Chamisa splits MDC?

It happened there: how democracy died in MDC. A new kind of authoritarianism is taking root in the opposition and there are warning signs for Zimbabwe and its people.

The MDC T or A's border runs through a wilderness, tall grass flatlands ringed by imposing history of violence and thickets of dictatorship disguised as opposition. The world hardly scrutinises the democracy within an opposition. Their mentality is to create a willing destabiliser of which Chamisa is a willing participant. This mentality has given the MDC a leeway to trample all walls of democracy. When one hears the name of MDC the landscape would have been lovely - had it not been for the gigantic barbed-wire fence running straight through the heart of democracy erected by Chamisa under the guidance of Biti.

Most MDC supporters and the democratic loving Zimbabweans have abandoned their hopes in a thicket on the way to 2023and trekked through the political journey in shock and pain.

The party which was purported to have been formed on the strings of democracy has decayed in a flash but still clinging to a democratic name.

The MDC youth with their lips kissed by the devil himself nailed the last closing nail to democracy. They declared that Chamisa's position is not to be contested. They have fired warning shots and warned Mwonzora that if he dates to oppose Chamisa in the coming Congress will be facing the wrath of the MDC youth. This threat is not a fluke. What MDC youth did to democracy will be well understood by Mangoma who was seriously bashed for daring to question Tsvangirai. MDC Has its foundation in dictatorship and violence. Biti bears the marks of MDC violence and now he is coaching Chamisa to apply the same in maintaining the grip on power. The youth is employed as translators to other pretenders to send a clear language of violence. The irony of the whole issue is those who prophesy to be the fathers of African democracy are the ones who are burying democracy without any shame. Though few cross the border into the reality of democracy they still live just outside the fence to be on call for the authority to abuse those who request the involvement of democratic ethos.

Chamisa has ring fenced his position and deliberately bribed the youth to preach violence to anyone who challenges him.

MDC having portrayed itself as a democratic pioneer has failed to live to the expectations of its supporters. Instead MDC has shown that democracy has died long back.

Fear of challengers like Mwonzora has prompted the MDC A to go to extreme lengths to keep them out. The once vibrant opposition was militarized, with vanguard and those bootlicking Chamisa declaring war on those who have understood the direction of the issue.

This kind of thing cannot happen to democrats or those who prophecy to be the ones who are. But this time, the van guards asked something curious: Does Mwonzora have a permit to be contesting Chamisa. This was not a requirement you'd expect in a democracy; MDC even has constitutional protections for the free and fair elections.

The party which is a champion of democracy has shown the world that it cannot apply the democratic values to itself. How then can they run a democratic country. It will be a sad day for Zimbabwe if the dictator Chamisa is allowed to grace the State House.

The values which ZANU PF fought for were above all the one man one vote. This our fathers and brothers were prepared to die and some indeed died for.

This is the way things are in MDC. Any person who stands against Chamisa is labelled a ZANU PF or a CIO operative. This is a tactic which cows the would be contenders into silence. MDC has never been a democratic party. Tsvangirai just dreamt and woke up with three Vice Presidents. That was the resurrection of Chamisa who was dumped into a nunnery where he emerged with a diploma in theology. To outsiders, it looks and feels like any modern political party The harvest house Used to promise both beautiful classical architecture and one of most exciting party doctrines in Africa.

Alas the hands of Chamisa are dripping of blood of the people he destroyed and deprived them of democracy.

ZANU PF is not interested in MDC but MDC is a national official opposition whose actions should be impressed upon its leaders. It is on that aspect that MDC is always on the lips of cadres. MDC is in the midst of several election campaigns for other posts and candidate to office; the country is drowning in unwarranted accusations directed to ZANU PF and the commitment of the opposition is not on democracy it is merely against ZANU PF. Chamisa schemes his victory by calling his challengers ZANU PF while his hands are entirely on the power handle.

Over the course of his 13 months in power, Chamisa has chipped away at the foundations of Zimbabwean democracy. It has been replaced with an authoritarian leadership that wields a cynical interpretation of the law as a weapon; the party is governed by rules like no challenge to presidium. These are regulations that can seem reasonable on their face but actually serve to undermine essential democratic freedoms.

The MDC congress will hold free elections in the sense that the vote counts aren't nakedly rigged. But they are unfair: The Chamisarites controls the funding to such a degree that the opposing candidates can't get a fair hearing.

MDC democracy looks free and vibrant on paper, but a patchwork of nonsensical regulations makes it nearly impossible for pro-democracy cadres to do show their interest for standing in elections. The MDC support seems to be growing, but a significant number of people are disgusted with the demonic tyranny in Chamisa's blood.

An unending drumbeat of propaganda, from those who are bidding for Chamisa demonises Mwonzora and Mudzuri warning of an existential threat to MDC and touting Chamisa's illegal leadership as the only thing protecting the party from a ZANU PF takeover. This trumped-up crisis serves as a legitimation tool for Chamisa's authoritarianism, a pretext for MDC to pass law undermining its opponents. Call it "soft fascism": a political system that aims to stamp out dissent and seize control of every major aspect of its political and social life.

One of the most disconcerting parts of observing MDC soft fascism up close is that it's easy to imagine the model being exported. While Chamisa's leadership grew out of unique history and pervasive political culture, its playbook for subtle repression could in theory be run in any democratic party whose leaders have had enough of the internal opposition.

It's not for nothing that People who have called Chamisa the most significant guy on the scene right now," is currently on the over drive building an image aimed at spreading his populist politics across the continent.

The way MDC is handling its affairs it becomes a "systemic threat to the rule of law." Unknown to MDC faithfuls it is Biti who is consolidating his power, and the MDC is too weak and divided to pose a major threat in the foreseeable future.

Chamisa is a warning of what could happen when a ruthless, populist backed by a major political party is allowed to govern unchecked. Zimbabwe need to pay attention.

It should be noted that ZANU PF is not interested in who will take over MDC. That is not ZANU PF's problem. But it is ZImbabwe's problem so MDC must not say its in house. It is playing in public and must be finished in public.

Vazet2000@yahoo.co.uk