Opinion / Columnist
Grace sets war vets on Mujuru but has nothing against her toughest opponent
23 Oct 2014 at 16:14hrs | Views
If Mai Mujuru and her supporter thought the end of the meet-the-people rallies was the end of Grace Mugabe's "hour on the political stage" they could not have been more wrong. Grace is still on a war footing and today she was back at her Mazoe Orphanage, where it all started two months ago and is becoming her political temple, telling war vets Mai Mujuru is not fit to rule Zimbabwe.
"There are plenty of people who can run this country, not Mujuru…we cannot go back to where we were before independence," said Grace.
"Hanzi ini ndirikuda kuita President, why not, handisi mwana wemuZimbabwe here? Hoo iwe ndiwe wakakodzera nhai? Today we now say chizororai amai, vanogona vaenderere mberi." (They say I want to be President, why not, am I not a Zimbabwean? You think you are the only fit to be? Today we now say rest madam, let those who can go ahead.)
Hurricane Grace has hit Zimbabwe's political landscape and she is stirring up the worst emotions in those amongst our people known to be ruled more by passion and blind loyalty than by reason. She is doing so for selfish political gain.
Zanu PF has ruled the country through chaos, fear and bloodshed. Each time the regime is fearful that power is slipping out of its grip, it has resorted to its most tried and trusted ways of consolidating power - chaos, fear and bloodshed and the mindless zealots like the war vets have been its foot-soldiers. Grace is mobilizing the war vets – the handiest and willing tool in the tyrannical regime's tool box.
Grace assured the war vets that all their issues would be addressed and says that war vets deserve to be taken care of.
After 34 years of misrule by Mugabe the nation's life expectancy, the ultimate qualitative and quantitative measure of a nation's standard of living and economic progress, has dropped from 68 years in 1980 to 34 years in 2004 according to some reports. It would be a lot worse if donors had not step in. Since 2008 it is the donors who have paid 98% of the country's medical needs, for example. The regime says it has no money but had $5 million to spend on Bona Mugabe's wedding!
Most of these war vets are now living in abject poverty; they have not been spared the economic hardship that has befallen the nation. The war vets have stubbornly refused to see the mountain of evidence of mismanagement and rampant corruption by the regime which are the root causes of the country's economic ruin. They have, instead, readily accepted the regime's explanation that it was "the illegal sanctions imposed by the evil West" that have caused the economic collapse.
It has never occurred to these war vets how it was possible that these sanctions that have made the rest of us poor have had the exact opposite effect on those on sanctions list; they have prospered to become millionaire! Now, Grace is promising them that "all" their problems will be addressed; how this miracle is to be achieved now with the evil sanctions still in place, she did not say. Her most important message to the war vets was to prime them and set them off like attack dogs.
"Kana wanga uchisupporta Mai Mujuru buda izvezvi, today is the final push, moment of truth is here," ranted Grace. "Kana uri murume wotosunga mabrugwa diarrhoea isabude!" (Those who support Mrs Mujuru must come out in the open, today is the final push, moment of truth is here. If you are a man tighten your pants so diarrhoea does not leak out!)
Grace Mugabe knows that her husband, Robert Mugabe, has used the same dirty tactics creating chaos, fear and has shed the blood over 30 000 innocent Zimbabwe during his 34 years in power to maintain his tyrannical rule but it was not going to last. Any regime in history whose power was based on denying others their basic freedom, justice, liberty and human rights including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country and even the right to life itself has always collapsed in the end. The dog-eat-dog fighting in Zanu PF is a clear manifestation of the collapse of Zanu PF.
Whilst Grace may use her "baby dumping" threats backed by the menacing war vets to subdue Mai Mujuru and her Zanu PF faction into submission she should not think she can do the same with the rest of the populous. The continued economic meltdown which has forced 300 000 children out of school and forced 16% or 2 million Zimbabweans into a life of abject poverty already in the nationwide manifestation of the failure of the Zanu PF autocracy. The people have suffered enough and they deserve a just government elected by the people in free, fair credible elections.
Grace will have to rig economic recovery and end the human suffering it has brought to consolidate her grip on power. She will find that the economy is not as easily subdued as Mai Mujuru nor is it so readily fooled as the war vet!
"There are plenty of people who can run this country, not Mujuru…we cannot go back to where we were before independence," said Grace.
"Hanzi ini ndirikuda kuita President, why not, handisi mwana wemuZimbabwe here? Hoo iwe ndiwe wakakodzera nhai? Today we now say chizororai amai, vanogona vaenderere mberi." (They say I want to be President, why not, am I not a Zimbabwean? You think you are the only fit to be? Today we now say rest madam, let those who can go ahead.)
Hurricane Grace has hit Zimbabwe's political landscape and she is stirring up the worst emotions in those amongst our people known to be ruled more by passion and blind loyalty than by reason. She is doing so for selfish political gain.
Zanu PF has ruled the country through chaos, fear and bloodshed. Each time the regime is fearful that power is slipping out of its grip, it has resorted to its most tried and trusted ways of consolidating power - chaos, fear and bloodshed and the mindless zealots like the war vets have been its foot-soldiers. Grace is mobilizing the war vets – the handiest and willing tool in the tyrannical regime's tool box.
Grace assured the war vets that all their issues would be addressed and says that war vets deserve to be taken care of.
After 34 years of misrule by Mugabe the nation's life expectancy, the ultimate qualitative and quantitative measure of a nation's standard of living and economic progress, has dropped from 68 years in 1980 to 34 years in 2004 according to some reports. It would be a lot worse if donors had not step in. Since 2008 it is the donors who have paid 98% of the country's medical needs, for example. The regime says it has no money but had $5 million to spend on Bona Mugabe's wedding!
Most of these war vets are now living in abject poverty; they have not been spared the economic hardship that has befallen the nation. The war vets have stubbornly refused to see the mountain of evidence of mismanagement and rampant corruption by the regime which are the root causes of the country's economic ruin. They have, instead, readily accepted the regime's explanation that it was "the illegal sanctions imposed by the evil West" that have caused the economic collapse.
It has never occurred to these war vets how it was possible that these sanctions that have made the rest of us poor have had the exact opposite effect on those on sanctions list; they have prospered to become millionaire! Now, Grace is promising them that "all" their problems will be addressed; how this miracle is to be achieved now with the evil sanctions still in place, she did not say. Her most important message to the war vets was to prime them and set them off like attack dogs.
"Kana wanga uchisupporta Mai Mujuru buda izvezvi, today is the final push, moment of truth is here," ranted Grace. "Kana uri murume wotosunga mabrugwa diarrhoea isabude!" (Those who support Mrs Mujuru must come out in the open, today is the final push, moment of truth is here. If you are a man tighten your pants so diarrhoea does not leak out!)
Grace Mugabe knows that her husband, Robert Mugabe, has used the same dirty tactics creating chaos, fear and has shed the blood over 30 000 innocent Zimbabwe during his 34 years in power to maintain his tyrannical rule but it was not going to last. Any regime in history whose power was based on denying others their basic freedom, justice, liberty and human rights including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country and even the right to life itself has always collapsed in the end. The dog-eat-dog fighting in Zanu PF is a clear manifestation of the collapse of Zanu PF.
Whilst Grace may use her "baby dumping" threats backed by the menacing war vets to subdue Mai Mujuru and her Zanu PF faction into submission she should not think she can do the same with the rest of the populous. The continued economic meltdown which has forced 300 000 children out of school and forced 16% or 2 million Zimbabweans into a life of abject poverty already in the nationwide manifestation of the failure of the Zanu PF autocracy. The people have suffered enough and they deserve a just government elected by the people in free, fair credible elections.
Grace will have to rig economic recovery and end the human suffering it has brought to consolidate her grip on power. She will find that the economy is not as easily subdued as Mai Mujuru nor is it so readily fooled as the war vet!
Source - Wilbert Mukori
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