Opinion / Columnist
'Youths remain Tsvangirai's tools ready to be deployed to settle differences'
07 Aug 2017 at 10:38hrs | Views
As the 2018 beckons, the MDC-T brand is growing increasingly unattractive to donors, unattractive to fence-sitters, unattractive to new political entrants, and - what's scary in this day and age - the MDC-T has become unattractive to the women voters. Any officials who differ with Morgan Tsvangirai will now have to go around in police escort wear hard hats when going to party meetings.
If the party youths could cyber-bully Fadzayi Mahere who was never an MDC-T member for opting to stand in the next elections as an independent, the same youths can obviously break the limbs and arms of anyone within the party who dares differ with their demi-god Morgan Tsvangirai. The list of casualties is mounting, not least among them Madame Thokozani Khupe, a whole elected MDC-T Vice President. The beating up of Madame Khupe at the Bulawayo party offices this past weekend vindicates the decisions of younger female politicians like Linda Tsungirirai Masarira , Fadzayi Mahere and several others to not support this party affirmatively. Cyberbullying other candidates is bad enough; beating up your own elected Vice-President is beyond deplorable.
Violence in any political party scares away the fresh ideas, the funds, and the ordinary sympathizer. It pushes the fence-sitter to slide over to the other side, or to stay away from political processes altogether. That is the last thing any so-called democratic movement needs.
A clique of the party youths are quick to settle any differences in the party by way of violence. These are the same youths that Tsvangirai and other party founders seek to block from contesting for any parliamentary seats in 2018. ZANU PF, for all its excesses, has always allowed youthful contenders like Justice Wadyajena and Varaidzo Mupunga to challenge and contest the older guard at the polls.
The MDC-T rearview mirror is fast filling up with images of party officials who got beaten up for thinking differently from Morgan Tsvangirai. While Madame Khupe's beating up is the highest profile case to date, many other party officials have had youths set on them for so long a time, even way back in 2001.
In 2006, then-MDC Mutambara Harare North legislator Mrs. Trudy Stevenson and four other high-ranking party officials were attacked with machetes. The lady suffered a fractured cheek bone, broken wrist, and bruises on her back and chest. She identified the perpetrators as some known MDC-T youths.
It does not help matters that the violence frequently occurs at party offices, worst of all at the party Headquarters the Harvest House. In 2010 at the Harvest House, the youths assaulted then party director-general Toendepi Shonhe over policy differences. Former MDC-T member Ms. Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga was assaulted by party youths twice in a space of just four years: in 2001 in Dzivarasekwa and in 2005 at the Harvest House. Also attacked at the Harvest House in 2014 was then MDC-T Treasure Mr. Elton Mangoma and then Youth Secretary-General Mr. Promise Mkwananzi. Yet another victim at Harvest House in 2014 was one Miss Angela Hwanyanya who was left with injuries to the head, eye and forehead. Her crime, as with the crimes of all the other victims, was to differ with the wishes of Morgan Tsvangirai.
This callous culture in the MDC-T has been nurtured by Tsvangirai himself. He never reprimands the violent thugs or have them expelled. All his office ever does is issue a lukewarm statement blaming ZANU PF and the CIO for what is clearly an MDC in-house job. Over this past weekend, Chalton Hwende, a senior party official and one of the most intolerant and uncouth within the top echelons, had the guts to insinuate on Facebook that any officials who oppose the way of "change" have themselves to blame if attacked by the impatient youth. With such leaders and their hangers-on, Zimbabwe is doomed if they are allowed access to state power.
No action will be taken to censure or reprimand Hwende, the same way no action has ever been taken against the known MDC-T violent youths. These youths remain Morgan Tsvangirai's tools ready to be deployed to settle differences by way of blood-spilling whenever the need arises. So very sad for a party that was the hope of many Zimbabweans seeking a democratic change of governance.
If the party youths could cyber-bully Fadzayi Mahere who was never an MDC-T member for opting to stand in the next elections as an independent, the same youths can obviously break the limbs and arms of anyone within the party who dares differ with their demi-god Morgan Tsvangirai. The list of casualties is mounting, not least among them Madame Thokozani Khupe, a whole elected MDC-T Vice President. The beating up of Madame Khupe at the Bulawayo party offices this past weekend vindicates the decisions of younger female politicians like Linda Tsungirirai Masarira , Fadzayi Mahere and several others to not support this party affirmatively. Cyberbullying other candidates is bad enough; beating up your own elected Vice-President is beyond deplorable.
Violence in any political party scares away the fresh ideas, the funds, and the ordinary sympathizer. It pushes the fence-sitter to slide over to the other side, or to stay away from political processes altogether. That is the last thing any so-called democratic movement needs.
A clique of the party youths are quick to settle any differences in the party by way of violence. These are the same youths that Tsvangirai and other party founders seek to block from contesting for any parliamentary seats in 2018. ZANU PF, for all its excesses, has always allowed youthful contenders like Justice Wadyajena and Varaidzo Mupunga to challenge and contest the older guard at the polls.
In 2006, then-MDC Mutambara Harare North legislator Mrs. Trudy Stevenson and four other high-ranking party officials were attacked with machetes. The lady suffered a fractured cheek bone, broken wrist, and bruises on her back and chest. She identified the perpetrators as some known MDC-T youths.
It does not help matters that the violence frequently occurs at party offices, worst of all at the party Headquarters the Harvest House. In 2010 at the Harvest House, the youths assaulted then party director-general Toendepi Shonhe over policy differences. Former MDC-T member Ms. Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga was assaulted by party youths twice in a space of just four years: in 2001 in Dzivarasekwa and in 2005 at the Harvest House. Also attacked at the Harvest House in 2014 was then MDC-T Treasure Mr. Elton Mangoma and then Youth Secretary-General Mr. Promise Mkwananzi. Yet another victim at Harvest House in 2014 was one Miss Angela Hwanyanya who was left with injuries to the head, eye and forehead. Her crime, as with the crimes of all the other victims, was to differ with the wishes of Morgan Tsvangirai.
This callous culture in the MDC-T has been nurtured by Tsvangirai himself. He never reprimands the violent thugs or have them expelled. All his office ever does is issue a lukewarm statement blaming ZANU PF and the CIO for what is clearly an MDC in-house job. Over this past weekend, Chalton Hwende, a senior party official and one of the most intolerant and uncouth within the top echelons, had the guts to insinuate on Facebook that any officials who oppose the way of "change" have themselves to blame if attacked by the impatient youth. With such leaders and their hangers-on, Zimbabwe is doomed if they are allowed access to state power.
No action will be taken to censure or reprimand Hwende, the same way no action has ever been taken against the known MDC-T violent youths. These youths remain Morgan Tsvangirai's tools ready to be deployed to settle differences by way of blood-spilling whenever the need arises. So very sad for a party that was the hope of many Zimbabweans seeking a democratic change of governance.
Source - Felix Chiororo on Facebook
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