2023 elections are free "Musoro wambuya vako!" said Mnangagwa in pre-emptive strike. He is rigging and knows it. W Mukori

 "We are one of the most peaceful countries on the continent,” Mnangagwa told Miners4ED members in Gweru.

"We are a peaceful country, we are united and we are democratic. Not even a single (foreign) country can teach us about democracy because we know it and we fought for it."

He said Zimbabwe was a sovereign country and foreigners should not interfere with its internal affairs. “Musoro yambuya vako!” (Your grand mother’s big head!) he could not resist adding the gratuitous insult.

The truth is Zimbabwe is no more democratic than the Democratic Republic of North Korea. 

Zanu PF nationalist leaders said they were fighting to end white colonial oppression and exploitation, for freedom, liberty, one man one vote, etc., etc. The black majority in the country agreed and they played their part. But by the time the nation held the 1980 elections to usher in independence it was clear Zanu PF had been fighting to remove the white oppressors but only to take their place.

Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies made it clear that if the party did not win the 1980 elections, the bush war would continue. Of course, the people voted to end the war and thus kissed goodbye to “one man one vote!” 

Three years after the country’s independence Mugabe launched the Gukurahundi Massacre whose primary purpose was to force the now late Dr Joshua Nkomo and his PF Zapu to sign the Unity Accord with Zanu PF paving the way for the imposition of the de facto one-party dictatorship that has ruled the country to this day. 

Zanu PF is rigging these 2023 elections just as it rigged the 2018 and the rest going all the way back 1980. The EU send a high powered 246 strong 2018 Election Observer Mission team. And the reported what the witnessed on the ground, unlike the SADC team, for example, who chose to falsify the situation to appease Zanu PF. 

“The right to an effective legal remedy was not adequately provided for, there is no equal suffrage and shortcomings in the registration of voters somewhat compromised universal and equal suffrage. Notably, major shortcomings in the pre-election environment impacted on the free expression of the will of electors, state resources were misused in favour of the incumbent and coverage by state media was heavily biased in favour of the ruling party,” stated the 2018 EU Observer Mission final report.

“Further, the electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner. The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability. 

“Finally, the restrictions on political freedoms, the excessive use of force by security forces and abuses of human rights in the post-election period undermined the corresponding positive aspects during the pre-election campaign. As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards.”

The EU Observer Mission final report made 23 reform recommendation to bring Zimbabwe elections to accepted international standards. Not even one token reform was implemented. Not a sausage! 

The EU has accepted the invitation to send an Election Observer team for these 2023 elections. With not even one reform recommendation in place, it is certain the team will condemn these elections as farce too. Mnangagwa knows that and hence his irrational irritation “Musoro yambuya vako!” He knows what is coming and has to throw his pre-emptive punch! 

What Mnangagwa is saying is he accepts all the rules and standards governing the holding of free, fair and credible elections as long as Zanu PF, as the political party that spearheaded the liberation war, is allowed to do whatever the party considers necessary to retain power. In other words Zimbabweans are allowed to exercise their freedoms and rights including the right to a free and democratic vote as long as none of it threatens Zanu PF’s hold on power. 

According to Mnangagwa Zimbabweans can exercise their right to free, fair and credible elections as long as that does not result in regime change. Of course, this is nonsense; “ a meaningful say in the governance of one’s country”, according to the UN Universal Human Rights Declaration, included regime change.

After 43 years of being short changed it is high time the people of Zimbabwe stood firm in their demand for full implementation of the democratic reforms, to guarantee free, fair and credible elections. We cannot stop these flawed 2023 elections going ahead, both Zanu PF and CCC are hell bent on participating for their own selfish reasons. 

What we can do is denounce the election process for being flawed and illegal. SADC will use our silence as an excuse to endorse the process as “substantially free and fair” and grant Zanu PF political legitimacy. Zimbabwe is a failed state precisely because the nation has been stuck with this corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship for 43 years. We could not have regime change because Zanu PF rigged elections. 

We desperately need to cure ourselves of this curse of rigged elections and bad governance. Making sure that Zanu PF does not get legitimacy after 23 August 2023 elections is the first step to curing ourselves of rigged elections and failed state.

"EU welcomes invitation to observe 2023 elections." Yeah, for purpose of yet another academic report! W Mukori

 “The EU warmly welcomes the invitation from the Government of Zimbabwe to observe the harmonised elections of 2023 in Zimbabwe.

“This invitation clearly demonstrates the trust, cooperation, and partnership between Zimbabwe and the EU,” said EU ambassador to Zimbabwe, Jobst von Kirchmann, on twitter. 

Yeah but send the Observer Team for what purpose and end? The EU send a high powered 246 strong team for the 2018 elections and their report was completely ignored. 

“The right to an effective legal remedy was not adequately provided for, there is no equal suffrage and shortcomings in the registration of voters somewhat compromised universal and equal suffrage. Notably, major shortcomings in the pre-election environment impacted on the free expression of the will of electors, state resources were misused in favour of the incumbent and coverage by state media was heavily biased in favour of the ruling party,” stated the 2018 EU Observer Mission final report.

“Further, the electoral commission lacked full independence and appeared to not always act in an impartial manner. The final results as announced by the Electoral Commission contained numerous errors and lacked adequate traceability, transparency and verifiability. 

“Finally, the restrictions on political freedoms, the excessive use of force by security forces and abuses of human rights in the post-election period undermined the corresponding positive aspects during the pre-election campaign. As such, many aspects of the 2018 elections in Zimbabwe failed to meet international standards.”

The report made 23 reform recommendations and not even one of the reforms has been implemented. Both Zanu PF and the country’s corrupt, incompetent and utterly useless opposition camp, led by MDC/CCC, have completely ignored the report and its recommendations. 

The opposition candidates were tripping over each other to submit their nomination papers last Wednesday 21st June 2023, knowing fully well that ZEC had not produced a verified voters’ roll, something as basic as that. No doubt the EU observers will hear of endless stories of people will be denied the vote because their names have disappeared from the voters’ roll, of multiple voting, etc. They will never verify any of these because the is no verified voters’ roll! 

The land of the land says there should be a verified voters’ roll at least one calendar month before nomination day. Zimbabwe has never ever produced a verified voters’ roll. Everyone including the ruling party and opposition leaders and the sanctimonious judge presiding over the nomination process knows there is no verified voters’ roll. 

It is not that the opposition leaders do not know that without implementing the reforms so that basic things like having a verified voters’ roll Zimbabwe’s elections are just a circus. They have know all that and they don’t care the elections are not to international standard!

“The (2013) 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,” confessed Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe. 

There it is from the horse’s own mouth; Zimbabwe will not implement reforms and thus hold free, fair and credible elections until the issue of opposition greed is addressed. The opposition will never ever do “the only logical” thing and stop participating in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy because of greed.

Of course, it is naive to expect Zanu PF to implement any democratic reforms know fully well that the party will never ever win free, fair and credible elections - not with its disastrous economic and political track record of the last 43 years. Zanu PF will never reform itself out of office. 

And ever since the 2008 to 2013 GNU the party has learned that it can continue to rig elections and get away with it as long as the party allows the opposition to win a few gravy train seats to entice them and thus keep the multi-party facade. Mnangagwa has created POLAD to reward losing presidential candidate and thus ensure the opposition will participate in droves regardless how flawed and illegal the electoral process got!

“If Zimbabwe’s election process is flawed and illegal, then why are all our opposition parties participating in droves!” Mnangagwa has often argued. 

Of course he has a point, if Zimbabweans themselves do not mind that elections are going ahead without even something as basic as a verified voters’ roll. What business is it of outsiders to object and judge the elections “are not to international standards”? Is Zimbabwe not entitle to set her own standards?

Zimbabwe has become the byword for corruption and criminal waste of human and material resources. As a failed state the country is failing to provide even the most basic needs of its people such as education, health care, clean running water, etc., etc. The ruling elite, including the opposition leaders who will secure their gravy train seats, are clearly happy with the situation but not so the masses at the coal face of what it means to live in a failed state. 

The 49% and counting of Zimbabweans now living in abject poverty will not accept that Zimbabwe should set its own standard for social and economic justice and be condemned to poverty and hopelessness and despair. They will be equally foolish to accept that Zanu PF should be allowed to rig elections, with the connivance of CCC, and continue to deny them a meaning say in the governance of the country. Deny them the only hope of ending the curse of rigged elections and bad governance the root cause Zimbabwe IS a failed state. 

With not even one token reforms implemented since the rigged 2018 elections, it is as clear as day that Zanu PF is once again rigging these 2023 elections. What the ordinary Zimbabwean wants to see from the EU and all the election observers, regional as well as those from distant lands, it a concerted effort to end Zimbabwe’s curse of rigged elections. We want two things from election observers:

1. judging these elections to the same international accepted election standards, the same three-foot yard stick and not some one-foot yard stick. 

2. the observer reports must address the root causes why Zimbabwe has failed to hold free, fair and credible elections including the refusal by Zanu PF, with the active connivance of the MDC/CCC to implement even the most basic requirements for free, fair and credible elections. There will be no meaningful political change as long as the opposition continue to sell out running with the povo hare and hunting with the Zanu PF hounds.

To Ambassador Jobst von Kirchmann, we do not want another EU Election Observer Mission to tell us what we already know - that Zanu PF is rigging these 2023 elections. Please stop dealing with the opposition with kid gloves because their participation in these flawed elections is what is keeping Zanu PF in power. That is not too much to ask!

ANC's "no regime change in Zimbabwe" is a rearguard fight to stop regime change in SA W Mukori

 Long before war is declared and the first guns fired the body bags of the first casualties - the truth, always the truth - with start to mount. South Africa’s ANC government is fighting for its political survival and the truth is its first sacrificial lamb.

Successive ANC governments have ruled the country for the last 29 years and have fcuked up (pardon my French) big time. SA is now well on its way to become yet another failed Africa State, some people say it is a failed state already. 

South Africa’s economic meltdown is caused by gross mismanagement, on the one hand. The ANC government went for the vote-winning strategy of connecting more and more electricity consumers to the grid and neglected the less noticeable part of investing on the generation and transmission plant, for example. The chicken have finally come home to roost, the country is enduring wide-ranging electricity power cuts, emphatically euphemistically called load shed. The power shortage is so bad that even the country wealth generating mines and industries and essential services like hospital were switch off too! 

The major cause of SA’s economic meltdown is undoubtedly corruption. Everyone knows of the well documented “State Capture” by the Gupta Brothers with the connivance of former ANC President Jacob Zuma. A recent “Gold Mafia” Al Jazeera documentary reveal that Zimbabwe was losing a staggering US$1.6 billion per year to gold smugglers. Many South African citizens and institutions were named in the gold smuggling and/or money laundering. 

The ANC government has promised to end load shedding and stamp out corruption. Easier said than done!

South Africans are going to the poll next year and given the country’s history of holding free, fair and credible elections (Nelson Mandela’s legacy), the ANC government is worried sick the people will give the party the boot. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa and his ANC friends are particularly worried should the ongoing 2023 Zimbabwe elections should result in the Zanu PF regime being booted out of office. Zanu PF’s 43 years in power has been disastrous for Zimbabwe, so much so the country is a failed state - an undisputed a historic fact. The very fact that Zimbabweans have finally successful booted out Zanu PF will galvanise South Africans to want to do the same. 

If Zimbabwe was to notch up some significant economic recovery after booting out the corrupt, incompetent and tyrannical Zanu PF regime, this will turn the wave of ANC must go into an unstoppable tsunami! A modest economic recover is certainly possible given the seriousness of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown today is not a far cry to that in 2008. The Zimbabwe economy recovered to register 12% growth rate in 2009 compared to the -ve 6% in 2008 following the formation of 2008 to 2013 GNU. 

The ANC government is engaged in a pre-emptive rearguard fight to stop regime change in Zimbabwe at all cost! 

In November last year the ANC resolved that the party will not allow the West to achieve regime change in Zimbabwe through its imposition of economic sanctions. And ever since, the party, particularly Secretary General Filike Mbalula has returned to this theme with passion boarding on hysteria. 

“Americans want regime change. Even here in Zimbabwe, Mbeki stood firm. They wanted Mugabe to be change over night and then the attack us on quite diplomas. American can move in the afternoon and by dinner time Mugabe would be finished.” SG Mbalula told ANC Western Cape 9th Provincial Conference on Friday 23 June 2023. 

“We do not subscribe to regime change policy. That government must be change willy-nilly through undemocratic means, through military power. We opposite the sanction and said these sanctions against Zimbabwe will be detrimental the economic growth of that country.” 

Zanu PF has never ever held free, fair and credible elections since the country’s independence in 1980 and ANC leaders know that. In the watershed 2008 elections the Zanu PF blatant cheating and wanton violence were so outrageous that even AU and SADC, who had turned a blind-eye to Zanu PF vote rigging could not do so then. It was none other than SADC leaders themselves who forced Zanu PF to agree to the need for the country to implement democratic reforms to ensure free and fair elections. 

It is a great tragedy that the 2008 to 2013 GNU whose primary task was to implement the democratic reforms failed to implement even one token reform. And so the Zanu PF regime emerge out of the GNU with all its dictatorial powers untouched include the power to rig elections. Zanu PF rigged the 2013 and 2018 elections and, in similar fashion, is rigging these 2023 elections. 

It is nonsensical that SG Mbalula should object to undemocratic regime change as a matter of principle when he knows the regime ANC is protecting rigged the elections and therefore, per se, is politically illegitimate in the first place. 

Zimbabwe was already in serious economic trouble as evidenced by the country adopting the two, 1990 to 94 and 1995 to 99, five-year Economic Structural Adjustment Programmes (ESAP), meant to revive the flagging economy. The much hoped for revival never happened. In 1999 the WB, IMF and most Western country related financial institution stopped giving Zimbabwe any financial assistance because the country was failing to service its debts much less repay them. This all happened well before the sanctions which were imposed in 2001. 

The root causes of Zimbabwe’s economic ruin are gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and brazen lawlessness such as the seizure of white owned farms to give to party loyalists. Zanu PF has enjoyed absolute power these last 43 years because the party rigs elections, giving these problem time to spread and grow. 

Zimbabwe is a failed state for the same reasons SA has been marching relentless toward the same goal - mismanagement, corruption and lawless. Zimbabwe had a 14 year head start and no restrain forces thanks to the dictatorial powers to rig elections and claim absolute power. 

The sanctions’ contribution to Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown is very small. Zanu PF propaganda has made sanctions a mountain out of a mole-hill. 

What Zimbabwe needs to get out of this economic and political mess is implement the democratic reforms and thus cure the nation of the curse of rigged elections and bad governance. 

The sanctions’ contribution to Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown is very small. Zanu PF propaganda has made sanctions a mountain out of a mole-hill. It is totally unacceptable that this ANC government should seek to impose this failed Zanu PF dictatorship on Zimbabwe under the pretext fighting the Americans’ sanction initiated regime change agenda. 

“Mnangagwa conducted a coup d’etat and removed Mugabe. He implemented some reforms. And still not satisfied until they get their puppet into power, they will never be satisfied. They want Chamisa or is it chancer!” ranted on ANC SG Mbalula.

The military coup was just musical chairs game, no one expected it to produce any meaningful economic changes much less grand political changes such as free and fair elections. No one, that is except SG Mbalula.  

This ANC regime is hell bent on keeping this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship in power against the democratic wishes of the people of Zimbabwe. 

The tragic reality for Zimbabwe is both Zanu PF and the CCC do not care about democracy, free and fair elections and good governance. All they care about is power and will use all means democratic or otherwise to secure it. Zanu PF will never implement the reforms to ensure free and fair elections; the party knows it’s 43 years in power was only possible because it rigged elections. Zanu PF will never reform itself out of power. 

Nelson Chamisa and his MDC/CCC friends wasted the golden opportunity to implement reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU  because they were corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent. They have since given up all hope to implement reforms and settled for a share of the spoils of power because there are still to this day corrupt and breathtakingly competent. 

“If the elections are so flawed and illegal, then why are Zimbabwe’s opposition leaders participating in these elections in droves?” Mnangagwa has often argued. Of course, he has a point. Meanwhile he has increased the benefits of winning the few gravy train seats on offer to entice the opposition to participate in these flawed elections. 

Since 2013 SADC leaders too have used the opposition’s greed as an excuse to grant Zanu PF legitimacy. And ANC will be banking on the same excuse to get the regional body to once again grant Zanu PF legitimacy and thus unwittingly deliver ANC’s objective of no regime change in Zimbabwe. 

The real big losers here are the ordinary Zimbabweans who have paid dearly all these years for the reality of Zimbabwe as a failed state. Another five more years of this chaos, economic meltdown and hopelessness is unthinkable. But with Zanu PF, CCC and now ANC working to perpetuate the Zanu PF dictatorship, it is fait accompli!

Kasukuwere names his price for SADC to grant Mnangagwa legitimacy - ED damned if pays damned if doesn't W Mukori

 “Matsotsi haagerani. Anorumana!” (Crooks do not cut each other’s hair. They will play dirty tricks on each other!) so goes the Shona adage. Let us just say that the November 2017 military coup, “military assisted transition” as Mnangagwa and his Lactose Zanu PF faction prefer to call it, was a very rough hair cut for the G40 Zanu PF faction who were booted out of office. 

Saviour “Tyson” Kasukuwere and many of the G40 leaders were forced to find refugee in foreign lands. But home is home and there is no place like home and, no doubt, they have all missed home especially their stately mansions and the luxurious lifestyle they left behind. And so it should come as no surprise that Kasukuwere had planned his own elaborate come back!    

Of course Kasukuwere knows that Mnangagwa is rigging these elections. As a long serving senior Zanu PF official Kasukuwere will have known that the party had would never win free, fair and credible elections and had no choice but to resort to rigging elections. As Zanu PF national political commissar he would have played his part in blatant cheating and wanton violence. His promotion in the party to ministerial position was founded on his reputation as a ruthless thug. 

Kasukuwere also knows that ever since the humiliation of being forced by SADC to sign the 2008 Global Political Agreement because the regional body and AU refused to grant Zanu PF political legitimacy because of the party’s blatant cheating and wanton violence in the 2008 elections; Zanu PF was forced to abandon the de facto one-party state and embrace the multi-party democracy. And so as much as Mnangagwa is rigging these 2023 elections he is also making sure he maintain the facade of Zimbabwe as a functioning multi-party democracy. Kasukuwere knows that this is Zanu PF and Mnangagwa’s Achilles heels and he is not one not to take full advantage of it!

Saviour Kasukuwere is one of the 11 official presidential candidates in the Zimbabwe 2023 elections including Emmerson Mnangagwa himself. As stated Mnangagwa is rigging the elections and needs the other candidates to participate regardless how flawed and illegal the process gets for him to avoid the wrath of SADC refusing to grant him legitimacy as happened in 2008. To entice the other candidate to play along Mnangagwa is offering the few gravy train seats, a portion of the Political Party Finance Act annual payout and for the losing presidential candidate who publicly announce the elections were free and fair the POLAD freebies.

No one has come forward to say he/she is sponsored by Kasukuwere in the parliamentary race and whilst Kasukuwere would happily endorse the rigged elections as having been free and fair; it would not be for the sake of the POLAD freebies. He is naming his own price!

Asked if he does not fear returning to Zimbabwe after filing his nomination papers, Wednesday, Kasukuwere said he has to take security issues into consideration.

"Yes we have to take security issues into consideration. You don't board a plane as passenger 34 and just rock up without doing some preparatory work.

"We did that to see the reaction and very interesting results came our way," Kasukuwere told reports, still from the safety of his new home in SA.

"But we trust that now we are in the election period. You can't weaponise institutions against your opponents. I'm sure this is an election that everyone wants to proceed smoothly so that the outcome is not contested.

"We want our country to be back on an international stage and we the participants and contestants are all able to say this was a good election with a good fight and at the end of the day we are all brothers and sisters.

"So we are concerned and we will be raising these issues with relevant institutions, we have our SADC board…it's important that every contestant is protected and secure.”

Kasukuwere wants Mnangagwa to promise that he will not be arrested or harassed in any way now and in the future, that all his wealth such as mansions, farms, business interests, cash, etc. would be returned to him. He wants SADC leaders to be the witnesses and guarantor to the promise. 

Mnangagwa needs SADC leaders to once again turn a blind eye to the mountain of evidence Zanu PF is rigging these 2023 elections; failure to produce a verified voters’ roll, the frogmarching of rural voters, the wholesale looting of the nation’s jewels to bankroll the vote rigging juggernaut, etc., etc. And as an official contestant in these elections, Kasukuwere will have unfitted assess to SADC election observers for purpose of making the mountain of evidence of rigging even higher!

It is too late to stop Kasukuwere participating in these flawed and illegal elections and now he is naming his own price for participating. And Mnangagwa is speechless, just like King Herod when Salome named her price; the head of John The Baptist in a silver platter!  

“What would you want with a head of a man?” asked King Herod.

“To look at it!” answered Salome.

All eyes are on Mnangagwa, he is damned if he refused to grant all Kasukuwere’s demands and damned is does. Back home and emboldened Tyson will be a pain in Mnangagwa’s a***!