VP Mujuru, a lesser evil

As ZANU PF prepares for its elective congress, one could not resist reminding the country that all our problems as a nation have their origins in ZANU PF, not the West, as they would want us to believe.

Central to the fall out between Mugabe and the West, was his blatant disregard for the rule of law and democratic practices.

Any decent political party in the world would have removed Mugabe for his Gukurahundi atrocities, and sent him to The Hague where animals like him belong.

True to his demagogic character, Mugabe played victim, turned victims to villains and unleashed the state PR machinery to achieve his devious goal.

The whole ZANU PF hierarchy was clamouring for TV coverage, to tell the world how great Mugabe was in savaging the dissidents.

To be a dissident, you just needed to be a Ndebele. Regardless of your age, gender, political views and association, you were regarded dangerous and worthy of cruel death.

What ZANU PF was doing at the time, was playing politics, desperate to win the PR war, even at the expense of our collective values as a young and diverse nation

The universal principle that says, "All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and pursuit of happiness," was not considered.

The denial of life, liberty and happiness to the people of Matabeleland through the Gukurahundi madness, and the subsequently marginalisation must have offended anyone's sense of justice and equality.
It will therefore be difficult to see VP Mujuru and her team as victims of Mugabe, worthy of the nation's sympathy.

For every inhuman act which Mugabe executed with impunity, from Gukurahundi, Murambatsvina, extra judiciary killings of opponents, torture and the recent savage attack on Itai Dzamara, all happened with the full blessing of VP Mujuru's team.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing" as JF Kennedy would remark. Amai Mujuri is not a victim of the evil machinations of a faction within ZANU PF, because she has seen this game played against the people of Zimbabwe and looked the other way.

Zimbabweans have been denied their democratic right to choose the government of their choice, either through violence or manipulation of the electoral institutions.

The judiciary has been so compromised by design to the extent that the phrase "as sober as a judge" does not apply in Zimbabwe.

Our supposedly three spheres of government (Judiciary, Legislature and the executive) are nothing but a big choir of Mugabe's dynasty praise singers

It's no wonder no one respects our country, and just the sight of our passport in the world airports solicits a frown and suspicion from immigration officials.

How did we as a nation get here? How could we not halt the erosion of our democratic institutions and the undermining of our collective values as a people?

Seduced by the trappings of power, VP Mujuru and her team looked the other way when our country was turned to a banana republic.

The rhetoric of them versus us, Blacks versus Whites, Imperialists verses Us, MDC versus ZANU, Shona versus Ndebele and Mugabe versus Tsvangirai, was deliberately, given a new impetuous.

The room and space for a 3rd way, that puts Zimbabwe and her people first, were deliberately stifled for political expediency.

What VP Mujuri, is realising now, albeit too late in my view, is that indeed there is no honour amongst thieves.

In short l am saying, VP Mujuru is reaping the effects of, turned off humanity and our value system of UBUNTU by her government.

Whose consequences did not just silence the opposition but snuffed out hope for everyone.
So as she soldiers on, one hopes henceforth she will stand for the right, even when it's not the popular thing to do.

She however, has maintained her dignity and propriety in the mist of sustained provocation, some of it below the belt, even by the low standards of her party.

One hopes that as the delegates vote in that congress in December, they will do something unlike ZANU PF, and put the country first and vote ZANU's lesser evil, VP Mujuru. However, do not hold your breath.

Dlayila Om'hle, MDC-T NEC Member writing in my personal capacity.