Zimbabwe’s worsening economic meltdown has President Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF colleagues really worried. They know the economic situation is unsustainable and power is slipping out of their hands. They response is to step up the tyrannical repression.
“This is a revolutionary party, that liberated this country, and the only one that can defend the revolution, therefore, we will fight to defend that course by any means necessary,” said Victor Matemadanda, Zanu PF political commissar.
“Every election is a process to defend the revolution against Western imperial powers working in cahoots with local puppets. We will use any means necessary to defend the revolution.
“If elections fail we will use any other means necessary!” he concluded ominously.
If anyone thought Matemadanda was just a loose cannon, Mnangagwa no less stood up reinforced Matemadanda’s word.
“Whilst we were at war, we would ask who is the chief of this area, and they would tell us that it is Chief Chikwaka,” he said.
“We would not ask who was contesting Chief Chikwaka (Goromonzi traditional leader). If someone comes into this country and they ask who rules over Zimbabwe, its Zanu PF.”
“You (Zanu PF members) are the voice of this country, you are the way of this country, you are the future of this country.”
Every time Zanu PF sensed that its strangle hold on power was being threaten, the party has turned up the political rhetoric and followed this with wanton violence to drive the message home.
Zanu PF does never subscribed to the notion that ordinary Zimbabweans have the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country. The party blatantly rigged last year’s elections. The election went ahead without something as basic as verified voters’ roll. This was a deliberate and calculated move, a verified voters’ roll would have make the vote rigging that much difficult, of course.
What is frustrating here is not just that Zanu PF has blatantly rigged elections repeatedly but that the regime has partners. The opposition led by the MDC have participating in these flawed and illegal elections knowing Zanu PF will rig the elections. Worse still, they have also known that by participating they were giving the process ‘credibility’ as David Coltart readily admitted.
“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 elections,” admitted 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.”
So many golden opportunities to implement the reforms and end the Zanu PF dictatorship have been wasted on the opposition alter of greed.
Then there are others like Professor Mthuli Ncube, Minister Kirsty Coventry and many others who are working for this Zanu PF regime knowing it rigged the elections and is per se illegitimate. They paid and paid well for propping up the dictatorship. The two attended the just ended Zanu PF conference and they joined the rest of the party faithful in cheering Mnangagwa and Matemadanda’s speeches.
We can agree to differ on many things but surely we should not differ on what constitute free, fair and credible elections and that this is a right and not a privilege. It is therefore infuriating that some people pretend, for selfish reasons, that Zanu PF did not rig last year’s elections and thus undermining the work of those calling for democratic change.
Zanu PF will never implement any meaningful democratic reforms and restore the people’s right to a meaningful vote. All political and economic pressure must now be brought to bear on Mnangagwa and his Zanu PF cronies to steps down! The lifted sanctions must be brought back.
All economic and political pressure must also be brought to bear on MDC leaders Zanu PF apologists who are propping up this Zanu PF dictatorship. These individuals must now be added to the sanctions list!
Yes, Zanu PF’s stern warnings that the party will use wanton violence to retain power must be taken seriously. Still the human tragedy brought on by 39 years of Zanu PF misrule is real too and cannot be ignore. The consequences of just another year of this; millions living in abject poverty with no health care, no education, etc. is unthinkable. Abandoning these poor souls to mercy of the Zanu PF tyrants is not an option.
Mnangagwa and his thugs must be told in no uncertain terms that he must restore the freedoms and rights of every Zimbabwean including the right to a meaningful vote and the right to life. These are rights and not privileges he can give to some and deny to others as he sees fit.
Since Zanu PF has failed, especially during the 2008 to 2013 GNU, to implement even one reforms to ensure free, fair and credible elections; the party must now step down. This is not negotiable!
Former President Mbeki knows that Zimbabwe is still in this mess today precisely because none of the reforms were implemented in the five years of the last GNU. He said so himself in his article; https://www.thezimbabwean.co/2016/02/in-defence-of-my-zimbabwe-policy-thabo-mbeki/
ReplyDeleteThe big question here is will he look both Mnangagwa and Chamisa in the eyes and tell them that Zimbabwe will only get out of this political and economic mess by implementing the reforms and that the two cannot be trusted to get the job done since they failed to get even one reform implemented last time.