Tsvangirai - The master of political intrigue and political contradictions

In this instalment I posit that Mr. Tsvangriai is indeed a leader of serious political intrigue, serious political contradictions and serious short comings. It is therefore not a surprise why Zanu-PF, through  its fork tongued Professor Jonathan Moyo, is having a propaganda political bounty off Mr. Tsvangirai's back. He surely has political scars on his back and head that are as a result of his political miscalculations. Mr. Tsvangirai has become a political fodder for his political enemies out of his own short comings and a subject of public ridicule. The amazing story in all this is that the ceremonial Prime Minister of the current GNU has been illustriously sign posting his political enemies to the storage of his own political fodder. Like a pack of wolves, they have managed to go for the kill and they continue to do so with more opportunities given to them by this generous Prime Minister. He has become the Father Christmas of politics. Intriguing indeed! It never rains but pours for Mr. Tsvangirai but none knows whether he has the insight to realize that it is indeed falling down heavily on his political career. If he had the insight or developed one over these years, then he would have changed his ways by now. In this case to make my point even more apparent, I resort to Shakespeare's wise quote that says, 'Men at some time are masters of their fates: The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings".

Of Political Summersaults
In Morgan Tsvangirai, we have seen over years, the moulding and the making of an embarrassing doyen of political summersaults and indeed the nurturing of a possible Idi Amin of Zimbabwe. By any stretch of intellectual imagination, Mr. Tsvangirai's political summersaults, poor judgements and unprincipled positions he has taken in the past in a number of issues and is still yet to enthusiastically take in the future have become the story of fairy tales and legendary indeed. Even his political backers have cast serious doubts over his leadership capabilities much to the vindication of Professor Ncube's assessment of him.

By parachuting himself to being the doyen of such embarrassing political summersaults, Mr. Tsvangirai has made his party, the MDC-T, a party of political intrigue and contradictions that is bereft of visionary leadership that is required to transit Zimbabwe into a very challenging future ahead, a future that is already pregnant with serious competing political interests from various interested groups vying for survival in that country. Mr Tsvangirai's leadership has long been in doubt and one wonders whether he is steeled enough to withstand the neo-colonial agencies and their agendas as well as withstanding Mugabe's dangerous politics.

Greatness Thrust Upon Morgan
It must be said that Mr. Tsvangirai's political maturity, ever since MDC was formed in 1999, has never been demonstrated and will most likely never be demonstrated in the future. The list of his misjudgements are as long as a litany of complaints that he presented to Mugabe a few weeks ago about the malfunction of this present government that he supposedly runs. In this litany of complaints Morgan merely demonstrates to the world at large that he is ceremonial Prime Minister who has no powers at all to effect any meaningful change in government. The ministers that he leads would not even attend the meetings that he runs as a Prime Minister. He has no power and he cannot crack the whip and bring his ministers in line.

The long and short of it is that Morgan is a leader who was thrust into leadership without the key ingredient leadership credentials by Zimbabwe's economic downturn in the 1990's that affected everyone and every facet of life in Zimbabwe. The support of the nervous commercial farming citizenry of that country, who were worried dead sick that Mugabe's popularity had dwindled so much to the extent that he was left only with the land issue to use as a last political card to kick the hell out of them to conquer and retain power at all costs was helpful to Morgan's rise in opposition politics. The mere fact that he hailed from the northern parts of Zimbabwe helped him too.

It could be argued that the support of commercial farmers for MDC was a pre-emptive strike against Mugabe that was undertaken to safeguard their wealth for the future while for the Ndebele, it was and it still remains an opportune time to fight for truth and justice for the Gukurahundi Genocide and indeed  a long and arduous fight  to push back the frontiers of oppression, tribalism, discrimination and marginalization that have visited them since the birth of a ruthless Zimbabwean state,  a black state far more ruthless than the white Rhodesian state that the gallant ZIPRA forces, under the command and stewardship of Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo, fought gallantly to uproot with their ZANLA counterparts. Our northern brothers and sisters were in it for the deteriorating economic conditions that were staring them in their faces like the huge burning hell of Satan's paradise. The fast deteriorating economic quagmire of the 1990's frog marched them into opposition politics and they happily joined the southerners in the fight against Mugabe's tyrannical rule. MDC became a collection political outfit of people with different vested interests converging at the point of the need to remove Mugabe from power and install a new system of governance that protected their interest.

In a nutshell, these are the conditions that parachuted Mr. Tsvangirai into the influential position of being the leader of one of the biggest opposition parties in Africa in the 90's. Again the wisdom of Shakespeare is indeed apparent when he says that there are some who happen to have 'greatness thrust upon them'. It would appear that greatness that is achieved in this way, in a whirlwind or tornado way can at times prove disastrous to some as the dictates of reality bring challenging situations that need far much more than the greatness that is thrust on them. The extra bit required is called leadership.

Having outlined the conditions that brought Mr. Tsvangirai into the helm of opposition politics in that God forsaken country, I return to the focus of this instalment, that is Mr. Tsvangirai's political summersaults, poor judgements and indeed his political contradictions that have since become legendary in Zimbabwe and beyond its borders.

The Demi-Gods of Zimbabwe and Zanu-PF Culture
In the past week and days, we have been entertained once again by Mr. Tsvangirai's political summersaults that drew the attention of many from across political organisations and people of different political persuasions. This time this doyen of political summersaults declared that Gabriel Robert Mugabe and himself were chosen and anointed by God to rule Zimbabwe. One of the 10 commandments of the bible state that God's followers should not misuse his name for their own ends. Morgan is doing such on his behalf and on the behalf of Mugabe. Basically, the view advanced here by Morgan is that he and Mugabe are the demi-gods of Zimbabwe who have a Godly induced entitlement to rule that country. It is all balderdash from Morgan.

But again this declaration, that Mugabe is 'the Son of God' has always been made by Zanu-PF zealots and hangers-on ever since Mugabe came to power in 1980. Now Morgan, a Zanu-PF rebel by strict definition, is also insinuating that he is another chosen and anointed 'Son of God' who is meant to take over from Bob who is a chosen Son of God to rule Zimbabwe. What we are witnessing is the living of a Zanu-PF culture in opposition politics. Some might argue that this is not surprising at all since Morgan is cut from the hem of Zanu-PF and its established and rooted crazy political culture, where an 88 year old is still fighting hard to remain in power. He and a number of his followers in his MDC-T camp are the products of Zanu-PF. This is the reason why Charamba has been singing songs of joy about Morgan statement and making brag about the Dear Great Leader whose greatness is even recognised by his political opponents.

But again we have to understand this stubborn fact staring at us every now and again. Morgan and his lot were driven to opposition politics not because of a sincere political journey to overhaul the Zanu-PF established system of tyranny but as a way of merely replacing Mugabe from power and then continuing from where their hero left. Zanu-PF politics is still their way of life and their modus operandi. They are as violent and as corrupt and criminal as Zanu-PF itself. The latest corruptometer points to Morgan and his 4 MPs including those from Zanu-PF having their hands in the till. The alleged swindling of 1.5 million dollars from government coffers by Morgan and the alleged swindling of funds meant for constituency development points to some of his MPs and those from Zanu-PF. The violence-meter also points to MDC-T and Zanu-PF. These are strange bed fellows that are not strange bed fellows in reality. They are birds of the same feather flocking together.

Mr. Tsvangirai, like his hero Mugabe in the 80s, is already preaching the 'Son of God' gospel about himself and his leadership to his multitude of followers. Morgan's followers, like Mugabe's followers are endlessly and enthusiastically ululating, bleating and clapping hands for him all the way to his dictatorship's den. The fact of the matter is that the majority of Zimbabweans have a short memory equalling that of millipedes. The greatest dictator is still in power in Zimbabwe and they are busy nurturing another to take over and do business as usual. Old habits never die.

Morgan's Statement Versus The Victims of Mugabe's rule
Morgan's God statement is indeed a fully loaded statement that needs to be taken apart or unpacked for a better understanding of the mind of an emerging dictator admiring a ruthless, blood-letting and an established tyrant of our times. We need to 'unzip' that mind to be able to understand it a little better.

The implication of Mr. Tsvangirai's statement about Mugabe and himself is indeed troubling to say the least. If Mugabe was chosen by God to rule Zimbabwe, it is therefore implied that the killing of MDC activists, the chaotic and blood-letting land reform programme and the destruction of people's homes during Murambatsvina that happened under Mugabe's watch were acts of God. If Mugabe was chosen by God to rule Zimbabwe, it means that the Gukurahundi Genocide that led to the killing of over 50 000 law abiding and God- fearing Ndebele people of the southern western parts of Zimbabwe were equally an act sanctioned by God. Last but not least, if Mugabe was chosen by God to rule Zimbabwe, what business has Morgan and his MDC-T doing trying to undo what God said should be? By fighting to dislodge Mugabe from power, a man that was chosen by God to rule Zimbabwe, is Morgan boxing and fighting God himself and disapproving his choice? And going by Morgan's strange way of reasoning and his political acts of fighting that which God has sanctioned, he has unwittingly labelled himself the Great Lucifer of Zimbabwean politics. Morgan is indeed a man of strange ways and strange reasoning. He is a dangerous man who should not be allowed any closer to power without any proper checks and balances to counter his insatiable appetite for dictatorship. If he is let near the levers of power, we might see far much more worse than what we saw during the Gukurahundi Genocide.

Interestingly though, Mugabe came out guns blazing this week likening Morgan to a 'barking dog' dog that is toothless, a week after Morgan likened Mugabe to the Son of God. What an own goal from Morgan!

Conclusion
It surely has come to light now that the likes of Professor Ncube and his crew saw this 'emerging dictatorship' in Morgan coming a long time before many Zimbabweans and the international community realized it. Every judgement on Morgan's dictatorial leadership style, dictatorship traits and character made by Professor Ncube and crew has come to pass and is still being fulfilled to this day. They are vindicated!

Ahoyi!