Opinion / Columnist
Chamisa's conundrum
09 Aug 2018 at 14:40hrs | Views
An ancient Chinese curse goes: "May you live in interesting times". We Zimbabweans really can appreciate this saying, especially after the last two weeks. The news never cease to provide us with yet another turn. But finally, we have some (relative) certainty. Nelson Chamisa will have his day in court, which means Zimbabwe will have its day in court. Why did I write "relative" certainty? Because it wouldn't be the first bombastic statement without any action in the end…
But back to current events. At yet another press conference that started too late, Nelson Chamisa's lawyer, Thabani Mpofu, declared that they will soon petition the Constitutional Court with their grievances regarding the results of the harmonised elections. Nelson Chamisa will be back in the setting he is familiar with, in his element, just this time without his wig and his gown. Yet a question remains: Will he unconditionally accept the court's decision?
It doesn't seem that way. And unfortunately, this isn't a surprise either. One could even say that delegitimising Zim's institutions is Chamisa's favourite hobby. From ZEC to all the other candidates that ran for President, in his eyes they are all puppets of ZANU-PF. His "Nerrorists", fanatical supporters that roam the Cyberspace and love to virtually shout down anyone that doesn't agree with them, already started spreading Fake News regarding the appointment of the panel that will hear the case (No, Judge Chiweshe will not judge on this case. Move on.).
But they are not stopping at that. They repeat their mantra of overwhelming evidence which will allegedly leave no one with a doubt regarding the election results. However, they will not share this evidence just yet with the public. Why? I think any objective observer knows the answer deep down.
And here is what is so dangerous about all of this: Chamisa and other leaders of the MDC-Alliance are sowing the seeds of another huge disappointment, one that they will only be able to explain with a corrupt system. They will call people to the streets (while conspicuously not joining them). And they deliberately accept the consequential violence, again.
We should be careful and listen to each word that is said, and also each word that is not said. We live in interesting times indeed.
But back to current events. At yet another press conference that started too late, Nelson Chamisa's lawyer, Thabani Mpofu, declared that they will soon petition the Constitutional Court with their grievances regarding the results of the harmonised elections. Nelson Chamisa will be back in the setting he is familiar with, in his element, just this time without his wig and his gown. Yet a question remains: Will he unconditionally accept the court's decision?
It doesn't seem that way. And unfortunately, this isn't a surprise either. One could even say that delegitimising Zim's institutions is Chamisa's favourite hobby. From ZEC to all the other candidates that ran for President, in his eyes they are all puppets of ZANU-PF. His "Nerrorists", fanatical supporters that roam the Cyberspace and love to virtually shout down anyone that doesn't agree with them, already started spreading Fake News regarding the appointment of the panel that will hear the case (No, Judge Chiweshe will not judge on this case. Move on.).
But they are not stopping at that. They repeat their mantra of overwhelming evidence which will allegedly leave no one with a doubt regarding the election results. However, they will not share this evidence just yet with the public. Why? I think any objective observer knows the answer deep down.
And here is what is so dangerous about all of this: Chamisa and other leaders of the MDC-Alliance are sowing the seeds of another huge disappointment, one that they will only be able to explain with a corrupt system. They will call people to the streets (while conspicuously not joining them). And they deliberately accept the consequential violence, again.
We should be careful and listen to each word that is said, and also each word that is not said. We live in interesting times indeed.
Source - Jonathan Matika
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