, the bullet-proof limousine and all the other benefits and prestige that comes with being adding the title President of the Republic of Zimbabwe to one's name. The one thing that came with the presidency, which he would have refused if he was given a choice, is the sick and dying economy.
Mnangagwa thought he would hit the ground running and tackle the economy head-on with his "Zimbabwe is open for business" clarion cry to attract the much-needed foreign investors. Four months into his rule, the expected flood of new investors has not materialised. Mnangagwa forgot one thing - investors do not do business in a lawless country ruled by thugs.
The November coup remove one dictator and a handful of his henchmen but only for a thug to take his place. The Zanu PF dictatorship is alive and kicking - under new management!
The only way Mnangagwa can shake off Zimbabwe's pariah State label is for him to implement the democratic reforms and take away Zanu PF's carte blanche powers to rig elections. Mnangagwa cannot have his cake and eat it too, he cannot keep his thug's power to rig elections and not be called thug.
He called the November coup "a military assisted transition!" The real irony is that he actually believes that he has successfully fooled everyone. Worse still, he thinks he is so clever and cunning he can pull that off again. He has promised free, fair and credible elections, but has being quietly preparing to rig the elections, he thinks he will fool everyone again.
Zimbabwe's sick and dying economy is the proverbial mile-stone hanging Mnangagwa's neck. It was the economy that dragged Mugabe down, it will do the same to Mnangagwa. He is just a dead-man walking!
You are right, Mnangagwa did not just inherit the presidential green ribbon, the bullet-proof limousine, the prestigious title President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and all the glory and wealth that goes with it. He inherited a sick and dying economy and all the headache that goes with it!
ReplyDeleteAfter 37 years of Mugabe's ruthless and ruinous rule many Zimbabweans were truly desperate to see the tyrant go. They had failed to get rid of the tyrant by votes but failed as the tyrant had the veto - he could recount and whittle down 73% to 47%, use wanton violence to frog march people to vote for him, employed NIKUV to devise all manner of vote rigging schemes, etc.
The Devil himself did not want the tyrant in his hell, as the old man was withering but refused to die. With his many heinous crimes against man and sins against God even other sinners would chase Mugabe away before he even get to Pearl Gate.
When the Army forced Mugabe to resign the nation sighed a huge relief. The nation was so pleased they ready forgave Chiwenga, Mnangagwa, Mutsvangwa and the rest of the coup plotters for having been the ones who had kept the tyrant in office all these years by doing the tyrant's dirty bidding.
President Mnangagwa and his coup regime promised the nation a quick economic recovery and they did hit the ground running in wooing foreign investors with their "Zimbabwe is open for business" clarion call. The flood of investors they were so cock-sure would heed the call has never materialised for one obvious reason - investors do not do business in a lawless country ruled by thugs.
Zimbabwe is a lawless nation ruled by thugs. The November coup remove one dictator and a handful of those around him but only to replace him with another thug. The Zanu PF dictatorship is alive and well, under new management.
The economy is Mnangagwa's Achilles' heel. He has certainly inherited a very sick and dying cow, more a burden than an asset. If he does not do sometime to revive the economy his days in State House are numbered because the impoverished nation is not going to starve to death quietly. The only thing he can do is implement the reforms and hold free and fair elections, the one condition the foreign investors will want to see.
Holding free and fair elections is the last thing the regime would ever want to do because they all know Zanu PF's grip on power will be lost and never to be recovered. Never!
Talk of being caught between a rock and the deep blue sea; well ask Mnangagwa and he will tell you what that means. If is has not dawned on him he has nowhere to go, it will!
It was the worsening economic situation that cause all the dog-eat-dog factional wars in Zanu PF. Mugabe could not cheat, bamboozle, use violence or murder the economy to turn the sick economy into a thriving one as he had done in turning his 27% electoral defeat in the March 2008 elections into an 84% victory just three months later. His 2013 election manifesto, ZimAsset, promised to create 2.2 million new jobs; he only managed to create 2 jobs, for his daughter and her husband.
It was the failed economy that forced Mugabe to go. Mnangagwa inherited a sick and dying economy, there is very little wriggle room and time is fast running out, his days in State House are number. The economy will boot Mnangagwa out just as it booted Mugabe before him!
@ Koni
ReplyDelete"Zimbabweans are sick and tired of having recycled leaders year in and year out," you said.
If it is just a matter of having new faces, then you are in luck. The November coup has resulted in the introduction of the greatest number of new faces in government and the civil service than the nation had ever seen. The coming elections are going to see many of the old Zanu PF MPs, Senators, Councils, etc. booted out and replaced by new faces. The end of recycling in Zanu PF will, however, not result in a better and competent government.
As long as Zanu PF retain its undemocratic powers to rig elections the party will continue to impose corrupt and incompetent people as leader on the nation.
If the nation has free, fair and credible elections the nation will not have to worry about the problem of having deadwood, new or recycled, for leaders. The very competitive environment that comes with democratic elections is very good at separating the good, the bad and the ugly!