Opinion / Columnist
MDC-T says 'devil' Mujuru is not needed in coalition - once upon a time she was linchpin
16 Feb 2017 at 01:54hrs | Views
One of Tsvangirai's senior advisors told the Daily Maverick, speaking anonymously: "We know we need to work with Mujuru. But it feels like we are dealing with the devil."
Nonsense, many people said Joice Mujuru was the linchpin that gave Zimbabwe's, otherwise directionless and confused, opposition camp some gravitas and a sense of purpose until the wheels came off her ZimPF party following the party's defeat in the Bikita West by elections three weeks ago. The same people who praised her to the high heaven as a great leader, sweeping her tarnished Zanu PF record as a corrupt and incompetent leader under the carpet, are now calling her the devil.
When Joice Mujuru was booted out of Zanu PF in 2014 the opposition camp welcomed her and ex-Zanu PF colleagues with open arms for two reasons:
1) It is no secret that both Morgan Tsvangirai and Tendai Biti's were pulling all the stops to woo Joice Mujuru into a partnership. The two gentlemen were after her hand because she is a filthy rich widow, from all the wealth she and her late husband have amassed from all the looting and plunder during her 34 years at the heart of the corrupt Zanu PF government. The two gentlemen need her money, desperately; their respective parties are stone-broke after they were deserted by all its donors in disgust for failing to implement even one democratic reform during the GNU.
2) After squandering their chance to implement the reforms during the GNU resulting in allowing Zanu PF to blatantly rig the July 2013 elections; the opposition was at a total loss as to how they will stop Zanu PF rigging future elections until Mai Mujuru and her ZimPF friends' joining the opposition camp gave the answer. Everyone thought ZimPF, being ex Zanu PF members, will have inside information on how Mugabe rigged elections and will thus device counter measures.
A grand opposition coalition bringing together Joice Mujuru and her ex-Zanu PF members with their extensive knowledge of Zanu PF vote rigging tactics plus her financial clout and Morgan Tsvangirai and his huge MDC crowd of yesteryears, if it is still there, would be unbeatable.
However, the 21 st January 2017 Bikita West by election showed that Zanu PF was still able to blatant intimidate the voters, to buy votes, etc. Senior ZimPF members like Makova, an ex-Zanu PF MP, did not do anything to stop or counter Zanu PF's vote rigging tactics. The Zanu PF candidate won the by election with a convincing 78% of the vote.
Sadly, the by election defeat triggered the self-distract gene in ZimPF as the members traded accusation of being corrupt and incompetent resulting is the party splitting into two. It is the same gene that is behind Zanu PF's own on-going implosion which resulted in Mai Mujuru, Didymus Mutasa and 150 other Zanu PF big-wigs being booted out in 2014.
"Alex Magaisa (former Tsvangirai adviser) argues that the big winner is Tsvangirai himself, because Mujuru's case to be leader of the opposition coalition has been substantially weakened. In fact, the MDC-T may no longer feel the need to include any elements of ZimPF," reported Daily Maverick.
Alex Magaisa's opinion must be taken with a shovelful of salt; he is the man who advised Tsvangirai and MDC leaders not to implement even one democratic reform during the GNU landing us in this mess. On this occasion Magaisa's opinion is once again completely off the mark because, as long as nothing is done to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections, Zanu PF will blatantly rig the next elections and win regardless of how many opposition parties Tsvangirai fits in in his "big tent grand opposition coalition!"
It was people like Alex Magaisa who advised Tsvangirai not to worry with implementing the democratic reforms during the GNU as MDC was certain to win the July 2013 elections "regardless the Zanu PF vote rigging shenanigans", as Tsvangirai latter admitted.
It is clear the same dodgy advisers are at it again; this time they are telling the gullible Tsvangirai that forming any opposition coalition, even of recycled corrupt and incompetent politicians, is the silver bullet! Before ZimPF imploded they told Tsvangirai he need Mujuru in the big tent and now they call her a devil and pretend as if they had always advised against her joining the coalition. These so-called advisers are nothing but a bunch of utterly useless nincompoops!
Nonsense, many people said Joice Mujuru was the linchpin that gave Zimbabwe's, otherwise directionless and confused, opposition camp some gravitas and a sense of purpose until the wheels came off her ZimPF party following the party's defeat in the Bikita West by elections three weeks ago. The same people who praised her to the high heaven as a great leader, sweeping her tarnished Zanu PF record as a corrupt and incompetent leader under the carpet, are now calling her the devil.
When Joice Mujuru was booted out of Zanu PF in 2014 the opposition camp welcomed her and ex-Zanu PF colleagues with open arms for two reasons:
1) It is no secret that both Morgan Tsvangirai and Tendai Biti's were pulling all the stops to woo Joice Mujuru into a partnership. The two gentlemen were after her hand because she is a filthy rich widow, from all the wealth she and her late husband have amassed from all the looting and plunder during her 34 years at the heart of the corrupt Zanu PF government. The two gentlemen need her money, desperately; their respective parties are stone-broke after they were deserted by all its donors in disgust for failing to implement even one democratic reform during the GNU.
2) After squandering their chance to implement the reforms during the GNU resulting in allowing Zanu PF to blatantly rig the July 2013 elections; the opposition was at a total loss as to how they will stop Zanu PF rigging future elections until Mai Mujuru and her ZimPF friends' joining the opposition camp gave the answer. Everyone thought ZimPF, being ex Zanu PF members, will have inside information on how Mugabe rigged elections and will thus device counter measures.
A grand opposition coalition bringing together Joice Mujuru and her ex-Zanu PF members with their extensive knowledge of Zanu PF vote rigging tactics plus her financial clout and Morgan Tsvangirai and his huge MDC crowd of yesteryears, if it is still there, would be unbeatable.
Sadly, the by election defeat triggered the self-distract gene in ZimPF as the members traded accusation of being corrupt and incompetent resulting is the party splitting into two. It is the same gene that is behind Zanu PF's own on-going implosion which resulted in Mai Mujuru, Didymus Mutasa and 150 other Zanu PF big-wigs being booted out in 2014.
"Alex Magaisa (former Tsvangirai adviser) argues that the big winner is Tsvangirai himself, because Mujuru's case to be leader of the opposition coalition has been substantially weakened. In fact, the MDC-T may no longer feel the need to include any elements of ZimPF," reported Daily Maverick.
Alex Magaisa's opinion must be taken with a shovelful of salt; he is the man who advised Tsvangirai and MDC leaders not to implement even one democratic reform during the GNU landing us in this mess. On this occasion Magaisa's opinion is once again completely off the mark because, as long as nothing is done to stop Zanu PF rigging the elections, Zanu PF will blatantly rig the next elections and win regardless of how many opposition parties Tsvangirai fits in in his "big tent grand opposition coalition!"
It was people like Alex Magaisa who advised Tsvangirai not to worry with implementing the democratic reforms during the GNU as MDC was certain to win the July 2013 elections "regardless the Zanu PF vote rigging shenanigans", as Tsvangirai latter admitted.
It is clear the same dodgy advisers are at it again; this time they are telling the gullible Tsvangirai that forming any opposition coalition, even of recycled corrupt and incompetent politicians, is the silver bullet! Before ZimPF imploded they told Tsvangirai he need Mujuru in the big tent and now they call her a devil and pretend as if they had always advised against her joining the coalition. These so-called advisers are nothing but a bunch of utterly useless nincompoops!
Source - Patrick Guramatunhu
All articles and letters published on Bulawayo24 have been independently written by members of Bulawayo24's community. The views of users published on Bulawayo24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Bulawayo24. Bulawayo24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.