“General Constantino Chiwenga is the next President of the Republic of Zimbabwe. Not maybe. Not possibly. Not if circumstances permit. Not subject to amendment bills, parliamentary arithmetic, or the preferences of commercial networks that have confused their bank balances with political permanence.” wrote Lieutenant General Winston Sigauke Mapuranga in Bulawayo 24.
“And let me be equally clear about the timeline. 2028. Elections. As scheduled.
“As constitutionally mandated. As the people of Zimbabwe are entitled to.”
What a truck load of bulls****t!
“What kind of leaders would an armed struggle throw up?” Mahatma Gandhi and his fellow Indian nationalist asked themselves when they too were presented with the choice os whether to continue with the passive resistance in the fight to end British colonial rule of India.
This was not an abstract and rhetorical question but one grounded on reality.
Alas! Zimbabwe has given the whole world the worst case scenario text book answer to the rhetoric question “What kind of leaders would an armed struggle throw up?”
“A year on from the coup that ousted Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe remains perched between piecemeal reform and old ways that are as intractable as they are destructive. That’s because the country is ruled by a clique with a partial and conditional commitment to change—and a total, obdurate determination to retain and enjoy power,” wrote Stuart Duran in ASPI Strategist.
“The ‘new’ regime can be viewed from different angles, but the nub of it is this: there’s a recognition that the economic fiasco of the last 20 years was suboptimal, but Emmerson Mnangagwa and his fellow travellers will burn the house down if they feel it necessary. Make no mistake, their will to power is every bit as intense as Mugabe’s—as is their belief that they own the country’s choicest fruits by right of conquest.”
Lieutenant General Maporanga is right, “CAB3 is not a development instrument. It is not a continuity agenda. It is not about Vision 2030 or boreholes or solar panels or hospital refurbishments worthy as some of those programmes are.CAB3 is a blocking mechanism.”
However he is being totally dishonest in saying the bill “has one primary political function to prevent General Constantino Chiwenga from ascending to the presidency through the direct popular vote that he would win.”
Zimbabwe has never ever held free, fair and credible elections. Never ever! And of all people, Mapuranga knows that.
The nearest the nation has ever got to holding free and fair elections was the March 2008 elections after SADC had piled the pressure on Zanu PF to carry out a number of electoral reform. When it was clear that Zanu PF was losing the elections it was none other than Mnangagwa and Chiwenga who launched Operation Mavhotera Papi to blatantly cheat in the vote count and use wanton violence in the presidential run-off. Were those the actions of some one who has ever believed in winning the “direct popular vote”?
Mnangagwa and Chiwenga were once again the masterminds behind the 2017 military coup that ousted the late dictator Robert Mugabe after 37 years of rigged elections. The primary purpose of the coup was not to end the curse of rigged elections born of leaders thrown up by the liberation war who believed they have the divine right to rule the nation. The coup was a Zanu PF factional war to settle who was to be the top dog, the dictatorship itself was to remain untouched.
Mnangagwa and Zanu PF did not win “direct popular vote” in 2018 or 2023; the elections were rigged. Chiwenga and Mapuranga know this!
Mnangagwa and Chiwenga fell out because the former was supposed to serve one five years term and then step aside. He is set to serve ten years and still refusing to step aside.
The primary purpose of CAB3, as far as Chiwenga and his supporters are concerned, is to engineer a mechanism to allow Mnangagwa to stay in power two more years beyond 2028. The bill seeks to entrench Zanu PF’s dictatorial strangle hold on the nation and this appeals to many Zanu PF cronies which is why the bill has become so divisive within the party.
Whether CAB3 passes or not the ordinary Zimbabweans know that they will continue to be denied a meaningful say in the governance of the country. If Chiwenga and his cronies manage to stop CAB3 by hook or by coup, they will not risk losing power by holding free, fair and credible elections.
So if VP Chiwenga should ever become President it will be “by right of conquest,” as Stuart Duran would rightly say and not “by direct popular vote”, as Singauke Mapuranga would have us believe!
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/wilbert.mukori.5/videos/1704875200667866
ReplyDeleteThe factional war between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga has entered the "no-holds-barred" stage as the date of the decision on Constitutional amendment No.3 CAB3) draws near. Mnangagwa hold all the trump cards and is set to have his way. Chiwenga does not like it one bit and been threatening a military coup not as an option but rather as the only option!
Zimbabwe is a failed state because fir 46 years Zanu PF has been preoccupies fighting the opposition or amongst themselves for power. CAB3 is just the latest bone the Zanu PF dogs have been fight oner. Meanwhile the nation has sunk deeper and deeper into the abyss.
Web had many opportunities to end the Zanu PF dictatorship especially during the 2008 to 2013 GNU and we wasted them all. Let this be a lesson for us all!
@ Matsanga
ReplyDelete"London-based political analyst Dr. David Nyekorach Matsanga has criticised Zimbabwe's opposition, accusing it of engaging in what he terms "malicious compliance" in its resistance to Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 (CAB3).
In a letter addressed to British political figure Kate Hoey and other stakeholders, Matsanga argued that the opposition's approach to the proposed constitutional changes reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of constitutionalism.
He claimed that by opposing both the process and the procedure of the amendment, opposition actors were undermining their own legal and political position.
"If Zimbabwe opposition opposes both the process and procedure, then they create what is called ‘malicious compliance' in law," Matsanga said, framing the strategy as one that weakens legitimate constitutional objections.
CAB3, which has sparked intense debate in Zimbabwe, is widely viewed as a controversial proposal with significant political implications, including potential changes linked to the tenure of Emmerson Mnangagwa."
Matsanga may have a point, it is a pity that he has failed to define what is a process and what a procedure.
@ fk hondiwa
ReplyDelete“You never see it fit to take a detour, revisit your contemplation, and shift that perennial Blame on the Architects of CAB3 ...
Same way still, throughout the years Mukori …”
You cannot accept the simple reality that Chamisa lied about plugging vote rigging loop holes to con millions to participate in flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy and perpetuate the nation’s suffering. And you insist of the narrative that Chamisa did nothing wrong. Worse still, you are accusing all who dare cal Chamisa a liar of hating and blaming him for something he did not do!
The nation is in this mess because MDC/CCC leaders are Zanu PF team B in all but name - playing for team A to win and to have legitimacy. People like you continue to follow leaders like Chamisa blindly because you have personality cult mentality. It is you who need to change not me.
You cannot change because your brain has ossified into fat and thus impermeable to reason. You are the one holding the nation to ransom.
@ Danmore Chimusoro
ReplyDelete“Let it be known that Constantino Chiwenga is not upholding the constitution. Let it be known that he is not fighting for the people, but for his personal interests. The man who once led the military and enforced brutal suppression now poses as a champion of democracy.
In 2008, when war vets and the army pushed the "makavhotera papi" narrative, Chiwenga was army commander—where was his voice then? When Morgan Tsvangirai won the elections, Chiwenga stood silent as the will of the people was trampled. In 2018, he oversaw the brutal crackdown on protesters in Harare, staining the streets with blood.”
Chiwenga is against CAB3 for one reason and one reason only - that it seeks to extend Mnangagwa’s stay in office beyond 2028. He thinks that it is his turn to rule Zimbabwe and will rig the elections to secure the presidency just as he has rigged elections in the past to help Mugabe and then Mnangagwa to stay in power.
Chiwenga is NOT a democrat and does not care about free, fair and credible elections.
After 46 years of Zanu PF dictatorship the challenge is to end the dictatorship and not to be swapping one dictator for another. As much as the nation must fight to end the Mnangagwa dictatorship and stop this CAB3 if we can. We must also be careful not to fall into the trap of seeing Chiwenga as a solution.
Perpetuating the dictatorship is NOT the solution.
"The past will only invoke the future when it's confronted honestly. Constantino Chiwenga, clean up the dirt of history – acknowledge the stolen elections, the violence, the suppression. Only then can we start to trust you. The people of Zimbabwe deserve transparency, accountability, and a leader who puts the nation first. Anything less is just politics as usual."
Delete-There is no explanation Chiwenga can ever give to justify 2008 Operation Mavhotera Papi, for example. It was not a mistake! It was a deliberate and calculated move to punish the people in pursuit of the selfish agenda that Zanu PF has the divine right to rule Zimbabwe! Chiwenga and Mnangagwa should have gone to jail for what they did in 2008. The two are today occupying the highest offices in the land and the nation is paying dearly for it.
The only change we should be seeking is removing Mnangagwa, Chiwenga and potting an end to the Zanu PF dictatorship! After 46 years of rigged elections and bad governance any idea of swapping one dictator for another is insane!