There is nothing some Zimbabweans love more than idolise their leaders!
”On this day 68 years back a hero was born, Morgan Tsvangirai, the doyen of democracy, the father of democracy in post independent Zimbabwe. A man who lived a humble life of service and sacrifice epitomising the struggle for a new Zimbabwe which would be anchored on rule of law and an end to misrule by ZANU-PF," reads a statement from the MDC Youth Assembly.
"Morgan Tsvangirai was a dedicated leader and a selfless cadre who initiated the journey for the national democratisation agenda in the late 90s having led a life which was dedicated towards uplifting and ensuring collective bargaining for the workers in Zimbabwe through his relentless efforts at ZCTU.”
Compare and contrast this with a leaked cable to Washington from the then US Ambassador to Zimbabwe 2004 to 2007, Chris Dell.
“Morgan Tsvangirai is a flawed figure, not readily open to advice, indecisive and with questionable judgment.
"He is an indispensable element for opposition success … but possibly an albatross around their necks once in power. In short … Zimbabwe needs him, but should not rely on his executive abilities to lead the country's recovery."
Well Morgan Tsvangirai did indeed get into power, he was Prime Minister in the 2008 to 2013 GNU. The primary task of the GNU was to implement the raft of democratic reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship and thus stop the repeat of the blatant cheating in the March 2008 vote count and the wanton violence in the presidential run-off that followed.
Mugabe entrapped Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends with the generous salaries, ministerial limos, a US$4 million mansion for Tsvangirai, etc., etc. and, with their snouts in the feeding trough the MDC leaders forgot about implementing the reforms. SADC leaders did their best to advise Tsvangirai et al to implement the reforms but, as Ambassador Dell had rightly noticed, Tsvangirai was not the man “readily to advice”.
The failure to implement even one democratic reform during the GNU has been the second worst disaster to befall Zimbabwe since independence. The number one disaster to befall the country has to be the decision by Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies to impose the de facto one-party, Zanu PF, dictatorship.
The failure by Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends to implement even one reform when they had the golden opportunity to do so during the GNU has been compounded by the party’s fanatical supporters. Even with the benefit of hindsight, they still refuse to see Morgan Tsvangirai for the corrupt, incompetent and down right sell-out he and all those MDC leaders around him were.
It is one thing idolise a genius like the great Physicist Albert Einstein, he is smart enough to keep his feet on the ground. Idolise a village idiot like Robert Mugabe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Constantino Chiwenga, Morgan Tsvangirai, Nelson Chamisa, etc. and they become so big headed they start to believe they are infallible and are not democratically accountable to mere mortals like you and me.
Ambassador Dell was right, even in death, Morgan Tsvangirai is still the “albatross round the nation’s neck”; it will take another generation at least force Zimbabweans to open their eyes to see Tsvangirai and the other MDC leaders for what they really are - corrupt, incompetent and sell-outs whose failure to implement reforms has helped to keep Zanu PF in power.
“Morgan Tsvangirai, a doyen of democracy!” I am mortified with such nauseating idolisation of not only a mere mortal but a flawed and corrupt one with a mountain of evidence to prove it!
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on Zimbabwe's state security minister and its ambassador to Tanzania, the U.S. Treasury Department said, accusing them of human rights abuses, including directing an attack on peaceful protesters.
ReplyDeleteOwen Ncube, Zimbabwe's state security minister, was blacklisted over accusations that he ordered security services to abduct and mistreat members of the opposition, the Treasury Department said in a statement.
The Treasury Department said it imposed sanctions on Anselem Sanyatwe, Zimbabwe's ambassador to Tanzania, accusing him of directing security forces to attack protesters during demonstrations after the 2018 elections, when he was commander of the National Army's Presidential Guard Brigade.
The sanctions freeze any U.S.-held assets of the two officials and generally prohibit Americans from doing business with them.
Ncube and Sanyatwe were previously barred in 2019 by the State Department from entering the United States.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement on Wednesday urged Zimbabwe's government "to immediately end state-sponsored violence including against peaceful protesters, civil society, labour leaders and members of the opposition in Zimbabwe, and to investigate and hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations and abuse.”
The sanctions could not have been imposed on more deserving individuals!
The Zimbabwe economy is in total meltdown, the people are are desperate for meaningful regime change and the Zanu PF regime try every trick in the book to hang on to power. Change is long over due and the regime must not be allowed to slaughter the people just to hang on to power. It is a great pity that the EU has turned a blind eye to the political tragedy unfolding in Zimbabwe. We thank the Americans for keeping their eye on the ball!