Opinion / Columnist
Tsvangirai's greed has turned into madness and now it threatens us all
23 Sep 2017 at 20:43hrs | Views
When I was a boy I visited my Aunt, my father's step sister, and her family in Bulawayo. Her husband worked at Ingutsheni Mental Hospital. The one image that has stayed with me all life is of this patient, strong as an ox, toiling in the hot sun watering the garden with a leaking bucket. She was soaked with water and mud.
"Once she sets her mind on doing something she will not stop," explained my Uncle. "Watering the garden is one of her favourite chores. As long as she is not doing anyone else or herself any harm we let her."
But why the leaking bucket?
"Well, that is part of the test. If she was a full shilling, she would ask for one that is not leaking.
"MaGumbo! (the patient's totem family name)" called out my uncle. "Your bucket in leaking!"
MaGumbo stopped and looked at the bucket. "Aahayii!" The disappointment in her voice was palpable.
"I will carry the bucket on my head!" She said, after a thoughtful pose; setting off with renewed zeal and passion born of the lightning bolt of inspiration! She soon looked like a chicken caught in a storm, in her drenched khaki hospital drab; but toiled on regardless.
Save (Tsvangirai's totem family name) has been told a thousand times that it is insane to keep contesting Zimbabwean flawed elections which Zanu PF is free to rig the vote and expect a difference result.
Zanu PF's unbeatable vote rigging exploits have been graphically proven beyond all doubt in the 2008 elections. Tsvangirai polled 73% of the vote, according to Mugabe's own inadvertent admission, but before the result was made public ZEC was ordered to recount the 5 million or so votes. After six weeks of cooking up the figures, the 73% was whittled down to 47% - enough to deny Tsvangirai an outright victory and forcing a run-off.
In the run-off, Mugabe set out to harass, beat, rape and even murdered over 500 innocent Zimbabweans for the sole purpose of forcing the people to vote for him. It worked! He overturned his 27% in March into an 84% landslide victory in June – one of the greatest vote swing in human history.
The whole world, including AU and SADC, refused to recognise Zanu PF's 2008 electoral victory after all that blatant cooking up of the vote count and wanton violence. SADC ordered fresh elections but first the GNU was ordered to implement a raft of reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging the vote. Save and his MDC colleagues failed to get even one reform implemented.
SADC leaders and anyone with any common sense advised Save & co. not to contest the 2013 elections with no reforms in place because Zanu PF will just rig the vote again. If Save and many other MDC leaders did not see the futility of contesting flawed elections, a few like David Coltart, MDC Minister of education during the GNU, did.
"The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn't now do the obvious – withdraw from the elections," Coltart admitted in his recent book.
"The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility."
It was only after contesting the 2013 elections and suffering another heavy defeat that Save & co. came to their senses and agreed it was, indeed, futile to contest flawed elections. "No reform, no elections!" their respective party congresses resolved.
Sadly, they all since changed their minds, they are all going to contest next year's elections although not even one reform has been implemented since the July 2013 rigged elections. Save, has had his three lightning-bolts of inspirations to fire him up to contest the flawed elections.
a) Form the grand coalition, the MDC Alliance
Whilst a coalition will reduce splitting the opposition vote and thus improve their chance of winning in a few more parliamentary and senatorial seats it will do nothing to stop Zanu PF winning the presidency and overall majority in both houses. Mugabe won 62% of the votes in 2013 and a single opposition candidate would have got 38% and still lose. election.
b) Mounted a concerted voter education and mobilization
Judging from the attendances at MDC rallies before the July 2013 elections, it is nonsense to even suggest that voter apathy had anything to do with Zanu PF's victory. Mugabe rigged the vote, we all saw the bussed hooded Zanu PF youths who casted multiple votes, the nearly one million opposition supporters denied the vote because their details deliberately entered in wrong constituent voters' roll, etc. The regime refused to release a verifiable 2013 voters' roll which is the smoking gun to its vote rigging activities.
Even if one assumed voter apathy was the problem in the past, Zanu PF already taken the sting out of the opposition drive to get people to register as voters by delaying the exercise which should have started three years ago at the latest until now. There is no way ZEC, even with all the good will, can register 7 million voters in four months and produce a verifiable voters' roll.
c) MDC has announced it has devised its Winning In Rigged Elections strategies
These are all nothing more than the fable of mouse tying the bell round the cat.
All Save's lightning-bolt inspirations are no wise than maGumbo's "I will carry the bucket on my head!" Save is going to drag the nation into yet another utterly futile election to try, for the umpteenth time, to win rigged elections.
Everyone knows that Mugabe and Zanu PF will never win free, fair and credible elections, not with their chequered record of economic failures and political tyranny. All we have to do is implement the democratic reforms to stop Mugabe rigging the vote. Of course, it is simple and very logical to someone who is sane; to the insane, there is no such thing as common sense.
"When it is full moon, MaGumbo toil away watering the garden in the pouring rain!" my uncle explained.
What is infuriate about our situation is:
1) Save & co. did not implement even one democratic reform during the GNU because they did not appreciate the importance of the reforms; they did. Mugabe bribed them with the trappings of high office, ministerial limos, very generous salaries and allowances, a former white-owned farm for Ncube, a $4 million mansion for Tsvangirai, etc. And in return the MDC leaders kicked reforms into the tall grass.
Even when it was obvious that Zanu PF was rigging the vote, MDC leaders still refused to do the obvious thing and demand reforms because they were after the few gravy train seats Zanu PF was giving away as bribes to those who contested the flawed elections, as David Coltart has confessed. The opposition politicians are contesting next year's flawed and illegal elections for the same scraps Zanu PF throws away.
2) MaGumbo's insane activity of watering the garden did no one else any harm Save & co.'s failure to implement the reforms and continues participation in flawed elections are the root cause we are still stuck with this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship. Zimbabwe is in a serious economic situation with unemployment now a nauseating 90% plus, 72.3% of our people are living on US1.00 or less a day, etc. The last thing we want is another rigged election and yet that is exactly what Save & co. are dragging us into.
Contesting next year's elections with no reforms is sheer madness. Tsvangirai & co.'s greed have dulled their minds, they cannot even listen to reason and that is why they failed to implement even one reform during the GNU and will continue contesting elections regardless how flawed and illegal the process has become. We, the people, must acknowledge Save is no longer a full shilling and stop following him blindly like sheep.
We must stand firm in our demand for reform before elections and refuse to have anything to do with the ongoing elections which we know a flawed and will be rigged.
"Once she sets her mind on doing something she will not stop," explained my Uncle. "Watering the garden is one of her favourite chores. As long as she is not doing anyone else or herself any harm we let her."
But why the leaking bucket?
"Well, that is part of the test. If she was a full shilling, she would ask for one that is not leaking.
"MaGumbo! (the patient's totem family name)" called out my uncle. "Your bucket in leaking!"
MaGumbo stopped and looked at the bucket. "Aahayii!" The disappointment in her voice was palpable.
"I will carry the bucket on my head!" She said, after a thoughtful pose; setting off with renewed zeal and passion born of the lightning bolt of inspiration! She soon looked like a chicken caught in a storm, in her drenched khaki hospital drab; but toiled on regardless.
Save (Tsvangirai's totem family name) has been told a thousand times that it is insane to keep contesting Zimbabwean flawed elections which Zanu PF is free to rig the vote and expect a difference result.
Zanu PF's unbeatable vote rigging exploits have been graphically proven beyond all doubt in the 2008 elections. Tsvangirai polled 73% of the vote, according to Mugabe's own inadvertent admission, but before the result was made public ZEC was ordered to recount the 5 million or so votes. After six weeks of cooking up the figures, the 73% was whittled down to 47% - enough to deny Tsvangirai an outright victory and forcing a run-off.
In the run-off, Mugabe set out to harass, beat, rape and even murdered over 500 innocent Zimbabweans for the sole purpose of forcing the people to vote for him. It worked! He overturned his 27% in March into an 84% landslide victory in June – one of the greatest vote swing in human history.
The whole world, including AU and SADC, refused to recognise Zanu PF's 2008 electoral victory after all that blatant cooking up of the vote count and wanton violence. SADC ordered fresh elections but first the GNU was ordered to implement a raft of reforms designed to stop Zanu PF rigging the vote. Save and his MDC colleagues failed to get even one reform implemented.
SADC leaders and anyone with any common sense advised Save & co. not to contest the 2013 elections with no reforms in place because Zanu PF will just rig the vote again. If Save and many other MDC leaders did not see the futility of contesting flawed elections, a few like David Coltart, MDC Minister of education during the GNU, did.
"The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn't now do the obvious – withdraw from the elections," Coltart admitted in his recent book.
"The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility."
It was only after contesting the 2013 elections and suffering another heavy defeat that Save & co. came to their senses and agreed it was, indeed, futile to contest flawed elections. "No reform, no elections!" their respective party congresses resolved.
Sadly, they all since changed their minds, they are all going to contest next year's elections although not even one reform has been implemented since the July 2013 rigged elections. Save, has had his three lightning-bolts of inspirations to fire him up to contest the flawed elections.
Whilst a coalition will reduce splitting the opposition vote and thus improve their chance of winning in a few more parliamentary and senatorial seats it will do nothing to stop Zanu PF winning the presidency and overall majority in both houses. Mugabe won 62% of the votes in 2013 and a single opposition candidate would have got 38% and still lose. election.
b) Mounted a concerted voter education and mobilization
Judging from the attendances at MDC rallies before the July 2013 elections, it is nonsense to even suggest that voter apathy had anything to do with Zanu PF's victory. Mugabe rigged the vote, we all saw the bussed hooded Zanu PF youths who casted multiple votes, the nearly one million opposition supporters denied the vote because their details deliberately entered in wrong constituent voters' roll, etc. The regime refused to release a verifiable 2013 voters' roll which is the smoking gun to its vote rigging activities.
Even if one assumed voter apathy was the problem in the past, Zanu PF already taken the sting out of the opposition drive to get people to register as voters by delaying the exercise which should have started three years ago at the latest until now. There is no way ZEC, even with all the good will, can register 7 million voters in four months and produce a verifiable voters' roll.
c) MDC has announced it has devised its Winning In Rigged Elections strategies
These are all nothing more than the fable of mouse tying the bell round the cat.
All Save's lightning-bolt inspirations are no wise than maGumbo's "I will carry the bucket on my head!" Save is going to drag the nation into yet another utterly futile election to try, for the umpteenth time, to win rigged elections.
Everyone knows that Mugabe and Zanu PF will never win free, fair and credible elections, not with their chequered record of economic failures and political tyranny. All we have to do is implement the democratic reforms to stop Mugabe rigging the vote. Of course, it is simple and very logical to someone who is sane; to the insane, there is no such thing as common sense.
"When it is full moon, MaGumbo toil away watering the garden in the pouring rain!" my uncle explained.
What is infuriate about our situation is:
1) Save & co. did not implement even one democratic reform during the GNU because they did not appreciate the importance of the reforms; they did. Mugabe bribed them with the trappings of high office, ministerial limos, very generous salaries and allowances, a former white-owned farm for Ncube, a $4 million mansion for Tsvangirai, etc. And in return the MDC leaders kicked reforms into the tall grass.
Even when it was obvious that Zanu PF was rigging the vote, MDC leaders still refused to do the obvious thing and demand reforms because they were after the few gravy train seats Zanu PF was giving away as bribes to those who contested the flawed elections, as David Coltart has confessed. The opposition politicians are contesting next year's flawed and illegal elections for the same scraps Zanu PF throws away.
2) MaGumbo's insane activity of watering the garden did no one else any harm Save & co.'s failure to implement the reforms and continues participation in flawed elections are the root cause we are still stuck with this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship. Zimbabwe is in a serious economic situation with unemployment now a nauseating 90% plus, 72.3% of our people are living on US1.00 or less a day, etc. The last thing we want is another rigged election and yet that is exactly what Save & co. are dragging us into.
Contesting next year's elections with no reforms is sheer madness. Tsvangirai & co.'s greed have dulled their minds, they cannot even listen to reason and that is why they failed to implement even one reform during the GNU and will continue contesting elections regardless how flawed and illegal the process has become. We, the people, must acknowledge Save is no longer a full shilling and stop following him blindly like sheep.
We must stand firm in our demand for reform before elections and refuse to have anything to do with the ongoing elections which we know a flawed and will be rigged.
Source - Wilbert Mukori
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