Opinion / Columnist
Mnangagwa says Mugabe never 'deserted the people' but will he repeat that under oath!
04 Sep 2015 at 06:07hrs | Views
VP Emmerson Mnangagwa told New Africa Magazine that Mugabe's secret to staying in power for 35 years is "because he is a principled leader" who has championed the interests of the black people and has never deserted them.
"So his (Mugabe) people, the majority in this country, stand with him in good and bad times, and he does not desert his people. This is why he has survived. That is the secret," said Mnangagwa.
What a truckload of bull!
Mugabe deserted the people soon after independence, if not before, when he reneged on the revolutionary values of freedom, justice, peace, human rights and dignity to all Zimbabweans in pursuit of his selfish goal of securing absolute power for himself and his Zanu PF friends by creating a de facto one-party dictatorship. Of course Mugabe knew one could not honour the people's right to a free and meaningful democratic vote in a one-party state; the two were mutually exclusive. And yet he still resolutely pursued his one-party dictatorship regardless.
When Mugabe got into power in 1980 he has methodically worked to undermine the country's democratic institutions and has on many occasions put himself and his party thugs above for singular purpose of securing absolute political power and create a one-party dictatorship by hook or crook.
As time passed it became increasingly clear that his Zanu PF regime was incompetent and corrupt and was delivering mass poverty instead of mass prosperity as promised. It was this that hardened the people's resolve to end the Zanu PF dictatorship, have democratic changes to restore their democratic right to a meaningful vote and with it the right to end the one-party state and regime change.
Mugabe's responded to the growing demands for regime change by going up a gear with his political intimidation and vote rigging. In the 2008 elections when he lost the March elections and falsified the results to justify the need for a presidential runoff, he went into overdrive to be sure he did not lose again.
In July 2008 presidential runoff, Mugabe declared war on the innocent and defenceless people of Zimbabwe in his ruthless determination to force them to vote for him and Zanu PF. The level of violence he unleashed on the nation was so brutal and widespread that not even the SADC or AU election observers; known for their see-nothing, hear-nothing and say-nothing approach to election monitoring; could pretend they saw nothing and heard nothing. They had no choice but to condemn the election process.
How can anyone say Mugabe is a principled leader when he so callously ditched freedom, human rights, justice and all the other human niceties for which the whole liberation war was about and for which so many suffered and thousands lost their very lives. No principled leader would betray the cause for the selfish love of power and wealth.
Mugabe has managed to stay in power for 35 years because he destroyed the nation's democratic institutions and then carried out a ruthless campaign of intimidation, vote rigging and even murdered his political opponents and ordinary people just to stay in power.
If Mugabe has never rigged elections or kill anyone for selfish political gain, as VP Mnangagwa would have us believe, then why did SADC and AU reject his election victory in the July 2008 presidential runoff and forcing him to go in the GNU? Then the over 30 000 innocent Zimbabweans murdered in politically motivated violence are all a figment of the nation's imagination.
No Mugabe has used every manner of dirty trickery including rigging the vote and even the murder of the innocent to stay in power, VP Mnangagwa should not try to falsify the historic records.
One of these fine days Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, alias "Ngwena" or "Crocodile", will be asked once again to tell us what really was Mugabe's secret to staying in power all these years. This time he would be asked to place his right hand on the good book and swear to "tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!"
The truth will reveal that the real Mugabe is an incompetent, corrupt and ruthless tyrant with a flair for rigging elections and squashed like ants all those who threatened his hold on power. Mnangagwa will be able to give details of the vote rigging, for example, after all he has been Mugabe's right-hand man in all these devilish scheming.
Mnangagwa will also confirm under oath that his claim that Mugabe was principled leader who never deserting the people was all cock and bull for the naïve and gullible people out there.
"So his (Mugabe) people, the majority in this country, stand with him in good and bad times, and he does not desert his people. This is why he has survived. That is the secret," said Mnangagwa.
What a truckload of bull!
Mugabe deserted the people soon after independence, if not before, when he reneged on the revolutionary values of freedom, justice, peace, human rights and dignity to all Zimbabweans in pursuit of his selfish goal of securing absolute power for himself and his Zanu PF friends by creating a de facto one-party dictatorship. Of course Mugabe knew one could not honour the people's right to a free and meaningful democratic vote in a one-party state; the two were mutually exclusive. And yet he still resolutely pursued his one-party dictatorship regardless.
When Mugabe got into power in 1980 he has methodically worked to undermine the country's democratic institutions and has on many occasions put himself and his party thugs above for singular purpose of securing absolute political power and create a one-party dictatorship by hook or crook.
As time passed it became increasingly clear that his Zanu PF regime was incompetent and corrupt and was delivering mass poverty instead of mass prosperity as promised. It was this that hardened the people's resolve to end the Zanu PF dictatorship, have democratic changes to restore their democratic right to a meaningful vote and with it the right to end the one-party state and regime change.
Mugabe's responded to the growing demands for regime change by going up a gear with his political intimidation and vote rigging. In the 2008 elections when he lost the March elections and falsified the results to justify the need for a presidential runoff, he went into overdrive to be sure he did not lose again.
In July 2008 presidential runoff, Mugabe declared war on the innocent and defenceless people of Zimbabwe in his ruthless determination to force them to vote for him and Zanu PF. The level of violence he unleashed on the nation was so brutal and widespread that not even the SADC or AU election observers; known for their see-nothing, hear-nothing and say-nothing approach to election monitoring; could pretend they saw nothing and heard nothing. They had no choice but to condemn the election process.
How can anyone say Mugabe is a principled leader when he so callously ditched freedom, human rights, justice and all the other human niceties for which the whole liberation war was about and for which so many suffered and thousands lost their very lives. No principled leader would betray the cause for the selfish love of power and wealth.
Mugabe has managed to stay in power for 35 years because he destroyed the nation's democratic institutions and then carried out a ruthless campaign of intimidation, vote rigging and even murdered his political opponents and ordinary people just to stay in power.
If Mugabe has never rigged elections or kill anyone for selfish political gain, as VP Mnangagwa would have us believe, then why did SADC and AU reject his election victory in the July 2008 presidential runoff and forcing him to go in the GNU? Then the over 30 000 innocent Zimbabweans murdered in politically motivated violence are all a figment of the nation's imagination.
No Mugabe has used every manner of dirty trickery including rigging the vote and even the murder of the innocent to stay in power, VP Mnangagwa should not try to falsify the historic records.
One of these fine days Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, alias "Ngwena" or "Crocodile", will be asked once again to tell us what really was Mugabe's secret to staying in power all these years. This time he would be asked to place his right hand on the good book and swear to "tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth!"
The truth will reveal that the real Mugabe is an incompetent, corrupt and ruthless tyrant with a flair for rigging elections and squashed like ants all those who threatened his hold on power. Mnangagwa will be able to give details of the vote rigging, for example, after all he has been Mugabe's right-hand man in all these devilish scheming.
Mnangagwa will also confirm under oath that his claim that Mugabe was principled leader who never deserting the people was all cock and bull for the naïve and gullible people out there.
Source - Wilbert Mukori
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