Invasion Dabengwa's farm, a message from the Secretary General

The recent and ongoing episode at our President's farm is serving to inflame an already incandescent atmosphere in our country. The act has filled us all with righteous anger and honestly consternation, not least because of the crass stupidity exhibited by the perpetrators of violence in our country dating back to the 1980's. The call for an immediate for overt action which is proportionate to these acts of cowardice is understandable and legitimate.

Members have rightly called for ZAPU leadership's response, as is indeed their right to do. Firstly, let me say that the attack on our President's property is not an attack on him alone but on every member, and indeed on every Zimbabwean.  A response aimed at this sole act might miss out on the opportunity for concerted action by all Zimbabweans that this heinous act presents.

Secondly, the invasion of the Rudy farm must not be seen in isolation but in the context of the disdain that Zanu PF has for what is lawful in Zimbabwe, its propensity to trash human rights in our country.

Thus, we now  have a no holds barred situation, one in which every person is entitled to resort to whatever means at their disposal, as instinct would have it, to protect themselves and their own. No one is going to set up a board in condemnation of any action taken towards self-preservation by our fellow citizens, whether they are members of ZAPU or not.

Indeed here is an opportunity for all Zimbabweans to rise as one and proclaim, just like our VP stated in her recent article, enough is enough! If this be the trigger for a Zimbabwean spring, honestly, so be it! Everything has a tolerance limit.

A word of caution though, any action must be properly carefully thought through to ensure that it is effective and does not leave anyone in a worse situation, precisely what the authors of violence in our country are after.

I have stated that there is crass stupidity in the cowardly bully boy tactics of the ruling party. It was beginning to be a little disconcerting trying to convince the international world that Zanu PF remains a party of violence, prepared to unleash untold suffering on its citizens in order to maintain power. Many countries around the world had started to doubt whether the cap fits, some already engaging in rapprochement with that party and regime.

For some of us there was that nauseating, sinking feeling observing some of the countries which profess to be defenders of democracy now almost falling over themselves in attempting to accommodate the beast, to convince themselves that the tiger had changed its spots! A poke in the eye to them!

The farm grab strategy has laid bare for all to see what was, is and always be at the core of Zanu PF philosophy that it never had anything to do with independence and freedom for all but grabbing and holding onto power by means fair or foul, the more foul the better.

Again to those who have argued that Zanu PF can be transformed by force of reason and logic, there is your answer. To those too who still believe that the vote alone will ever lead to a change of government in our country, dream on!
Of course as ever, the Zanu well-oiled deception machinery will attempt to distance the party from the dastardly acts of bully boy cowardice acts of farm grab. Exposing them however, should be an infinitely easy task as their finger marks are all over the crime scenes.

Kurova imbwa wakaviga mupinyi, which roughly equates to: Tshay' inja umnikazi uzavela!

As the President is the one directly targeted in the recent farm occupation, the response to this must of essence be led from the Secretariat. Let me assure members that a strategy is taking shape.

The strategic response must not miss the opportunity that this phase of the Grand Plan presents. Ours must not be a rushed decision which fizzles out in a whimper as soon as it meets with opposition. The ruling party has chosen the time and place, let us not play to their antics. We don't roll in the mud because our opponents have chosen that as the engagement ground.

Ours cannot be quiet diplomacy but a reasoned and fitting response. Let us identify this as a cause celebre which every Zimbabwean can adopt, the more we people we can get on board, the better chance that at long an opportunity could present itself to fell the beast.

I am certain that all will understand that what can be shared here ought to be the bare bones of the strategy, the outline which I beg all to tag their own individual or collective actions to. Again I repeat, the chosen pathway does not debar other attempts in response to the dark clouds that hang over our country.

Let us look at a few baseline pointers. It is easy to observe that most of Zanu's illogical excesses occur when that party finds itself with internal strife. As felons often do, when in hot soup, look for distractions elsewhere.  

Think of the how 1980's genocide was utilized to divide Zimbabweans in order to cement together fractious and unruly segments of the party which developed its ideology on tribal divisions. Consider the gratuitous burning of granaries in the 1990's which targeted the white farming community, again in order to feed the beast of greed that was in danger of devouring its own. And now the inane scorched earth policy to destroy the last vestiges of hope in our country by targeting anything opposed to the madness of the ruling party.

Yesterday I wrote to Kembo Mohadi telling him as Minister of Home Affairs to leash his hounds. I also informed him that I expect his urgent response and compliance with my request. At the time of writing, I have not received any response if any at all is forthcoming.

Here is a timely reminder to Mohadi; there is a Ndebele adage which translates: it is an ant that can be the undoing of the elephant.  Perhaps in lingua: Usashore mbodza ndiyo inozvimbira!  The bully boy approach could yet be the moment when the regime might discover that it has shot itself, not only through both feet but the head as well?

To all members of the Party, please desist from overly concerning yourselves with what other members are doing or not doing, rather focusing on doing something yourself. Speaking as a member of the leadership, something which I can assure you is happening all round, we are certainly not sitting on our hands!