Faction that supports Mphoko's presidential falls by the wayside

As old age is threatening to relegate President Robert Mugabe to the old people's home, political vultures within and outside the fractured Zanu-pf party are now positioning themselves to grab power through means illegal and otherwise.

We have seen them and we know them all. Gamatox was the first and probably not the last to fall after its leader Joyce Mujuru, former Vice President of Zimbabwe, and her fellow accused were booted out for allegedly plotting to assassinate Zanu-pf President for life, Robert Mugabe. The faction has since developed into an opposition party known as ZimPF.

Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa's Lacoste faction is currently battling it out with faction G40, which is pro Mugabe family and supporting the presidential ambitions of the First Lady, Grace Mugabe.

It is evidently clear that all Zanu-pf VPs  fired or still within the party are leading a faction of some sort except for one, Phekelezela Mphoko. And the question is where is Mphoko's faction?

Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko is leading a silent and "over" disciplined faction composed of Matebeles. This grouping has succumbed to tribal supremacy. It has, for some reasons, accepted its second class citizen status, and knows its place in the politics of Zimbabwe.

Any attempt to go for the highest position in the land for this faction has fallen by the wayside as no one from Mashonaland will support a Matebele presidential candidate. So Mphoko's faction has settled for the second best position and its role is to mobilise support in Matabeleland for one of Zanu-pf factions in exchange of small cash and dummy VP position nothing more than that.

It must be noted that this group does not stand for the interests of the people of Matabeleland but for those of their masters in Harare, their children and stomachs. We have 36 barren years to prove that and history is slowly but surely pushing them to the dustbins of irrelevance.

This is not new, actually it is an affirmation of what MLO and the people of Matebeleland at large already know, that when you are from Matabeleland, you can have all academic qualifications, loyalty and war credentials that make the curriculum vitae needed in Zanupf. But when it comes to biggest and strategic political positions tribalism will always reign supreme over merit.

The situation is the same in the opposition parties like MD T where Thokozani Khupe is Vice President, Tendai Biti led PDP where Sipepa Nkomo who recently resigned and was replaced with yet another Matebele, Kucaca Phulu.

ZimPF remains without a vice president and rumour has it that it has already fished from the small pond of PDP as Sipepa Nkomo from Matabeleland is said to be waiting to be unveiled as ZimPf Vice President.

Recently we have been subjected to two embarrassing "vice presidents controversies". Sipepa Nkomo, the former Vice President of PDP ditched his party for the same position at ZimPF. The Minister of State Security, Kembo Mohadi was crowned as the VP of the Mnangagwa faction by a prophet. He was given a milky white handkerchief similar to that which used to be carried by the former President of Zambia Kenneth Kaunda. The piece of cloth will protect him from the witches from Borrowdale the prophet said. More evidence that while Shonas are fighting for higher positions some Matebeles are fighting for  second class positions.

This shows that tribal discriminatory polices in Zimbabwe are cast in stone like the 10 commandments of the bible. It seems every opposition party in Zimbabwe particularly Mashonaland uses the evil Grand Plan of 1979 as their political script. Believe it or not but this conspiracy is assisted and abated by our own who are playing politics of the stomach.

This is a red flag which is indicates that there is no future for Matabeles in Zimbabwe as the majority Shona do not want to share major political positions in government, and the national cake with the people of Matabeleland. Zanu pf needed 36 years in power to teach the Shona electorate to vote based on regional and tribal lines but now they are in a fix as the people of Matabeleland are now ditching oppressive Zimbabwe for their soon to be established Republic of Matabeleland.

Of late, the attitude of Matebeleland masses towards the politics of Zimbabwe has dramatically changed as the majority of Matebeles have discovered that they are being short changed and that the Zimbabwe political terrain is dominated by one tribe that is not prepared to share power and views other tribes as inferior.

People of all walks life dominated by the youth are now supporting the Matabeleland restoration cause. Prompting those who live by lies and self deception to spread falsehoods that drivers of Matabeleland restoration cause are headless chickens stranded in the middle of nowhere without strategy or plan.

Be warned, be very warned! It is not the case with MLO. Matabeleland Liberation Organisation Supreme Council will not announce the strategy as our slogan, "izenzo kungemazwi", says it all, we have decided to let the plan of action announce itself. And it will, in due cause.

Izenzo kungemazwi!

Israel Dube
MLO Secretary for Information and Public Affairs.
infomlo13@gmail.com