Chamisa's recipe for violence: We must speak out against it

Nelson Chamisa has completely lost his sense of civic responsibility.  This is dangerous.
 
Rumour has it that he has been learning from Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga. There are even reports that Chamisa has gone to meet him to learn from his ways. Raila Odinga, who has now lost four presidential elections knows exactly how to stir up violence, and how to stop it.  In the last election cycle in Kenya, he said any result other than a win would mean it was rigged.  He said he would announce the results of the election himself because he didn't trust the independent body.  He called for his own tally system. Sound familiar? It turned out to be a perfect recipe for violence.
 
Mr Odinga then convinced his supporters to boycott paying taxes to the government and remove the president's portraits from offices and businesses.  He held an alternative inauguration and named himself the people's president.  There were even very real calls to break up Kenya into two countries, with the western half becoming a separate republic.
 
Kenya was on the verge of real civil war, and there was blood in the streets.
 
Yet a few months later, in another political calculated move, Raila shook hands with the victorious President Kenyatta.  The hand shake stopped the violence.  Peace prevailed.
 
Nelson Chamisa's statements are unfortunately all the former, and none the latter.  It is political brinkmanship at its most cynical.  He is spending his day and night criticising ZEC instead of telling the people how he will run the country.  Instead of us hearing about policies or an inspirational vision, we just hear about voter rolls and text messages.  Remember, this guy could have been our Barack Obama.  Instead, what have we received? A moaner.
 
But being a moaner is not dangerous in itself.  This moaner has actually become an inciter.  And that is dangerous.  
 
Openly admitting that you will not accept the results of any election which you don't win is incitement.  Telling the world that only you can announce the election results is incitement.
 
This of course does not come as a great surprise.
 
Nelson Chamisa has been using his violent private militia, The Vanguard, to enforce his will since the passing of a real national leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.  He used this mob to bully his way to the head of the party.  Instead of beating Khupewith democracy; they beat her with clubs and metal bars.  They disrupted the primaries of the MDC to an extent that the party lost any democratic semblance.  The MDC has turned into a dictatorship under the new pretender.
 
So supporters of the MDC. Supporters of ZANU.  I urge you.  I beg you.  Do not fall into the trap laid out by egotistical leaders who will urge violence to support their cause.  Raila's antics (solved by one handshake in the end!) led to hundreds of millions of dollars in losses to the Kenyan economy, and hundreds of deaths from post electoral violence.
 
We have had the most peaceful campaign in our post-liberation history.  Let's stand together, united against these irresponsible and inciting claims. This is the antidote to Chamisa's poisonous recipe for violence!

Charles (student)