Chamisa, violence and the absence of leadership

In February, at Morgan Tsvangirai's funeral, Nelson Chamisa's private militia, The Vanguard, attacked his opponents and tried to torch a hut in which Thokozani Khupe, Douglas Mwonzora and their supporters were hiding. Chamisa was silent.

A few week's later, The Vanuguard violently assaulted Khupe's driver and supporters in a crazed rampage at the MDC's Bulawayo offices. Again Chamisa was silent.

During the MDC Primary election, Chamisa's attacked supporters of other candidates. By now, nobody was surprised by Chamisa's silence.

And so is it any surprise that when on Sunday in Chitungwiza, a freelance journalist witnessed and recorded violent attacks by MDC youths on ZANU-PF supporters, the youths felt comfortable and empowered to assault the journalist.

Because when you are silent in the face of violence, the message is deafening.

But it's not only physical violence. Over the past few months, Chamisa supporters have verbally abused Thokozani Khupe in the most vicious terms, using abhorrent sexual and sexist language, with no rebuke from their leader.

So was it any surprise that when ZEC Chairwoman Justice Priscilla Chigumba attracted their ire for her management of the electoral body, that the immediate response of Chamisa devotees was to call her a "hure" and spread malicious rumours about her private life?

The thing about leadership is that it involves saying no to your own people. Real leaders are prepared to caution, criticise and reign in their own supporters for the good of the nation.

Those who refuse to criticise their own supporters' violence are too weak to be considered leaders. And those who turn a blind eye to violence because it serves their political ends are too unprincipled to be considered leaders.

So when Nelson Chamisa refuses to condemn violence time and again, what does it tell us about his leadership skills?

And when Nelson Chamisa threatens that there will be no election if his demands are not met, and states over and over that he is not afraid to die in the election, what message are they getting from their idol? And how confident can we be that his supporters will not turn violent if things don't go their way?

Let's compare Chamisa's performance in this regard to that of ED over the past few months. For while one has refused to condemn violence from his own supporters, the other has been unwavering in his condemnation of all forms of violence.

When there have been reports of violence by suspected ZANU-PF cadres, ED has been quick to condemn them in the most uncertain terms.

When ZANU-PF supporters wanted to march on the same day as MDC supporters, ED instructed his own supporters to step down. I am sure there are those in ED's camp who were against this decision, but ED did not waver. He showed that he will not compromise his values to appease his supporters.

And even when a grenade thrown by an opponent was inches from killing him, ED's message remained unchanged. No retribution, no revenge, no clampdown.

In fact, the contrast between the two men has rarely been starker than this week. Chamisa has spent this week threatening to use any means necessary to prevent the elections from taking place and refusing to condemn the sexist abuse of Justice Chigumba.

In contrast, ED had a very different, positive and message, writing on Facebook that "As we approach the final days before our harmonised general elections, I appeal for continued peace, harmony, unity and love among all Zimbabweans. As we canvass for political votes, let us remain alive to the reality that we are all one people, one nation, united by one flag and one national anthem. What unites us is much greater than what could ever divide us."

Now that is leadership.