Mangoma's sorry tale

The MDC in general and the 'T' faction in particular, is an association whose DNA is heavily steeped in violence. It was borne out of violence and currently faces grim prospects of a self-inflicted violent demise.

At its inception in 1999, it represented the militant wing of the ZCTU that orchestrated wanton destruction of property and social order through the so-called mass stayaways, looting and demonstrations.

Tsvangirai's ill-informed threat to violently oust President Robert Mugabe, characteristic of his open-mouth, shut-minded approach when overwhelmed by modest crowds, is all too reminiscent now. The plot with Ari-Ben Menashe of Dickens & Madson (Canada) Inc. in Montreal in December 2001, in which Tsvangirai solicitated the services of the consultancy firm in facilitating the elimination of President Mugabe further shows beyond any iorta of doubt the violent disposition of this character.

In fact, the man should thank his ancestors and the institutional democracy, including the judiciary system in this country, which some people have come to  take for granted. Mind you,  he escaped treason conviction by a technicality.

Welshman Ncube, then holding the MDC secretary-general potfolio that was also cavoted by Tendai Biti, was a victim of violence by the party' so-called democratic resistence committee (DRC) members at Harvest House, culminating in his relocation to the Club Chambers from where he operated until the split.

Lucia Matibenga, the then-Women's Assembly chairperson, was beaten up at Harvest House by known assailants comprising DRC members for daring to demand audience with Tsvangirai over the contentious women's assembly leadership. Tsvangirai preferred Teresa Makone, a member of his infamous 'kitchen cabinet', who ultimately landed the post albeit through hook and crook. Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, another executive member, was assaulted twice at party events, whereas Trudy Stevenson, now Zimbabwe's envoy to Senegal, was brutally attacked by party youth.

That Trudy, Priscilla and Welshman belong to the other faction of the MDC that is fronted by philandering Morgan and mouth-frothing venom-spitting Biti is neither here nor there because they are hewn from the same cloth, just like Cain and Abel.

That the MDC is a loose association of divergent ideologies that have no common grounding with aspirations of the masses has never been in doubt. Furthermore, judging by the foregoing, orgies of MDC-T intra-party violence have been long, long over-due.

Enter Elton Mangoma, the MDC-T deputy treasurer-general trumpeting a palace coup, and the plot thickens! Of all the spineless functionaries within the party, Mangoma has been able to stand up to Tsvangirai and expose the latter as an emperor who, for want of prestige and power, continues to regale in his nudity.

Through his monumental blunders, the man has cost his party and western benefactors dearly from which his political rivals have benefited immensely. And for daring to point this out, Mangoma has earned the ire of not just Tsvangirai who has publicly described him as a traitor, but the militant party youth who constitute the dreaded DRCs. Such vigilante groups have been instruments, since time immemorial, by which party leaders have been able to consolidate power and one only needs to pass by the revered avenue to experience the spine-chilling glares of suspicion and blood lust.

This is the party of excellence and the nation may not mind some comic interlude between hardships caused by the illegally imposed sanctions. However, the nation is gripped with trepidation when such internal squabbles assume segregatory undertones that spill out and advertently victimise innocent sections of society. It is common knowledge that Mangoma walks with a limp, and given a chance to move without this physical impediment, he would gladly do so.

Now, for anyone in general with a gripe with this gentleman, and Morgan and Nelson Chamisa in particular, as representative of the Tsvangirai faction within the MDC-T, to try and equate Mangoma's physical condition with his mental capacity is derogatory in the extreme. It is insensitive and irresponsible.

One wonders what the National Association for Disabled Persons of Zimbabwe has to say about such profanity, especially when espoused by an association purporting to champion the rights of all people, able-bodied or disabled alike!

What Mangoma said made real sense and it is only the mentally feeble who resort to name-calling and stereotyping when confronted by naked facts. Chamisa and former Harare chairperson, Morgan Femai, were recently irked by failure by the party's Harare provincial executive to endorse the two's decision objecting to the holding of an extra-ordinary congress that is likely to lead to another split. They   resorted to name calling, with Chamisa saying Mangoma should have gone to Parliament to represent the disabled and not "real" people as well as other expletives.

For starters, different people from equally different sections of society have contributed in their various capacities and ways to the development of this great nation.

Joshua Malinga, the former Mayor of Bulawayo metropolitan, contributed immensely to civic matters of the City of Kings. Advocate Pearson Nherera was a lawyer par excellence despite being blind, whereas Dr Pazvakavambwa defied albinism and was a revered pediatrician.

Renowned veteran journalist, Godfrey Majonga, chairs the Zimbabwe Media Commission. The list is endless and merely proves that disability does not mean inability. In any case, "ability" and "disability" are contested terms. The nation is aghast because how dare some miscreants try to play God in our society!