G40 vs Lacoste fight was as savage as hyenas smeared with goat's blood - get eaten alive W Mukori

“Mapere rakusha ropa rembudzi rinorwira kuuraya!” (Hyenas smeared with goat’s blood will fight to kill!) The two would see each other as hyena but their nose tell them its goat looking like a hyena. And there is nothing like the smell of meat to give the cowardly hyena courage!  

Zanu PF’s factional wars have been as savage as two starving hyenas smeared with goat’s blood fighting. Whatever one was able to bite off it swallowed, the two were eating each other alive!

Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown has taken a heavy toll of the ordinary Zimbabweans, there is no question about that. With unemployment a nauseating 90%, there are hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans out there who have never had a formal job for 15 years or more. I was once unemployed for a couple of months and myself confidence took a serious knock; my heart bleeds for each and every one of the millions out of work.

Zimbabweans are today the poorest nation in Africa. 72.3% of the population live on US$1.00 or less a day. Where poverty reigns supreme there too you will find her three wicked sisters; hunger, disease and death.

Robert Mugabe and his cronies’ insatiable greed for absolute political power and the influence and luxuries it brings is the root cause of Zimbabwe’s economic meltdown. Whilst many people may think the tyrant and his cronies have grown rich and fat from all the corruption and wholesale looting, untouched by the economic chaos. A close look will show that the economic chaos has caused havoc amongst the ruling elite too!

Old Zanu PF grandees like the late Nathan Shamuyarira and Enos Nkala lived in poverty and paupers. Mugabe ordered the potholes in the road to Shamuyarira house repaired and the house painted to hide the decades of rot and decay the day he died. Other less mortals, party members have suffered and died with the rest of us povo.

“It is cold out there!” Professor Jonathan Moyo marked, after a brief spell outside the protective custody of the party. He had met the four witches; poverty, hunger, disease and death; face to face and they had winked at him with wicked lust! He had felt the cold chill running down his spine and went back to Mugabe begging to be readmitted back into Zanu PF!

The certainty of poverty for anyone who, for whatever reason, failed to keep their position on the feeding trough has made the fighting amongst the members fierce. The country’s worsening economic situation has meant there was less to share amongst the members and thus fighting to keep one’s position that much fiercer. The total economic meltdown of 2000 to 2008 was so bad Zanu PF members were fighting each as savagely as hyenas smeared with goat’s blood!

The need to find the successor to the aging and sickly party leaders helped to focus the party members’ attention as backing the right horse would meaning keeping one’s position on the feeding trough.  

In 2014, the Zanu PF factional war claimed its first casualties when former VP Joice Mujuru and half a dozen or so of her close supporters were “baby dumped” out of the party, as Grace Mugabe boosted. The rest of her supporters were demoted or they quickly switched their loyalty. But before the dust of that factional war had even settled, the party quickly split into two new factions the G40 and Mnangagwa faction.

The last three weeks have seen dramatic climax as the two factions clashed with the force of two 20 tonne buffalo bulls, their bodies awash with testosterone, galloping at 30 km/hr clash head-on. G40 faction lost the factional war and here is the list of some of the casualties:

Robert Mugabe – lost his life-president when he was asked to resign at gun point. He got US$10 million, immunity from all prosecution, keep all his looted wealth plus all current benefits. He will lose it all if Zanu PF was to lose power which is very likely.

Grace Mugabe – dreams to becoming president went up in smoke, she will not hold on family’s looted wealth after Mugabe’s death. Never.

Ignatious Chombo (MP for Zvimba North) – lost his MP and ministerial post and in jail facing fraud charges. Can kiss good bye to his looted wealth.
Saviour Kasukuwere (Mount Darwin South) – lost his MP and ministerial post in hiding in Mozambique. Can kiss good bye to his looted wealth
Professor Jonathan Moyo (Tsholotsho North) –  lost MP and ministerial post in hiding in Mozambique. Can kiss good bye to his looted wealth
Kudzanayi Chipanga (Makoni West) – lost his MP post and in jail on fraud charges. Can kiss good bye to his looted wealth
Mandiitawepi Chimene (Makoni South) – lost her MP and ministerial post. Can kiss good bye to her looted wealth.

The savage conclusion of Zanu PF’s factional will probably force many party members to toe party line for a while at least. Even those should find themselves living cheek and jowl with poverty, will suffer and die in silence. If you live on US$1.00 or less per day you have invited poverty and her three sisters; hunger, disease and death; in your home.

NPC petition Mnangagwa to form inclusive government and postpone elections - unconstitutional and dangerous N Garikai

“The convention held under the auspices of a gathering of civil society organisations, labour unions and churches, provided the new President with a varied range of issues he may need to attend to as he formulates his government,” reported The Zimbabwean.

“In our view, your commitment to inclusivity would best be epitomized by the formation of an inclusive government. Such a government will go a long way towards fostering national unity, social cohesion as well as enhance our national prospects for economic recovery. The nation has endured many years of divisive politics and unnecessary polarization. We believe that this must change and can change under your able leadership,” argued National People’s Convention (NPC) in their letter to President Mnangagwa.

There can be no question that all those involved in the NPC mean well and have the best interests of the nation at heart. Still, it is a truth universally acknowledged that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. NPC’s intentions and noble but, nonetheless, totally misguided!

The argument that we need an inclusive government for economic recovery, peace, national unity, etc. is pandering to the same warped logic used to justify the stifling of public debate, freedom of expression and free press, democratic competition, etc. resulting in the creation of a de facto one past dictatorship we have today.

Zanu PF’s culture of rigging the vote and use of blatant violence have made it near impossible for a meaningful and competent opposition to emerge. In the present parliament, there is little more than a token opposition, the MDC MPs and the one independent MP are hardly ever heard. To then suggest that even this flickering opposition flame should be co-opted to join Zanu PF in an inclusive administration is snuff out this democratic light leaving us all in total dictatorial darkness.

God only knows just how strong Zanu PF is already given the party’s nearly 75% majority in parliament, its total control of all the State Institutions, the dominance purely Zanu PF created undemocratic bodies such as Joint Operation Command and all the party’s other dictatorial powers. The party will gain very little from having the opposition under its wing; it is the nation instead that will lose the only means to hold the regime to account.

“We believe that a well thought-out transitional period and mechanism would offer the nation sufficient time to establish a conducive environment for free, fair and credible elections,” NPC argue.

NPC profess to upholding the rule of law and yet the members are encouraging the disregard of one of the central constitutional demands that the parliamentary term must not exceed five years.

“A general election must be held so that polling takes place not more than thirty days before the expiry of the five-year period.” States the constitution section 158 (1) (a).

To argue that the fixed maximum term should be exceeded “to establish a conducive environment” is a frivolous and flawed argument given that there has not been a change of government since the last elections. Putting aside the undemocratic events of the last three weeks resulting in the swearing in of President Mnangagwa; no one can ever dispute that the government before and after the coup is a Zanu PF government.

If the Zanu PF government cannot carry out its constitutional duty to hold free and fair elections on time then it must say so. It will be for the nation; not NPC, Zanu PF or anyone else; to decide what is to be done to move the nation forward.

It would have been useful to the nation had NPC directed its time, effort and resources to helping build a democratic Zimbabwe by helping dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship by asking President Mnangagwa to relinquish Zanu PF’s control of the public media, for example. A free and vibrant media is vital in a healthy and functioning democracy; government has no business telling editors what to write! NPC would be applauded if it had reminded President Mnangagwa that none of the democratic reforms the last GNU were tasked to implement ever saw the light of day. His presidency would be judged a failure if he failed to get all the reforms implemented BEFORE the next elections!

It is not for NPC or anyone else to tell President how to do his job but to hold him to democratic account for failing to deliver on something as basic and fundamental as ensuring there are free, fair and credible elections and such elections are held on time.

Voter registration going full steam ahead but, Mr new President, can you guarantee verified voters' roll W Mukori

As of 26 November 2017, nearly half of the expected 7 million voters have registered to vote according to a report by Bulawayo 24. Of country’s ten provinces Mashonaland Central is leading with 52.8% registered voters and Bulawayo has the lowest with just over 30%.

It is impossible to register 7 million voters from scratch in four months and have the voters’ roll verified and certified in another three months in a third world country like Zimbabwe. Zanu PF knows this and has knowingly delayed the voter registration process to suit its sinister vote rigging purposes. Many of the opposition’s supporters, especially in known opposition strong holds where the process has been slowed down even further for a myriad of excuses, will never get the chance to register. Meanwhile Zanu PF supporters have no problem registering. None!

With no verified voters’ roll, many of the opposition’s registered voters will fail to vote on the day because their details will not be in the voters’ roll they expected. Nearly one million voters were denied the vote for this reason in 2013; this was a very significant number given there was a total of 5 million cast votes that year and Mugabe’s winning margin was just over one million. Because there was no verified voters’ roll, Zanu PF bussed it supporters from one polling station to the next casting multiple votes.

There is no doubt that the regime will reach its target of registering 7 million voters; easy when no one knows how many are multiple entries. The opposition have made heavy weather of getting their supporters to register in numbers, how many of their registered supporters will have their data posted correctly so they can vote in numbers too is on the lap of the Gods!

Zanu PF has pointedly refused to implement the democratic reforms to ensure free and fair elections and come the elections the party always wins with a landslide victory. The regime has pointedly refused to produce a verified voters’ roll although this is a legal requirement for obvious reasons, the verified voters’ roll is the smoking gun to many of the vote rigging shenanigans.

SADC leaders advised Tsvangirai and his MDC friends not to contest the July 2013 elections without first implementing the democratic reforms designed to stop Zanu PF blatantly rigging the vote. Sadly, MDC leaders heard the warning but failed to comprehend its meaning. They contested the flawed elections and Zanu PF rigged the vote.

MDC leaders vowed they would not contest future elections until the reforms are implemented. “No reform, no elections!” they said.

Not even one reform has been implemented since the latest rigged elections and yet the MDC opposition are all tripping over each other to contest next year’s elections regardless of SADC leaders’ advice and in violation of their own party resolutions.

Of course, it is insane to contest elections knowing fully well the process flawed and illegal and the ordinary voters will be denied the fundamental right to free, fair and credible election.

Zanu PF learnt that as long as it allows the opposition to win a few of the gravy train seats, they will contest the elections regardless how flawed, illegal and a downright betrayal of the people’s trust the whole process happened to be.

Zimbabwe’s economy, the victim of the country’s failure to elect competent leaders, is in total meltdown sending unemployment soaring to 90%, most basic services such as education and health have all but collapsed, 72.3% of the people now live on US$ 1.00 or less a day, etc. Zimbabwe is teetering on the edge of economic collapse and instability. The military coup of two weeks ago was a warning of just how unstable Zimbabwe is today. A rigged election next year could send Zimbabwe tumbling down into the abyss. SADC leaders know they cannot let this happen because Zimbabwe’s instability can drag the whole region down her.

Whilst there is nothing else SADC leaders can do to stop next year’s elections going ahead since the opposition have refused to listen to their advice not to contest with no reforms in place. What SADC leaders can do is reject the election process as a sham and reject election result. This is exactly what happened after the sham 2008 elections and Zimbabwe, as back then, will be forced to go into some political arrangement whose principle task will be to implement the raft of democratic reforms designed to stop the vote rigging. This time SADC leaders must to put their foot down to ensure all the reforms are implemented!

President Emmerson Mnangagwa talked a lot about “new era, a democratic Zimbabwe and next year’s elections occurring as scheduled” the one thing he has pointedly refused to say is that those elections will be free, fair and credible. The current voter registration process is going full steam ahead although he, of all people, knows that ZEC will not produce a verified voters’ roll in time for the elections.

Mr. President, you are in State House today because of the coup, a treasonous act of a few of your cronies. Your legitimacy to stay in State House must now be earned by winning the majority vote in a free, fair and credible elections complete with verified voters’ roll, free media, etc. The days of rigged elections are over and there is no compromising on this matter.