CNN calls Mnangagwa "old wine" to his face - after rigging elections again, bitter wine turned poison N Garikai

CN tells Mnangagwa to his face that he is “old wine in a new bottle” forcing Zanu PF apologists and spin-doctors to burn the midnight oil in a futile attempt to portray in more flattering terms.

“In an interview with CNN journalist and television host, Christiane Amanpour on Friday, last week, he (Mnangagwa) seized the opportunity to clarify some of the West's misconception about him for instance, the fact that having worked under Mugabe for almost four decades he was likely to perpetuate the former's leadership style and that nothing much would change under his administration,” wrote Nobleman Runyanga.

“The events of 1 August, which saw some six people dying as a result of some skirmishes between the police and some opposition members who were protesting against the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) even when the electoral body was not yet done with announcing the results, is one issue which has been used by most people to liken President Mnangagwa to his predecessor.”

The seven (not six) did not just die as if of heart attack or something; they were shot dead by soldiers (not the Police) who had orders to shoot to kill.

The people were protesting what everyone could see was yet another rigged election process. Yes there was something fishy with the way ZEC was taking forever to announce the results, these were echoes of the March 2008 when it took six weeks to tally 5 million vote and announce results. Still these elections had been rigged long before the first ballot was cast on 30 July 2018.

The regime denied 2 to 3 million Zimbabweans in the diaspora the right to vote for no other reason than that the regime feared most of them did not support Zanu PF. The regime stubbornly refused to release a verified voters’ roll at least one month before nomination day; this is a legal required. Even to this day, two months since voting day, there is still no verified voters’ roll. One has only to look at the voting results to see why no verified voters’ roll was released.

In 16 polling stations there are two or more stations within driving distance of each other in which exactly the same number of ballots were cast and Mnangagwa, who got the lion’s share of the votes, got exactly the same votes in each, for example. It should be noted here that Zanu PF has increased the number of polling station from 2 000 in 2008 to over 11 000 this year, a staggering 550% increase. A close scrutiny of the voters’ roll would be shown there was multiple voting and other vote rigging shenanigans; the voters’ roll was the smoking gun.

As for the 1^st August shoot to kill tragedy, the regime knew the people knew the elections were rigged and were angry at being short changed again. The regime used brute force just to remind the people of all the brutality of the past, it has murdered over 30 000 to establish and retain the de facto one-party dictatorship, and that it will shed fresh blood without a moment’s hesitation.

The shooting and the follow up harassment and arrest of the regime’s critics have achieved the desired effect of cowing the nation into quite submission.

“President Mnangagwa rebutted the "Mnangagwa is Mugabe" by pointing out that he had put in place a commission of enquiry into the matter which is being led by former South African president, Kgalema Motlanthe. He demonstrated his administration's commitment to transparency by indicating that, "we could not investigate ourselves." The President gave a clear indication of the country's future by emphasising peace going forward,” continued the spin-doctor.

“Seemingly, unsatisfied by this explanation, Amanpour insisted that President Mnangagwa was part of the previous administration and described the new Government as "old wine in new bottles" but the President demonstrated his commitment to championing change for Zimbabweans to enjoy better life than that experienced during the Mugabe era.”

Of course, Amanpour was not satisfied, who would! Everyone can see nothing in Zimbabwe has changed, the vote rigging, the corruption, the use of wanton violence to silence all critics, etc. The commission of enquiry into the shooting will never change the results on the ground – the regime rigged the elections and used brute force to silence all dissent!

"If you look at me then you would say I belong to the old guard that's a fact, but look at the Cabinet how many people are new in that Cabinet you can see the direction that we are taking," said President Mnangagwa in reference to his gender-balance and technocratic 21-member Cabinet.

There is no doubt that President Mnangagwa and his junta friends rigged the 30 July 2018 elections; the regime is, per se, illegitimate. Appointing a few innocent faces into the cabinet will not change the fact the regime is illegitimate.

“President Mugabe ended up being one of the longest serving president in Africa. He just wouldn’t leave. Elections or no elections, he just wouldn’t go. He considered an election or process to be illegitimate,” argued Christiane Amanpour before she played a clip of an interview she had with Zimbabwe’s former dictator, Robert Mugabe.

“Haven’t you heard of regime changed championed by Britain and the United States which is aimed at get Robert Mugabe and his party out of power. That naturally means we dig in. We remain in our trenches!” the now deposed dictator argued.

Zanu PF has justified denying the ordinary Zimbabweans their freedoms and basic human rights including the right to free, fair and credible elections and even the right to life under the pretext that it was not the people of Zimbabwe who wanted regime change but foreigners. Ian Smith and his white colonial regime used to argue that the blacks in the country did not want independence, it was a few communist agitators who did. The whites denied the blacks a democratic platform to speak for themselves, sadly the same continued to happen after independence.

By rigging the 30 July 2018 elections and using wanton violence to cow the nation into silent submission President Mnangagwa has proven once again that when it comes to regime change Zanu PF is still dug in and remains in the de facto one-party state trenches.

After listening to Mugabe’s bombastic blast, no one would make the mistake of calling him old wine for fear of someone mistake it for wholesome old vintage. Both Mugabe and Mnangagwa are old wine, decades past its use by date, that have long turned into bitter vinegar then poison and now carries a health warning “Do not open. Incinerate bottle and contents!” 

Mnangagwa rigged the recent elections. He is Mugabe mark 2. His regime is illegitimate and must not be supported in any way. If the regime is allowed to serve its five-year term, we can be certain that it will rig the next elections and thus perpetuate its no regime change mantra against the democratic wish of the long suffering people of Zimbabwe.