Speaking up against Chamisa's hypocrisy

As an MDC supporter my whole life, I cannot keep quiet with the pure hypocrisy we are witnessing today.

Indeed, if we were to create a new excerpt for the definition of ‘hypocrite' in a dictionary, we might add Nelson Chamisa as a synonym.

While meeting with the visiting Southern African Development Community Electoral Advisory Council, Chamisa raised issues of political violence and a lack of transparency and democracy that he attributed to the Mnangagwa-led government.

That a leader implicated in intra-party violence that almost cost the lives of political opponents, desecrated the funeral of his party's former leader and machinated to ensure that there is no dissent in his party against his authoritarian rule, would be able to even mouth such words is beyond the bounds of irony and fast approaching indecency.

However, hypocrisy appears to be at the root of much of Chamisa's campaigning style.

At a demonstration, ostensibly to rally against tribalism a few days ago, Chamisa incited the crowds against the Shona people. From one side of the mouth he said that we must move beyond tribalism, and from the other made repeated references to different tribes and how he will work to ensure preferential treatment for one tribe over another. This is not the MDC I know and love.

Chamisa talks against violence but travels everywhere with his menacing posse called the"Vanguard", a uniformed militia established apparently with the sole purpose of intimidating opponents.  This is not the MDC I know and love.

The Vanguard has already been implicated by many for violence, bloodshed and damage of property, without a word of condemnation from their leader.

However, Chamisa's public relations
pronunciations against violence apparently haven't reached his partners. After another recent bout of violence within the MDC, one of our leaders, Tendai Biti, claimed that "We are a violent society. That's what we know." This is not what I know!

So while Chamisa complains to foreigners that the government is engaged in political violence, without providing any details or evidence, his fellow MDC leader is effectively admitting that violence is part of the DNA of his party infrastructure.

Furthermore, with his undemocratic and illegal ascension to the head of the MDC, Chamisa has brought the politics of power and corruption into a party famed for fighting these excesses.

Chamisa used the time that Morgan Tsvangirai lay critically ill in a hospital bed in South Africa to elbow out any contenders to replace the former MDC-T president.

While MDC-T vice president Thokozani Khupe was tending to Tsvangirai and his family in South Africa, Chamisa wasted no time in usurping the party's stalwarts, those who had held the flame of freedom alive for so many years, and disabused the party infrastructure and hierarchy.

Khupe, waiting modestly and decently until after Tsvangirai had passed to address the issue, called Chamisa's deceipt "un-African, uncultured and barbaric chain of events that have sought to draw attention away from the tragic loss to our party and country."

However, these comments, including an apology by Khupe to all Zimbabweans for the behavior of Chamisa and his cohorts, were like water of a duck's back for the unrepentant usurper.
Worse was still to come.

At Tsvangirai's funeral, Chamisa had ensured that the focus would not be on the late freedom fighter but purely on himself.

Chamisa's supporters in Freedom Square for the funeral regularly broke into chants of "Chamisa, Chamisa, Chamisa" and booed other senior leaders like secretary-general, Douglas Mwonzora and Khupe when they were introduced.

Tsvangirai's eldest son Edwin implored the party to respect the family's wishes and allow them to mourn their father.

"The struggle continues, but we hope you will respect the family and not draw us into political fights," Edwin implored on behalf of his family.
Morgan Tsvangirai's mother had already guessed how the farewell to her son would be usurped for political ends by Chamisa, and was even recorded saying she will kill herself if he shows up at the funeral.

While Chamisa has the good looks, charm and youth that have caught the attention of some, many more have already been bitten by the man nicknamed "The Cobra" by those in his own party.

"He is dangerous like a cobra snake and is two faced," said MDC party members in the past.
Unfortunately, many, like the Southern African Development Community Electoral Advisory Council, and others in Zimbabwe are seeing one side of the Cobra's face.

Nevertheless, everyday provides us with more and more clues about the other face of Chamisa.
Zimbabweans can ill afford to take a chance on other person who talks and acts like a democrat and a pacifist, but in reality is an authoritarian who uses violence for political gain.