Multipartism without a meaning: A prototype of Zimbabwean democracy

Lessons from Kenya

Kenya celebrated her 52 years of independence on 1 June 2015.I love Kenya specifically. It’s a weakness that I can’t shrug off. It’s a country that has gone through a lot of changes that has seen it reassert itself as a tourism destination and well-known internationally for its world-dominating long-distance runners, and more lately Oscar-winning actors like Lupita Nyong’o and the fact that US president Barack Obama’s father was Kenyan.

The country is full of “firsts” that make it a standout country that is littered with classical examples that other African countries can only yearn for. Kenya was the first testing ground of Ushahidi: Meaning “testimony” or “witness” in Swahili. Ushahidi was a website that was initially developed to map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election fallout at the beginning of 2008. Combining social networking with Google maps, it rapidly collects data from the crowd and visualizes what happened, when and where. Now it is the mostly used crisis mapping platform in the world.

Also related to technology, Kenya was the first developing country to have an open government portal, the 22nd country globally. In July 2011, Kenya launched the Kenya Open Data Initiative, becoming the first sub-Saharan country to do so and second African country after Morocco, later followed by Tunisia and Ghana. This made key government data freely available to the public through a single online portal.

On one hand, you have a younger President in the form of Uhuru Kenyata who has reinvented himself and dusted himself from the perceived “bad boy” image that saw international critics fingering him of having had a hand in the violence that marred the December 2007 disputable elections. He was also the first sitting head of state to appear at the International Criminal Court.

His name Uhuru is a Swahili term for freedom and history has it that it was given to him in anticipation of Kenya’s freedom which came as early as 1963.In 2002, he ran as a presidential candidate and lost to former President Mwai Kibaki by a wide margin. This didn’t dissuade him but in the December 2007 presidential election, he smartly calculated his moves and backed Mwai Kibaki (the one he had lost to in 2002).After the disputed elections that midwifed the inclusive government, he became Prime Minister by April 2008 as part of the coalition government. Today, he is the President of Kenya and how he got there involved deliberate steps that saw him wrestle power and fortify his own political future.
His immense contribution during the inclusive government as Deputy Minister saw Kenya restoring stability and re-culturing and eliminating a culture of violence that had continued to dog Kenya after the disputed elections. Of course opposition parties in Kenya must also be given credit for putting the country first when they formed an inclusive government that paved way for a more peaceful election in 2013 which was won by Uhuru Kenyata. In a show of brotherhood and good citizenry, Raila Odinga played his part also in pleading to his supporters to cease fire and work towards the development of the country. It’s called putting country first regardless of differences.

Today Kenya has an energetic leader who is very interactive on several social networks where he regularly updates citizens on literally everything. They managed transition from the well-aged Kibaki and today critics of Kenyata have other issues against him which in some quarters are limited to other things outside good governance and accountability. Enough about Kenya.

A world where numbers matter…

I watched with keen interest political developments in the run up to the June 10 by elections as fly by night “thinktanks” of gloom and doom gave their abysmal prognoses of the effects of the MDC-T boycott. This is a debate that will continue with many seeking answers to the “what ifs” of what could have happened.

To a right thinking person what this meant was that victory had come uninvited for ZANU PF which guaranteed a clean sweep. The boycott as it was would midwife victory to ZANU PF which already controlled Parliament with more than two thirds majority! Numbers and more numbers!
The problem with opposition politics is the problem of ever learning and never making amends. Every opposition party claims that it can displace ZANU PF without even answering the “how” part of things. Others claim they have numbers but when real opportunities to seize power present themselves, they falter and fail dismally. What a pity!

The inclusive government period is a case in point where opposition parties were supposed to strategize and reorganize themselves after ZANU PF had lost elections. The period of the inclusive government is littered with examples of how discord and lack of clarity among opposition parties gave ZANU PF breathing space to reorganize itself and outsmart them once for all.

I remember one specific meeting when former Deputy Prime Minister, Arthur Mutambara was talking about the need for economic revival. One would mistake him for a ZANU PF Minister as he unpacked and recited the ZANU PF rhetoric on sanctions and what had caused economic meltdown. It left the audience shell shocked while ZANU PF MP’s and members present momentarily transfixed before withdrawing into guffaws of armpit laughter. With a negative fame culled from an illegitimate stay in the inclusive government after he was fired from MDC-W, he continued to masquerade as a Principal for his former party. Today, no one really knows where the learned Professor is but what’s true is that wherever he is, he is being tormented and haunted by memories of his dismal failure during his regrettable stint in the inclusive government.

Was not the inclusive government an opportunity to learn and strategies for the 2013 elections for the opposition parties that were in government? Numbers and coalitions are the real game changers in Zimbabwean politics today. The issue of egos get in the way every time the talk of a grand coalition is brought up. The country comes last to these opposition parties as they continue to seek “vain” glory of having singlehandedly displaced ZANU PF.Today, sad to say, this is the biggest tale which will remain on our restless lips, remain there and very hard to displace!

June 10 by elections: Hear Hear!

Let’s pretend that the talk of electoral “irregularities” was not there and talk about the chances of those who participated in the by elections winning a single seat. I know some would love to give the excuse that they were testing the ground and measuring their effectiveness but surely you cannot simply go for an election and not expect to win. I hate arguments that invoke a false group spirit, all in order to justify the unjustifiable.

I had the opportunity to visit Tsholotsho just a few days before the by election in the area. As I approached Tsholotsho, trees along roads had posters of Jonathan Moyo.Moyo. Moyo. Upon reaching Tsholotsho business Centre, it became worse. Apart from this, Moyo had his team called the G40 which was campaigning non-stop, door to door every day. They gave rice and several food stuffs. Some might call it vote buying or whatever but as I saw his team hit the ground, it proved that he was determined to win at all costs.

I say all this because I remember a certain friend of mine who was standing as an Independent candidate who had a budget of a paltry $50(before Eco cash deductions) who was vying for one these rural seats with such an amount. The writing on the wall was clear but this denial that people have that is not supported by an scientific evidence that is representative of the situation on the ground encouraged him till results day when he received a clobbering of his life time. Just because you have a few sympathizers and faceless characters on Facebook who are not even registered voters, should never fool you into doing the seemingly impossible.

Time has come to call a spade a spade. It is our skewed analysis of the power dynamics that have fueled ZANU PF to even go beyond their own expectations. We continue to criticize and label those who analyse objectively the future of opposition politics ZANU PF sympathizers or apologists or whatever term we see fit.
The chances of a single party doing the seemingly impossible task of displacing ZANU PF are minimal. They have their intact machinery in the form of Zimbabwe Electoral Commission(ZEC), untouched, in place. The implication that is there is that all future elections will be skewed in the favour of ZANU PF.Look at how ZEC handled the issue that Guzah was not a registered voter. Is he not an MP today albeit the noise that pressure groups and the independent media made?

Then there is People Last or Money First

One question that keeps ringing louder each day about this cabal is what does the future holds for them. While we have only witnessed scathing attacks on ZANU PF by the 3 mates in ruin, Jabulani Sibanda, Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo, there has been total silence from Joyce Mujuru. The only statement she issued out was to say she was sorry and her denying all charges that led to her dismissal. She did this with a sickening rhetoric that casts false hope that maybe, just maybe the political gods will smile at her again and be readmitted into the party she claims she “loves” so much.

While those who were linked with her have been dismissed, harangued and insulted especially through the public media, she has remained mum, basking in cold comfort that per adventure she would make a comeback.She has been quiet for long a time and there is never a day that she came out defending those people whose political careers were cut short because of the alleged link to her. While there is continued speculation that she intends to challenge Mugabe come 2018, will she gather enough grassroot support to mount a serious threat by then? Only time will tell. The years ahead will have many eyes.

Where to now?

The Zimbabwean scenario is not very unique from the rest of Africa. There are classical examples of countries in Africa where opposition parties formed coalitions to manage transitions but just like I have alluded to earlier, our opposition politics never entertain such thoughts. It’s all about egos, egos and more egos. It’s about who gets what or who brings what.

ZANU PF has benefitted greatly from this disorientation, discord and lack of organisation within opposition politics. That is why you have people like Transport Minister Obert Mpofu continuing to insist that he will install urban tollgates. He has empirical evidence that there will be no backclash.Today Chombo, though he has been moved to Home Affairs is a happy man after having left directed local authorities to introduce prepaid water meters which has received a handful of protests. And from that decision what do you get from opposition parties-useless, tired and empty threats to demonstrate against such a move. At least they must be given an aorta of credit for demonstrating on Facebook; at least none of the targeted audience gets the message! If they could boycott drinking water, I bet they would!

As the electoral bell continues to shift our gaze and focus towards judgement day (2018), exciting times await there.

Apo!

Rawlings Magede is a writer based in Nkayi and he writes in his personal capacity.

ZIM @35 SO FAR SO WORSE…

When there used to be real Leaders…

They killed him in cold blood, yes comrade Thomas Sankara.His only crime was that of being passionate about his own country, Burkina Faso- the land of upright people. His only crime committed to his murderers was his ideas for self-sufficiency among the Burkinabes.His close compatriot Blaise Compaore, with the aid and support of foreign powers betrayed him in 1987 and murdered him quietly and quickly buried him in a shallow grave. They killed him for his own ideas. Yes ideas that were going to transform Burkina Faso. His famous declaration “Our Homeland or death, we will win” fostered a culture of self-belief in the Burkinabe’s and still does today to the rest of us Africans.

During the October 2014 uprisings in Burkina Faso, when the populace felt short-changed by government’s failure to actualise what Sankara had promised them 27 years back, some Burkinabes’ thoughts turned to slain leader Thomas Sankara for inspiration. His belief that, while revolutionaries as individuals can be murdered, you cannot kill ideas proved to be true.

The man who overthrew Sankara,Blaise Compaore,had failed to actualise the vision of Sankara.All the 27 years that had gone by Burkinabes,were being short changed in their pursuit of what they believed in. Many of the protesters esteemed deeply the vision of Sankara, who had only reigned for a mere 4 years, which seemed to have impacted their livelihood in a tremendous way. While some would argue that Sankara ascended to presidency by means of a coup, what remains true is that he had undying affection and commitment for his country.


Although there is less poverty now than back then, a growing number of Burkinabés had, in recent years, started to feel that Sankara's nationalisation policies may have made the perpetually arid nation a more prosperous and self-reliant place than it is today.
According to one Burkinabe," Ishmael Kaboré, a 47-year-old lawyer in Ouagadougou, "At first, people felt the name Burkina Faso was odd, awkward and far from the modern and foreign names other countries were bearing in Africa. “But they realised after his death that Sankara wanted to give us a unique and special identity that tells our history and depicts our character”

Sankara was a determined pan-Africanist, whose foreign policies were largely centred on anti-imperialism. His government spurned foreign aid and tried to stamp out the influence of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in the country by adopting debt reduction policies and nationalising all land and mineral wealth.Self-sufficiency and land reform policies were designed to fight famine, a nationwide literacy campaign was launched, and families were ordered to have their children vaccinated.

What a rich history for a real Pan-Africanist whose love and commitment to his country was unparalleled. In this part of the world of ours called Zimbabwe, we have well decorated pseudo Pan-Africanists who masquerade today as champions of black empowerment that has however turned to only benefit only those close to the corridors of power. What a pity!
Long live comrade Sankara! Long live the Land of Upright man! Long live Burkina Faso!

When Politicians become the watchdog over Media

I have been completely appalled by a particular daily newspaper that is running the hash tag”ZIM @35 SO FAR SO GOOD” both in their daily and weekly publications. What baffles my intellect is that whoever ordered that message to run every day might have a preconceived motive bent on selling a perished and stale message that keeps bouncing against a reality check on a daily basis that is representative of the pressures and sufferings that ordinary people are going through every day. The idea is meant to take the people to a fool’s paradise where everything is “nice and smooth”. But nay, all is not well.

In that light, the said newspaper is both unique and puzzling in its messaging, the more so when measured against what is representative on the ground. Zimbabweans are known to boast of their vaunted literacy and what is unquestionable is their capacity to discern points of betrayal in the message.

Surely such a message cannot make for badges of honour! I hate arguments that invoke a false sense of patriotism all in order to wash ugly sins and atrocities done by the ZANU PF regime since independence. History on one end have very tough questions for people who think that patriotism means impoverishing and literally collapsing the economy and blame it on Western sanctions. Patriotism doesn’t mean not accounting for diamonds revenue and blaming it on Western embargo.

35 and still going down!

I have turned down numerous opportunities extended to me by several comrades to write on Zimbabwe’s independence. While I feel a bit sad that I let my fellow comrades down, I however feel vindicated that events that have been unfolding in Zimbabwe are somehow self-explanatory on what our much cherished independence has brought. Of course my analysis is representative of what I hold dear, my beliefs on what has gotten us to where we are. While numerous reasons have been suggested on why Zimbabwe’s economy collapsed, what remains apparent is that today all these suggestions have one convergence point. Zimbabwe’s economy has collapsed.

Independence Day comes and passes without even invoking feelings of nationalism or patriotism. The videos that our failed broadcaster usually broadcast in the run up to independence day of great revolutionaries like Joshua Nkomo,Hebert Chitepo outlining what they envisaged a new Zimbabwe should bring, are representative of the greatest betrayal of what the they stood for. These videos remind Zimbabweans how the ZANU PF government has grossly failed to make such visions alive.

What we have today after 35 years of the so called independence is a regime that cannot even stamp out corruption let alone pay its own civil servants. A regime that has rendered millions jobless due to implementation of insane economic policies. Surely, a country that cannot account for its economic actions right across the whole gamut of its endeavours! Where everything is left to conjecture. A country that cannot audit and evaluate itself!

Of Denialists and Bootlickers…

While the going gets tougher every day for the ordinary citizen, the government on one hand is seized with the ostensible responsibility of igniting fast dashing hope from its citizens, by hook or crook. It is really disgusting that in this abyss of economic turmoil and mess, there are still individuals within the government who are busy selling green lies to the citizenry about how the government has worked tirelessly to address the state of the economy.

What remains true is that the economy is in a terrible bad state and no amount of lectures would dissolve that fact. With each passing day for the unemployed graduates, the aorta of hope that was still there continues to fade away with governments’ regular pronouncements of empty “mega deals” that they think will herald economic revival.

Zimbabwe@35 is not so far so good as some people would want us to believe. Actually, independence has become a detested day especially by people like me as it represents great betrayal by the ZANU PF government. They have drifted greatly from the populist socialistic ideology that they heralded soon after independence. At the moment, capitalist reigns supreme in our country, with those close to the powers that be, benefitting at the expense of the whole population.

Apo!

Rawlings Magede is a writer based in Nkayi,Matebeleland North Province email vamagede@gmail.com

Air Zimbabwe Arrests: When justice becomes injustice

West Abbey, London, United Kingdom is the place where the great explorer David Livingstone lies to this day. Yes I’m told that’s the place where his two servants at the time Susi and Chuma embalmed the rest of his remains, wrapped in sailcloth and sailed to London in 1874 and left him there.

Up to this day he continues to sleep there, surreal yet posing a lot of serious questions to us born on this beautiful continent concerning his “discoveries”. From his sojourns in the Zambezi and exploring its tributaries and the Nile source, only he could narrate better what he discovered first hand.

I love Africa. It’s a beautiful continent with great scenic views. From the Kalahari Desert in Botswana, Africa boasts of such tourist attractions which continue to mesmerise visitors till this day. If one travels to North Africa, Egypt especially, the Suez Canal continues to act as a trade bolstering facility between developed countries and developing countries.

It connects the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, allows ships to travel between Europe and South Asia without navigating around Africa thereby reducing the sea voyage distance between Europe and India by about 7, 000 kilometres!

Although the Suez Canal is just a water way between two continents, it symbolizes much more in value. This Canal strengthens the power of Egypt in world economy.

With the taxes from the ships which use the Suez Canal, the Egyptian economy keeps growing day by day. The siltation and erosion in the coast requires labour force. The required labour force usually comes from the Egyptian society therefore it reduces the unemployment rate in the country.

I would have missed the point if I don’t talk about my own Zimbabwe. We boast of the majestic Victoria Falls, Great Zimbabwe among others. Beautiful continent, beautiful cultures and people.

These are some of the discoveries that Livingstone yearned to make but alas fate had other plans for him. But to his advantage, he witnessed the development of early societies in Africa. Today West Abbey is a resting place for the explorer who witnessed first-hand development of early societies.

Through his interactions and dealings with local chiefs and people in Africa, there are many things that only he could narrate concerning the political organisation of these early states. Forget about the great divide between distortion and factual representation. This is a debate that continues to this day. But all this is to wonder off the point.

When the gander is mistaken for a duck

Over the past weeks, a sombre atmosphere engulfed Zimbabwe. The sentencing of former Air Zimbabwe Chief Executive Officer, Peter Chikumba and the company secretary, Grace Pfumbidzai for a combined 20 years left many mesmerised by the “competent’ justice delivery system.

The two were convicted for criminal abuse of office. While relatives and loved ones wailed and toiled at the courts in trying to get sympathy, it proved to be a futile exercise.


While I don’t want to exonerate these two from the “harsh” sentence, a lot of interesting questions emerge. As one thinks and ponders on the reason why the courts flexed some treacherous muscle in trying to restore public confidence in justice delivery in as far as corruption is concerned, a lot of “whys” emerge. What about others?

Whose Justice is it anyway?

I mean we have our archives of corruption hidden in deep parts of our memories. Yes, this is our hope at least for now, something that has become part of us and as the political tides continue to trudge towards exciting times ahead, all we can do is watch. We have so many cases of parastatals that were left in the intensive care unit by most political figures who continue to bask and revel in ill-gotten wealth and success.

But alas, our courts, magnanimous to criminals as ever, continue to operate and skirt on corruption cases with rehearsed precision and yet when those not aligned to powerful figures within the political matrix err, they act swiftly with the speed of lightning to at least remind citizens and would-be criminals that they still have a semblance of what courts should do.

We can write thick volumes of how ZUPCO was looted by one Bright Matonga, Chiadzwa diamonds corruption that saw no revenue being remitted to treasury during the time of the inclusive government. Ask Biti. The rest of the corruption cases are already public knowledge. I would waste my precious time to talk about rampant looting in the allocation of land and stands by those aligned to Ignatius Chombo. The list is endless.

The justice delivery in Zimbabwe is deplorable to say the least. On one end you have the new National Prosecuting Authority masquerading as an institution with a constitutional mandate of undertaking criminal proceedings on behalf of the state, headed by one Johannes Tomana, who is a former Attorney General under whose charge he was actually an enabler of the regimes transgressions.

Today he has just shifted office but same script. The police also continue to play to the whims and tunes of political players and in many cases they have actually taken orders from politicians which in itself is a violation of their ethical practices and standards.

On the other hand you have a “spineless” Auditor General whose job is to just audit and sit back and relax. In 2010 after carrying out an audit government of parastatal bosses, it unearthed misappropriation of funds, embezzlement and other fraudulent activities.

If the findings from this audit were to be executed and acted upon, the whole of government, ministers and parastatal bosses would have been arrested. But alas, if anything, several people who have been implicated in corruption have actually been promoted. What a travesty of justice!

Now when you have several cases under the carpet at the instigation of those in power and authority, what does one make of this nation?

The days ahead will have many eyes.

That’s the bottom line.

The writer Rawlings Magede is a rural political enthusiast who writes from Nkayi.

MUTASA:THE SUN SETS IN PARADISE TOO!

WHEN THE BULLY RUNS SCARED..

When I was doing my ordinary level studies, my History teacher, One Mr Sharara always added some humour that enhanced our zeal and enthusiasm for history. I remember it like it was yesterday how my friend and I would always look forward to his lessons. At times because of mischief, we would exceed history lesson by asking “unnecessary” questions that would take away time from other lessons. Those were the days!

His lessons were always something to look forward to; they were so educative in the literal sense. His expansive narrative on African history, made me take pride in being fortunate to be born on this beautiful continent of Africa. At one time I remember, he taught us about the Mfecane and how invincible Tshaka the Zulu was at the peak of his reign. These were exciting times, yes, times that would cause us to have all sorts of imaginations of how he looked like.

They were a lot of controversies in his reign too. When his mother Nandi died in October 1827, huge numbers were put to death during the mourning ceremonies because they showed “insufficient grief” and his armies were also sent out to neighbouring chiefdoms to force them to grieve the loss of his mother.

His fall as narrated by our teacher invoked feelings of celebration in us and I still harbour a lot of questions of how a ruthless king could oppress his own. His fall came about when he was betrayed by his own people. Taking advantage of the absence of his armies, on 22 September 1828,his bodyguard whom our teacher only identified as Mbopha,and his half-brothers Dingane and Mhlangana,stabbed Tshaka near his military barracks at Dukuza.As his life ebbed away, he called to his brother Dingane:”hey brother! You kill me, thinking you will rule, but the swallows will do that”. By the swallows he meant the white people, because they made their houses of mud, like the swallows. This was too much for his assailants and they leapt upon him, stabbing. His last words of his words were,”Are you stabbing me, kings of the earth? You will come to an end through killing one another.”

How the mighty fell! I liked his “prophecy” that they would all kill one another. Surely all barbaric acts do come to an end. It’s true. The sun actually sets in paradise. This is the same predicament that one former Secretary for Administration Didymus Mutasa finds himself in.The gruesome stories of torture and killings by Mutasa especially in Headlands, still reverberate till this day. His acts of evil have been documented for all to see.http://nehandaradio.com/zimbabwe-wall-of-shame/.How his political career will turn out, remains a question best answered by those who fired him, but with the writing clear on the wall of a new “order” in ZANU PF,he might not make a biblical resurrection like Dzikamai Mavhaire,whose resurrection was short-lived.

Villain turns Victim?
One of the most unfortunate misdemeanours by our media is to apply lipstick on frogs. Whether they present Mutasa as a “champion” by using all forms of adulterated titles to describe him like “vibrant’ this or that, what is sorry is that no matter how they try to reinvent him, his evil past which has made a permanent imprint on people’s memories, always amplify the throes and cries of his victims who have given up on seeking justice.He remains a villain, detested by the common man who suffered during his time at the helm where he sprinkled “gamatox” on anyone who dared challenge ZANU PF especially in the Headlands constituency.

And today Mutasa runs away from that era of ruin, sprightly pursued by a monument of utter failure to try and re-join what he terms the “original” ZANU PF.This original ZANU PF is the one under whose tutelage, he committed acts of “genocide’ against the innocent people in constituency. His assertion that he remains part of the original ZANU PF can invite scrutiny from his sympathisers that he might never like and withdraw sympathy. The urge to be re-admitted into high office and sinecure is all there is to his “dubious” media interviews that he is giving willy-nilly these days.

Today he continues to distance, retreat and remain mum on some bad choices he made against a sceptical and interested public that would want to hear him reveal finer details of ZANU PF’S acts of gross human rights violations. He continues to eschew this important subject and falter; retreating into a self-made cocoon where he continues to sing the tired swan song of how “illegitimate” the recent ZANU PF congress was. He does so with sickening bitterness.

Far from the monumental madness by him, his other mate in ruin, Rugare Gumbo continues to do the same. They continue to masquerade as champions of democracy and injustice of ZANU PF but during long stints in ZANU PF, they used all machinery at their disposal to torture, maim and kill opposition supporters. From the state agents to youths, the list is endless.

Today they continue to eat up necessary space in the newspapers that can be used to talk about hunger and suffering taking place in rural communities. They are busy going to court for redress and the same courts that they used to oppress people are today fighting from a different corner. While they continue to revel in cold comfort of their demise, they must never think that they will receive sympathy from the suffering Zimbabweans who continue to suffer because of poor governance by ZANU PF that they have affinity for. Bad days outnumber good ones in politics!

While these two have been accused of being personalities of legendary pretences by biting the hand that fed them, what true however, is that their political careers have eclipsed just in a moment. Its over!

That’s the bottom line.


Rawlings Magede writes in his personal capacity and he is a rural political enthusiast who writes from Zimbabwe.

Mphoko:THE SAD STORY OF A WELL FED SLAVE

There seems to be no rhyme to Vice President Mphoko’s madness. After reading his abominable utterances about Gukurahundi in the interview he gave to Sunday Mail, I was left dejected just like many millions of Zimbabweans who had expected much from a ‘fresh’ mind within the presidium. But nay, the man is just like a beeline of bootlickers and sympathisers of the system. Given the “vast” business empire that he is said to run, he is one of the beneficiaries of the patronage machinery. The interview is so revealing.Mphoko has chosen to be a well fed slave than a hungry free man as the Legend of reggae Lucky Dube would put it.


A modern day slave is not one with a goering on his neck. It’s one who sings for his super. One who is mentally beholden to someone, one who sings the song of the slave master. This forms part of the curricular vitae of the new VP as he announced his entrance on the political arena. Many a time since his swearing in, the VP has made damaging remarks be about vendors or anything that he deems necessary to talk about. While he has betrayed the people of Matabeleland that he somehow shares some historical facts and realities with, it seems the thought of the “bogus and dubious” luxuries that come with the gravy train has corrupted his thinking.

In the unfortunate article, the VP reduces the grave Gukurahundi massacres to a “conspiracy” of the West. It is a well-rehearsed interview that is given by one dramatizing his CV and displaying his “credentials” before his new employers. Of course the interview can never be rubber stamped as a true reflection of what transpired unless if one is a proverbial idiot who sings wedding songs at a funeral.

Of course, Mphokos sentiments don’t come as a surprise especially to me. President Mugabe himself has only reduced the Gukurahundi atrocities to a mere “moment of madness” and has not even bothered to avail the findings of the Chihambakwe commission. Lately his spokesperson George Charamba joined the fray and added even more insults by claiming that Gukurahundi was a myth. Now these people we hear carping nowadays mumbling about a conflict they have chosen to distort its facts, are busy perfuming nonsense about all the “theories” they have so carefully crafted to try and change facts that regrettably are already public knowledge. Theirs remains a lone and distorted voice in the wasteland using the public media to score unworthy points and to cleanse ZANU PF’s soiled hands in the genocide.

To cut a long story short, the whole interview amounts to an impulsive stubborn rejection of facts of history, facts which keep bouncing against a dishonest mind -that because of fear of the “known” remains unrepentant and heartless. All this is another matter, another story for another day. I am not chasing that today.

Enter Organ of National Healing and Reconciliation…

Now with such naivety, can any honest, sane person expect more from this organ that has been coincidentally placed under Mphoko? Is it not like expecting output from brains without filter? Honestly, the organ that even failed during the time of the inclusive government when it was still co-chaired by the 3 political parties that were in the government. Now ZANU PF is at it alone and how can one deal with a group whose collective genius tells them that Gukurahundi was a conspiracy of the West or a myth?

It comes not as a surprise the snail’s pace in the composition of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission. There has, however, been muted calls for the composition of this independent commission that is mandated to ensure post-conflict justice, healing and reconciliation, seemingly just ahead of this abominable utterances by the Vice President (V.P). He and the rest of his ZANU PF cabal can remain behind self-made bars of denial of facts.

What’s important is that the new V.P who is supposed to propagate messages of healing and reconciliation, is the one whose effortless downhill descent into madness has even kicked off his political career off to a bad start.
Will there ever be NPRC?

Interestingly, the tenure of the NPRC is fast expiring and there is nothing that the government has done to try and speed up its composition .Of course the deliberate delay is linked to ZANU PF stubborn rejection of facts that are well documented for all to see and verify on the need for healing and reconciliation.

The term of the NPRC might come and expire, but the need for healing and reconciliation can never be wished away. Coming up with dubious opinions which seek to show acts of unforgiveness, tribalism and hate only compounds the situation.
Unfortunately, Gukurahundi is an act of genocide that is stuck with us as a country and there is no amount of opinions or press releases that can change that unless the process of national healing and reconciliation is initiated.

If you stand for the truth,you stand alone!

That’s the bottom line!

Rawlings Magede is a rural political enthusiast who writes from Zimbabwe.

PEACE AND RECONCILIATION: A PANACEA TO GUKURAHUNDI!!

The recent confession by Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Mudenda that he witnessed the torture and gruesome murder of more than 20 000 people in Matabeleland and parts of Midlands during the dark years of Gukurahundi in the early 1980s by soldiers from the 5 Brigade, but was powerless to stop it makes a sad but regrettable reading

Why Mudenda has chosen to speak after 27 years of silence is not known but what remains salient is the fact that there is no retreat from the ubiquitous challenge posed by the continued lack of political will on the need to create peace and dialogue on Gukurahundi.

Mudenda made these sensational claims during a three-day men’s fellowship conference organised by the Brethren –In-Christ church in Lobengula under the theme, “Peace and Justice” where he was guest speaker. He said though he witnessed it, he was too powerless to stop it.It boggles one’s mind why given the assumption that he has power today, why hasn’t he sought to seek redress on the matter.

President Mugabe soon after independence enunciated a policy of National Reconciliation in his famous speech where he said, “surely this is now the time to beat our swords into ploughshares so we can attend to the problems of developing our economy and our society. I urge you whether you are black or white, to join me in a new pledge to forget our grim past, forgive others and forget, join hands in a new amity, and together as Zimbabweans, trample upon racialism, tribalism and regionalism, and work hard to reconstruct and rehabilitate our society as we invigorate our economic machinery”.

Since then there is virtually no debate on this issue which remains sensitive till now. Every attempt to bring up this issue has been treated with cruel hostility and clampdown. Thousands of people who disappeared during Gukurahundi remain unaccounted for.

The Unity Accord of 1987 finally put to an end to this massacre but it didn’t address the process of healing and Reconciliation that the President had identified as a remedy to aggression. One hurdle that makes healing and reconciliation a herculean task is the fact that how does reconciliation where those who burnt other people’s houses, raped women and killed many don’t show remorse? For example it’s a public secret that Perence Shiri the current Air force chief was the commander of the 5th Brigade that carried out Gukurahundi in Matebeland and yet he has never been tried before any court but rather was actually rewarded with a top post.

The findings of the two probe committees established by Mugabe that is the Chihambakwe and Dumbutshena commissions were never made public and it remains unclear the recommendations they made. For a long time the ZANU PF government has successfully avoided direct discourse on the Gukurahundi atrocities but when you have a political figure like Mudenda confessing to the nation the barbaric ordeal of how innocent women, men and children were brutally killed by the 5th brigade it shows beyond doubt that Zimbabwe is nation that is in dire need of healing, reconciliation and peace.

The Parliamentary and Presidential elections in 2008 present yet another scenario that makes healing and reconciliation and national healing evitable. Violence, torture, murder, arbitrary detentions, disappearances, maiming of opposition supporters prompted Morgan Tsvangirai to withdraw from the election race. His supporters had limbs cut off and today these scars they still carry them while the perpetrators walk free. When the Government of National Unity was formed, the government responded by establishing the Organ on National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration (ONHRI).

The purpose and aim of the ONHRI was to establish a mechanism for national healing, cohesion and unity and laying the foundation for a society characterised by mutual respect, tolerance and development. The ONHRI was composed of members from political parties involved in skirmishes who themselves were not clean in terms of their utterances. One questions the wisdom of entrusting the process of national healing and reconciliation to partisan individuals. Of course this proved a futile exercise and the organ didn’t deliver its mandate till its mandate expired.

The truth is that the past should be revisited and confronted. Atrocities of the past have to be acknowledged and in some cases apologies made or even reparations where necessary since there is no healing without justice. Victims and perpetrators of conflict and violence have to be at the centre of reconciliation and healing activities. Reconciliation is an absolute necessity today. It is a guarantee that violence that happened in the past will never occur again. Victims of Gukurahundi aswell as the election periods especially the 2008 elections have not told their stories. They remain in the abyss of pain and neglect. The truth remains hidden or is being told from the perspective of those in power. The truth they tell is one-sided and therefore wounds remain open.

Mudenda is now speaker of Parliament and in his capacity as Speaker of Parliament; these are some of the debates that he should initiate by any means possible. He should now use that office to make past wrongs, right. Instead of giving a lame excuse to the few men at the fellowship that the government is sorry, he should initiate the healing process. The new constitution that is in place provides for the establishment of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission(NPRC) which is not yet functional till now, albeit the herculean task that lies ahead. Whether it will deliver or not, remains a mystery. Only time will tell.

The writer, Rawlings Magede, is a rural political enthusiast who writes from Zimbabwe.rawedge699@gmail.com

ZANU PF: WHERE CORRUPTION EQUALS TO PROMOTION

The new political dimensions that we witnessed in the past weeks have been full of drama full swing. On the political front, cabinet ministers chose to abandon their duties to follow the first lady “meet the people” rallies where some ZANU PF cronies, drunk with partisan idiocy, paralysed with hero worship sought to revamp their waning uncertain political careers in the face of smearing retribution by the first lady on those she alleged were causing factionalism that were threatening the continued grip on power by her husband.

In all this hocus pocus, the public media notably; The Herald and ZBC led a full coverage of these rallies. I felt sorry for those paying licences to the “state” broadcaster who were “tortured” everyday by these rallies. Of course the state media must be commended for an “excellent” but lamentable propensity to make people of shallow intellect famous because of their proximity to the corridors of power. The functions of the whole government grounded to a halt as responsible authorities who were supposed to be running ministries were busy making slogans meant to gain Machiavellian mileage at their expense of government business. This is the orbit around which the country has been oscillating in the past weeks.
During one of these rallies the First Lady “Amai” Mugabe with an avenging sword single handedly chose to make shocking revelations in Mashonaland Central Province that there was “someone” not only trying to topple her husband but also engaged in a vast extortion enterprises.
Said Grace: “… that same person who goes around demanding 10 per cent shareholding in companies. If you go to any company now, the name of that person is mentioned.

“You lead factions, you extort companies and you are involved in illicit diamond deals, so you cannot say you are not corrupt. “These accusations many believe were targeted to vice president Joyce Mujuru. The gist of the matter is not so much who it was meant for, but how and why that person was still in government. Why that person has been given free course to do such unfair practices remains a scandal that will live to be told another day.

Despite the call by individuals, civic society and other pressure groups to call for an audit into how our diamonds from Chiadzwa were being appropriated, the ZANU PF government continued to nicodemously unaccounted for the vast revenue from diamonds. When the diamonds were discovered the government demagogically said that the proceeds from the diamonds were going to revamp our comatose economy but far from that, this individual whom Grace Mugabe meant was/is busy involved in illicit diamond dealings enriching her at the expense of the whole nation. Many people from Chiadzwa who were displaced when diamonds were discovered had to eke out an existence when promises made to them were never actualised.

This confession by Grace brings many things to mind.ZANU PF is a conference of lily livered opportunists united by money and greed, for you to remain on top you have to remain loyal to the vision of plunder of Zimbabwe’s natural resources and self-centeredness. Deviating from this set way, will result in expulsion. The economic haemorrhage and meltdown we have witnessed have not only been caused by sanctions as they say. This looting and plunder of resources and grabbing of other peoples businesses, has led to the collapse of our economy. The reality within ZANU PF at the moment is sickening; no drive to revive the ailing economy, no backbone to deal with corruption but just an expired swan song on sanctions.
Why President Mugabe doesn’t act on his cronies to stamp out corruption and greedy, remains a secret best known to him. His talk on sovereignty has proved a fiction used to limit humanitarian assistance to those who have been left on the peripheries of lack and poverty. He has used it so much to legitimise his power and coerce the weak into believing his fake gospel on the need to be sovereign as a nation.

How can we talk of sovereignty when one person and his accomplices extort minerals meant to benefit the country? Why does he continue to allow these corrupt individuals serve in his government? Has that proverbial statement that says birds of the same feathers flock together found its root within ZANU PF?Has ZANU PF factional fighting reduced him from being a national leader to something like a village head presiding over mundane unproductive cases? Time will not tell because he has failed to reign on those fingered in corrupt activities.
Rawlings Magede is rural political enthusiast who writes from Nkayi, Matebeleland North Province.rawedge699@gmail.com