Zimbabwe had a really golden opportunity to end the corrupt and tyrannical Mugabe dictatorship during the GNU. All Tsvangirai and his MDC friends had to do was implement the democratic reforms already agreed in the 2008 Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed by Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara on behalf of their political parties and SA President Thabo Mbeki on behalf of SADC, the guarantor of the agreement.
Sadly Tsvangirai and his MDC friends did not just waste this golden opportunity to end the Mugabe dictatorship, they did so in a spectacular fashion. In the five years of the GNU they failed to get even one of the raft of GPA reforms implemented. The reforms were meant to be implemented in 18 months the GNU lasted for 60 months and still not even one reform was implemented. Not one!
Of course Tsvangirai et al showed the whole world how breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent they are. Sadly the whole nation has been painted with the same brush; now all Zimbabweans are considered breathtakingly naïve, corrupt, incompetent and, more significantly, do not have a clue how to end the Mugabe dictatorship. And so the flood gates have been opened for everyone else to tell us how to end the Mugabe dictatorship.
“To beat Mugabe, Zimbabwe needs a united opposition,” wrote Alexander Noyes, a doctorate student at Oxford University in the New York Times. Joice Mujuru and Morgan Tsvangirai are to be the backbone of this coalition.
“Ms. Mujuru matters because she is a veteran of Zimbabwe’s liberation war, has belonged to the ruling party for over three decades and was for many years a close associate of Mr. Mugabe’s,” wrote Noyes. “She was sacked from her position in December 2014 for allegedly planning to topple Mr. Mugabe.”
The liberation war is not relevant in post-independence Zimbabwe. Zimbabweans are painfully aware of how yesteryear’s liberation heroes have become today’s corrupt and murderous oppressors.
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power,” said President Abraham Lincoln.
Ms Mujuru was given power; she was right at the very heart of government for 34 years. She has never lifted a finger to stop the mismanagement, corruption and lawlessness that has landed this nation into this mess. Indeed if anything she has played a full role is landing us into the mess; she is incompetent and is certainly one of the most corrupt individuals in Zimbabwe.
The only reason one’s liberation war credentials have remained important in Zimbabwe is because Mugabe and his cronies are milking their role in that war to justify their no regime change agenda. One of the key objectives of the said war was that the blacks must be granted a meaningful say in the governance of the country. Zimbabwe has held frequent elections every five years in the last 35 years the result were engineered to ensure there was no regime change.
Mugabe has stubbornly enforced his no regime change ethos and yet claims all past nation’s elections have been free, fair and credible. No-regime-change cannot sit side by side with free democratic elections; you can have one but not both.
Mugabe has appointed his cronies especially in the security sectors, Police, Army, CIO and the very influential war veterans and encouraged them to pedal the notion that only those with liberation war credentials could be trusted to rule the nation. But even wanton violence from these security organs in 2008 failed to stop the people, determined to end the Zanu PF dictatorship, voting for changed.
The 2008 elections showed that if the elections are free, fair and credible, Zimbabweans will vote for anyone they believe will deliver real democratic change and good governance regardless of whether they have any liberation war credentials or not.
The emphasis must surely be on Zimbabwe hunting for the changes necessary for free, fair and credible elections to end Mugabe’s tyrannical rule. So why is Mr Noyes dragging us back to the bad old Mugabe propaganda that only those with liberation war history can rule!
Mr Noyes’ choice of Ms Mujuru’s possible coalition partner(s), Morgan Tsvangirai and/or Tendai Biti, is equally baffling.
“My own research in Zimbabwe found that splits in the opposition and a lack of sound political strategies hurt the chances for democratic reform during Zimbabwe’s power-sharing government, in office from 2008 to 2013,” Mr Noyes tell us. “The opposition must learn from these mistakes and come together.
“The benefits of a coalition in Zimbabwe are clear. Given Ms. Mujuru’s nationalist credentials and Mr. Tsvangirai’s broad support base, a cohesive opposition alliance between the two stands a real chance against ZANU-PF in 2018, with or without Mr. Mugabe.”
Mr Noyes must not rewrite history, our history, to suit his own ill-informed doctorate theories! It was not the “split in the opposition and lack of sound political strategies” that stopped Tsvangirai and his MDC friends from implementing even one democratic reform in the five years of the GNU. Mugabe bribed them to forget the reforms with all the good life trappings of the gravy train, the tyrant thrown in the $4 million Highlands mansion for Tsvangirai.
MDC leaders have never been more united than they were throughout the GNU especially in their resolve to kick the reforms into the tall grass. They did not want to implement any of the reforms because they know that would upset Mugabe; they were united in their common desire to do nothing to upset Mugabe.
At the end of the GNU with not even one reform implemented despite SADC leaders’ best efforts throughout the five years to get MDC to do something; it was not surprising that the regional leaders were disgusted with Tsvangirai and company. They complained of MDC leaders “were busy enjoying themselves during the GNU and forgot why they were there”.
There is nothing both Tsvangirai and Mujuru have said or done to show they are committed to ensuring the next elections are free, fair and credible. The former is insisting that Zanu PF must re-align electoral laws to the 2013 constitution although everyone else has shown that this would do nothing to ensure free elections. As for Mujuru, she cherishes the prospect of taking on her former Zanu PF colleagues in the tense political atmosphere of vote rigging and wanton violence; she is used to hunting in these muddy political waters.
If the opposition coalition was to win the next elections under the present undemocratic conditions, it is very naïve to even think the new regime would implement any meaningful reforms and give away the electoral advantage! If we are serious about democratic change we must demand it now and forget the idea of the coalition forming a half-way stop gap measure.
We must demand the full implementation of all the 2008 GPA reforms and then the holding of free and fair elections as the way out of this mess. The only way out!
As a Zimbabwean I would be the first one to admit that Zimbabwe wasted a golden opportunity to end Mugabe’s tyrannical rule during the GNU thanks to Tsvangirai et al’s breath-taking incompetence. But not only is Alexander Noyes’ analysis of our situation factually inaccurate there is real no intellectual merit in suggesting that the same corrupt and incompetent leaders, united to form a coalition, will get us out of this mess.
It was foolish of us to have entrusted corrupt and incompetent individuals like Morgan Tsvangirai or Joice Mujuru with the important task of removing a devilishly cunning tyrant like Mugabe from office. It would be unforgivable folly to elect the same failed individuals again to do the same task and, somehow, expect a different result!
16 Replies to “Mujuru War-Bolster to Boot Mugabe Out”
Comments are closed.
MDC supporters who still support Tsvangirai even after he sold out are not the supporters the nation should be seeking, those are the sheep who got us into this mess by supporting village idiots like Tsvangirai.
Dzamara decided to take his fight to Africa’s Square, I respect him for that. I want to open the people’s minds and turn them from sheep to thinking human beings. I think that is very important work and you will have to accept that I may have a point and thus let me get on with it!
blah blah blah same old same old sounds like a broken record…next please
In economics there is a theory called the Marginal utility theory. Mr. Wilbert I think you need to research on it. If you are from school and hungry, then you found your sadza and meet in the kitchen, you can hummer the first piece of meet and sadza without washing your hands because of the eagerness, but the eagerness to eat will diminish as you consume more and more of sadza, and before you pick your last piece you can just look at your plate as if the food has been badly cooked.
What I am trying to say to you Wilbert is that, your past unimplemented reforms are now boring. We need new things Wilbert and lets forget about the unimplemented reforms because they wont be implemented.
Come up with new ideas. I was reading your article but by the time I came across with your vintage Reforms I had to stop reading it because I read this several times now its noise to me.
Sir, thank you for responding to my concerns. I am humbled. I however wish you knew that being a critic at this point in time means you will die a critic before anybody out there even learns about you, let alone understand that you mean well for the country. Vince Museve was doing this too and then decided to go home and be counted. Your criticism will only be good reading to those who read your articles and they will not number to 1 million. Real heroes like Itai Dzamara went missing fighting evil.
The problem with many of us is that we are not brave enough to face this evil and fight head on. For starters, why not go to Tsvangirayi and tell him in the face to surrender his massive support base to you after convincing him that he is corrupt and that he failed to implement even one GNU reform?
I know I have angered Zanu PF, People First and all the MDC faction leaders by showing them to the electorate for the corrupt, incompetent
and pretentious individuals they are. I intent to see to it that vote know who they vote for from now on and make it as difficult as possible for
corrupt, incompetent individuals to be elected back into office.
I have also refused to listen to the village idiots who think the only solution is to join Zanu PF or MDC and do one’s best to get a share of the looting and plunder going on. I have never listened to village idiots in my life and will not start doing that now!
I have certainly engaged the people by pointing out why the GNU failed to deliver free, fair and credible elections. I have told them that we need to demand the implementation of the GPA reforms if we are to have free and fair elections. I believe most of our people are ignorant,
many are naïve and gullible but I do know that most of them are not stupid and given a chance they will see reason.
This Zanu PF dictatorship was built by mortals, corrupt and incompetent mortals at that, it must therefore be possible for ordinary
mortals to dismantle it. Indeed the dictatorship is imploding already as the party thugs tear each other to pieces. So the challenge is to have a new democratic system ready to build in the wake of the demise of Zanu PF. A small challenge!
I have my work cut out and I intend to do it to the best of my ability!
I will tell the people there is a price to be paid for doing the wrong thing just as there is a reward for doing the right thing.
People get the government they deserve and we certain deserve this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship plus its corrupt, incompetent and useless MDC opposition!
Tell us what you will do about Mujuru or Tsvangirayi or anybody else when they choose to engage people and persuade them to vote for them in a rigged and predetermined election exercise. Zilch! So shut up!
Another year gone by and you are still writing articles after articles on the same old same old nonsense of Tsvangirai failed this and Mugabe is that. These people are corrupt yes, but what Mzvinavhu is saying is that its about time you stop criticizing those who are taking advantage of your useless criticism and looting the country dry at the same time trying to achieve what they perceive as “political reform in their democratic country” . Did you contribute even one of the so called GNU reforms? NO! You are busy pointing your numb fingers to those trying to do something when you yourself have not done anything. We are so tired of people like you who behave like female dogs without teeth who push for a fight they will not engage in.
Zanu PF is now in terminal decline, the regime is imploding!
What will forming my own political party do? It is a matter of Mugabe and Mujuru formed their own political parties and so they are entitled to promise the people freedom and then betray them as soon as they get into power? Whether I form my own party or not Mujuru and Mugabe betrayed the people that is a fact and nothing will change that!
Having proven to be corrupt and incompetent Mujuru and Mugabe will be held to account. I will hold them to account!
I will form my own party if I so decide, I do not need instructions from you or anybody!
Zimbabwe has many, many competent men and women who could lead the country to be the great nation we have all the potential to be. Our problem is that we are too lazy to sit down and ask ourselves of each other what qualities do we want in a good leader and then go out and look for such individuals. We are content with the village idiots who promise us the moon on a silver platter and have again and again delivered hell-on-earth! Mujuru and others have already proven that they are corrupt and incompetent but still we want them as leaders because we are too lazy to find anyone better!
These Zanu PF village idiots have messed up in Zimbabwe and still they do not have the humility to acknowledge they failed instead they have chutzpah to tell other nations what to do!
The Greek practized democracy as we understand it today and that was 2 500 years ago because they had realized that autocracy does not work. All we had to do is copy it and we cannot even do that!
We have tyrant because there are too many apologists always ready to cover up for them. Why ask the West why it was silent during Gukurahundi? Why don’t you tell why Africa was silent? And you, why were you silent?
Mujuru was a liberation war heroine who believed in the struggle but was changed when she got into power. She has done nothing but loot for 34 years it is nonsense to pretend that did not happen and she can revert back to her be the innocent liberation heroine of pre-independence! She is corrupt and incompetent and, if we are serious about getting out of this mess, we need competent leaders!
Your hallucinaions are beyond this world.Dont talk about land reform in SA.The people do not want land and they are comfortable with work in the industries rather than tilling the land.Its their choice because the economy is sound .To you Muzvinavhu, can you explain what kind of land reform in which your ministers force peasant farmers to sell cotton to them for US 35 cents a kg, and then they sell it for US 4 dollars a kg.Is that land reform ? Same with tobacco.Tell me what people can get from the soil? Nothing.You work so hard only for the same ministers to make a kill on poor peasants.After fleecing the peasants you start saying the British are bad.Give people a break.Do not reply by telling me history.I know better history than ZANU propaganda.Tell me why peasants are being ripped off in cotton and tobacco.Tell me the best crop to grow.
Wilbert Mukori should form his own political party or join any of the opposition lot to foster his simplistic ideas about democracy in Zimbabwe, and Africa in general. What he needs to be told is that 35 years is too short to change culture and instill a way of running the country commensurate with mature democracies elsewhere in this world. The West took centuries to perfect what we may admire as the `best forms “ of governance. Africa to day is gradually moving positively towards an infusion of local cultures and the best of Western polity. Jomo Kenyatta stayed long in power but he was not labelled a dictator because he left the land in the hands of settlers. Museveni is cruising on , with a pro West foreign policy and no one says he is dictator. Cde Mugabe humiliated the settlers land wise and the West with drew colorful honors from his name. MDC lot were funded in the spirit of sinister regime change. The people Zimbabwe resisted militarily and ballot box wise to allow stooges who had declared themselves against our land reform, to form a sellout government. Does Wilbert still remember , Morgan meeting a NATO military leader in Eastern Europe to plan an uprising in our country. Can Wilbert tell the Zimbabweans why the West was silent over Gukurahundi and other political fights in our country , to only declare our dear leader a dictator after our land reform? Let me tell Wilbert that we now have a new constitution that will see a gradual and improved political development in our polity for the future. MDC contributed much to that constitutional improvement despite being a stooge party supported by the West. SADC are aware that they cannot lecture us on polity because they also have weaknesses in their systems which need improvement. How many countries have so far implemented the SADC guidelines? SADC also share our strong feelings on our land and regard the ballot box as not the major dispute in Zimbabwe . Great concern hangs in the region over the continued neo apartheid system in SA. Land issue in SA is of great concern to SADC, not the trivialities of the the five year ballot box ritual. Wilbert stands on his head!