Hopewell Chinono, you are a shallow minded person with a very large ego,
you think you are an intellectual of merit. Your articles are nonsense dressed
in a flowerily language designed to fool the politically naïve and gullible.
“Most people in the opposition deride the assumed contested legitimacy
of the current President Mnangagwa administration by calling it a “Junta”, a
word which means a political group that rules a country after taking power by
force,” you say.
“This is meant to unfairly hurt the credibility of the government and
how it is perceived both locally and internationally.”
Chinono, it is a historic fact that in the small hours of the morning of
14 th November 2017 Commander General Constantino Chiwenga and posse of other
top brass Zimbabwe Defence Forces Officers seized the key State Institutions,
neutralized the Police and CIO and woke the then President and
Commander-In-Chief of all Zimbabwe’s defence forces including ZDF, Police and
CIO, Robert Mugabe, to tell him he was no longer had any of the powers of the
presidency and Commander-In-Chief.
The coup plotters told the world what they had done was “a military
assisted transition” but that is all flowerily language design to fool fools.
This was a coup d’état, plain and simple! President Mnangagwa and his
administration are a Junta with no legitimacy, that too is a plain and simple historic
fact!
The world is not going to rewrite the definition of coup d’état and add “a
military assisted transition (Zimbabwe November 2017, is the only known
example)” just to suit Mnangagwa and company. If the coup plotters resent being
called a Junta then they should have never stage the coup in the first place.
They have welcome the absolute power the coup brought but they do not want the
stigma that comes with it!
“We only had two options, the continued ruinous rule by Robert Mugabe
that would have seen his wife Grace Mugabe take over, or the military
intervention that happened in November,” continued Chinono.
The decision by Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies to stifle debate
and democratic competition has help him create the de facto one-party
dictatorship he wanted but at the price of political stagnation and rot. Whilst
Zanu PF is imploding because the centre cannot hold, the party is rotten to the
core. The choice of which of the two factions, G40 or Lacoste, was going to
emerge out of the dog-eat-dog factional war tearing Zanu PF apart is an
internal matter and not to be confused with the nation.
The people of Zimbabwe have been fighting for democratic change, free
and fair elections and, ultimately, regime change.
The insistence on fostering the choice Zanu PF’s grime choice, of either
G40 or Lacoste, on the whole nation is nothing new; like all ruthless
tyrannical regime Zanu PF has placed its selfish party and person interests
above those of the nation. The party, Zanu PF, has become more important the
nation, Zimbabwe. And for many years the individual, Robert Mugabe, has become
more important than the party and the nation. The coup removed Mugabe and
replaced him with Mnangagwa.
The subordination of the nation’s interest to selfish interest of the
party and/or individual(s) is heart and soul of the political struggle in Zimbabwe.
Zanu PF is not Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe is not Zanu PF!
Whilst the November 2017 accomplished the task of removing the dictator
Robert Mugabe from power what is failed to do was end the dictatorship itself.
President Mnangagwa and the Junta have preserved the Zanu PF dictatorial powers
to rig elections untouched. President Mnangagwa has promised free, fair and
credible elections but have done nothing to implement the democratic reforms to
make this possible.
Zimbabwe will not have free and fair elections without implementing the
reforms first. The economic recovery the Junta has been angling for will not
happen because foreign investors and donors will continue to shy away from
Zimbabwe. By failing to implement the democratic reforms necessary for free and
fair elections the Junta will be effectively telling the world Zimbabwe is
still a nation ruled by ruthless thugs or be it under a new dictator.
"I have already invited all political parties in Zimbabwe to a roundtable where we all commit ourselves to non-violence," Mnangagwa added.
ReplyDeleteThis is just confirming something we all know already, President Mnangagwa is NOT going to implement any reforms designed to give back the Police the power to investigate, arrest and take before a Court of Law all those involved in politically motivated crimes including vote rigging and violence. He wants the political parties to do their own policing.
A hamstrung Police will never arrest anyone, take them to Court, etc. and so, even if the violence and cheating of 2008 was to be repeated, there will be no documented evidence on anything. No doubt, President Mnangagwa intends to repeat the Zanu PF official line of 2008: "Where is the evidence of vote rigging?"
For the record, President Mnangagwa the all-party roundtable conference is a waste of time. Implement the democratic reforms!
As for the opportunist opposition politicians who continue to take part in these meaningless elections and, by doing so, give credibility to flawed process; shame on you.
To use sanctions as an excuse for denying the people of Zimbabwe their basic human freedoms and rights including the right to free and fair elections is criminal and we must condemn it. President Mnangagwa must implement the democratic reforms, that is not negotiable!
ReplyDelete@ Mai Chibwe
ReplyDeleteZanu PF primary elections are coming up very soon and my guess is they will be more ex-security personal, be they ex Army, Police, CIO or war veterans, contesting these elections than ever before. This is a Junta regime!