Is Chamisa's rhetoric fanning the flames of violence?

There is no suggestion that anyone in the MDC was behind the attack on President Mnangagwa, members of his government and supporters on Saturday in Bulawayo. That much is clear. Yet nonetheless, some members of the MDC, including Chamisa himself, must do some soul-searching to see whether the language they have used before and during the campaign haven't fanned the flame of violence which resulted in this attack.

Some in the MDC have demonstrated in the past that they accept violence as part of Zimbabwe rather than fighting it. Speaking to the media a few months ago during intra-MDC violence, one of its leaders, Tendai Biti, claimed that "We are a violent society. That's what we know."

The fact that violence and bloodshed was met with a shrug of the shoulder is as dangerous as initiating it.

This is the talk of the old Zimbabwe, the one we peacefully struggled to leave behind in November. This can not and will not be the rhetoric of a new tomorrow for our nation.

Then there is Chamisa's personal paramilitary group, the Vanguard, which has a particular nasty reputation for roughing up political opponents.

Human Rights Watch Southern African Director Dewa Mavhinga has repeatedly called for MDC leader Nelson Chamisa to denounce his militia's bullying. "Any violence involving the Vanguard warrants a particularly strong party response," Mavhinga recently wrote.

Unfortunately, Manvhinga is still waiting for Chamisa's denunciation for the violence that is meted out in his name.

Then there are the threats of violence if the elections do not go his way.

"We have the numbers and we can close down Harare……We will not let the election happen if we do not agree on crucial issues," Chamisa said recently.

Other members of the party spelled out their intention.

MDC-T youth chairperson, Happymore Chidziva, that "we will make the country ungovernable" unless their demands are met.

In other words, the MDC leaders are saying that if they don't get their way at the ballot box, they will use other means. Unfortunately, many of us in Zimbabwe have long memories of those who use ‘other' means to get their way.

Chamisa buttresses this point on almost every campaign stop. There is barely a rally, almost never a social media post where he doesn't presage the issue of rigging and aggressively warn the government.

While it is entirely legitimate to talk of election reform, making accusations without any substantive proof is pouring oil on the fire. If there is some evidence that the government will rig the elections, then all Zimbabweans need to see it.

So far, all we have heard is that they have been prevented somehow from seeing the voters' roll that is open to the public and has been witnessed by thousands. International observers are pouring into the country and all are giving these harmonised elections a largely clean bill of health.

By constantly calling the government led by Mnangagwa a cheat and a liar, he is agitating people to come to the conclusion, even ahead of the vote, that they are left with no choice but to resort to violence which Biti says is natural and endemic to Zimbabwean society.

However, we can choose another way. We can choose to depart from the past and seek a new more peaceful and unifying way of conducting politics. We should embrace those who talk of peace, justice and progress and shun those who talk of violence and using undemocratic means to get their way.

The attack in Bulawayo should be a wake-up call for all Zimbabweans to look at ourselves in the mirror to see if we are lowering tensions or fanning the flames.

Our country has made many leaps forward over the last few months; we dare not regress into the dark recent path.

Our leaders should be at the forefront of talking peace, not accepting or perpetuating violence.