Opinion / Columnist
Chamisa's bravado and inauguration ceremony
30 Oct 2018 at 05:21hrs | Views
THE farcical "inauguration" of MDC leader Mr Nelson Chamisa as president of the country during the party's 19th anniversary celebrations in Harare at the weekend did more harm to the troubled opposition leader whose theatrics helped give insights into the real perpetrators behind the August 1 post election violence that claimed six lives.
The party's vice president, Mr Morgen Komichi, declared Mr Chamisa "duly bestowed as a president of Zimbabwe" before the party supporters in a mock swearing in ceremony at Gwanzura Stadium in Harare's Highfield suburb where the party was holding its celebrations.
The ceremony included an attempt to light up the so called "democracy flame" which resembled the Zimbabwe Independence Flame and release of doves/pigeons to the air.
However, one cannot ignore the symbolism in the two incidents at the event which led those who believe in omen to conclude that they served to show the extent to which the whole exercise was a farce.
Firstly, the attempt to release the doves/pigeons into the air was an embarrassing failure as, despite a number of attempts to release them into the air, the pigeons would not fly. One landed on the podium and another on the floor perhaps symbolising that Mr Chamisa's claims to the country's presidency just won't fly.
The attempt to light up the so called "democracy flame" was met with challenges and just as their torch failed to catch the flame, Mr Chamisa isn't the torch bearer for this country, neither can he bring any light to the country.
They were failed by the symbolical acts of their own design and it can be concluded that the weekend event was an exercise in futility if not a mass therapy session by sore electoral losers to try and assuage their egos by engaging in activities that have drawn more ridicule than any serious attention.
It has become clear that Mr Chamisa wants to be a little Raila Odinga, the Kenyan opposition figure who refused to concede successive electoral defeats at the hands of President Uhuru Kenyatta. Even he, despite electoral loss, has declared himself president of Kenya and went on to inaugurate himself as head of state in a similarly farcical way that Mr Chamisa imitated at the weekend.
Thinking that the strategy works and could possibly keep him in the minds of the people till the next elections, Mr Chamisa has followed Mr Odinga's footsteps but has chosen to ignore that the very strategy has yielded nothing for its originator and no different result will come in his case.
Not that he is not clear that the winner of the July 30 elections is President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Zanu-PF party, Mr Chamisa is hoping that he will manage, through his theatrics, to remain "relevant" so that he is not forgotten in 2023.
What more with growing discontent within his party over his alleged dictatorial tendencies and challenge by his lieutenants ahead of the party's congress, the imaginary victory and the farcical inauguration among other acts provide Mr Chamisa convenient refuge from the reality of his electoral loss and developments within his own party.
And Mr Chamisa, with a false sense of bravado, went on to threaten to unseat President Mnangagwa through what he called coordinated street protests that would lead to State House in an envisaged illegal power grab.
This is despite the fact that after the July 30 elections and being unsatisfied by the poll outcome, Mr Chamisa, approached the courts citing irregularities in the electoral process which he felt were enough warrant for the nullification of President Mnangagwa's victory. His lawyers, however, failed to prove beyond any doubt the irregularities they alleged and consequently their application was thrown out and President Mnangagwa's victory affirmed.
At the weekend, however, Mr Chamisa revealed plans of holding countrywide protests with the objective of overthrowing a constitutionally elected Government.
"We are going to be organising ourselves internally, then we go to programmes that we want to do throughout the country from next week. I will be going to every area where I will be setting out the plan, something big in this country hold your cards on the intended march to State House from this venue," he was quoted in the media.
"When we do this we want to have a clear plan on what date we start and to the day we end. We will not go back home until we achieve the intended plan. We will show Mnangagwa the power that people have."
The threats by Mr Chamisa come following his press conference in Harare last week where he called for a "transitional" authority which he claimed would help "solve legitimacy issues," calls immediately dismissed by Zanu-PF.
But more importantly, the threats of demonstrations take us back to the August 1 post election violence that led to the sad loss of lives.
A revisit to incidents before the violence, shows that it was Mr Chamisa and his spokesperson Dr Nkululeko Sibanda who took to social media, before the announcement of the poll outcome casting aspersions on the elections and going further to say the people were ready to "defend their vote."
Again, on the day of the violent demonstrations that also led to the destruction of property, the protesters first gathered at the MDC party headquarters now called the Morgan Tsvangirai House before taking to the streets burning and destroying property.
Just like the party has always believed in violence to meet political ends, the threats of violence at the weekend all but confirm that the strategy on August 1 was to try and scuttle the conclusion of the electoral process of announcing results in the hope of taking over the reins of power not through the ballot but through street protests.
And before the commission of inquiry concludes its investigations into the August 1 violence, the MDC is back to its modus operandi which all but gives all the answers into who was responsible for the violence on the day.
Reacting to the weekend non-event, Zanu-PF condemned the actions by the MDC describing them as treasonous and as a ploy to provoke the ruling party.
"Yesterday's (Saturday's) political circus at the MDC Alliance celebrations at Gwanzura Stadium in Harare where those who attended were hoodwinked into believing that Nelson Chamisa is Zimbabwe's president following the July 30 harmonised elections, resembled a kindergarten spectacle," said Zanu-PF spokesperson, Simon Khaya Moyo.
Khaya Moyo said inviting Mr Chamisa to the podium to light up what he termed "democracy flame" which resembled Zimbabwe's Independence Flame, was an insult to the country's protracted liberation struggle and an affront to the people of Zimbabwe.
It is the duty therefore of all peace loving and patriotic Zimbabweans to ignore such calls of anarchy by Mr Chamisa and his party, especially at a time when the Government is working flat out to turn around the economy and return the country to the days of prosperity.
The party's vice president, Mr Morgen Komichi, declared Mr Chamisa "duly bestowed as a president of Zimbabwe" before the party supporters in a mock swearing in ceremony at Gwanzura Stadium in Harare's Highfield suburb where the party was holding its celebrations.
The ceremony included an attempt to light up the so called "democracy flame" which resembled the Zimbabwe Independence Flame and release of doves/pigeons to the air.
However, one cannot ignore the symbolism in the two incidents at the event which led those who believe in omen to conclude that they served to show the extent to which the whole exercise was a farce.
Firstly, the attempt to release the doves/pigeons into the air was an embarrassing failure as, despite a number of attempts to release them into the air, the pigeons would not fly. One landed on the podium and another on the floor perhaps symbolising that Mr Chamisa's claims to the country's presidency just won't fly.
The attempt to light up the so called "democracy flame" was met with challenges and just as their torch failed to catch the flame, Mr Chamisa isn't the torch bearer for this country, neither can he bring any light to the country.
They were failed by the symbolical acts of their own design and it can be concluded that the weekend event was an exercise in futility if not a mass therapy session by sore electoral losers to try and assuage their egos by engaging in activities that have drawn more ridicule than any serious attention.
It has become clear that Mr Chamisa wants to be a little Raila Odinga, the Kenyan opposition figure who refused to concede successive electoral defeats at the hands of President Uhuru Kenyatta. Even he, despite electoral loss, has declared himself president of Kenya and went on to inaugurate himself as head of state in a similarly farcical way that Mr Chamisa imitated at the weekend.
Thinking that the strategy works and could possibly keep him in the minds of the people till the next elections, Mr Chamisa has followed Mr Odinga's footsteps but has chosen to ignore that the very strategy has yielded nothing for its originator and no different result will come in his case.
Not that he is not clear that the winner of the July 30 elections is President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his Zanu-PF party, Mr Chamisa is hoping that he will manage, through his theatrics, to remain "relevant" so that he is not forgotten in 2023.
What more with growing discontent within his party over his alleged dictatorial tendencies and challenge by his lieutenants ahead of the party's congress, the imaginary victory and the farcical inauguration among other acts provide Mr Chamisa convenient refuge from the reality of his electoral loss and developments within his own party.
And Mr Chamisa, with a false sense of bravado, went on to threaten to unseat President Mnangagwa through what he called coordinated street protests that would lead to State House in an envisaged illegal power grab.
This is despite the fact that after the July 30 elections and being unsatisfied by the poll outcome, Mr Chamisa, approached the courts citing irregularities in the electoral process which he felt were enough warrant for the nullification of President Mnangagwa's victory. His lawyers, however, failed to prove beyond any doubt the irregularities they alleged and consequently their application was thrown out and President Mnangagwa's victory affirmed.
At the weekend, however, Mr Chamisa revealed plans of holding countrywide protests with the objective of overthrowing a constitutionally elected Government.
"We are going to be organising ourselves internally, then we go to programmes that we want to do throughout the country from next week. I will be going to every area where I will be setting out the plan, something big in this country hold your cards on the intended march to State House from this venue," he was quoted in the media.
"When we do this we want to have a clear plan on what date we start and to the day we end. We will not go back home until we achieve the intended plan. We will show Mnangagwa the power that people have."
The threats by Mr Chamisa come following his press conference in Harare last week where he called for a "transitional" authority which he claimed would help "solve legitimacy issues," calls immediately dismissed by Zanu-PF.
But more importantly, the threats of demonstrations take us back to the August 1 post election violence that led to the sad loss of lives.
A revisit to incidents before the violence, shows that it was Mr Chamisa and his spokesperson Dr Nkululeko Sibanda who took to social media, before the announcement of the poll outcome casting aspersions on the elections and going further to say the people were ready to "defend their vote."
Again, on the day of the violent demonstrations that also led to the destruction of property, the protesters first gathered at the MDC party headquarters now called the Morgan Tsvangirai House before taking to the streets burning and destroying property.
Just like the party has always believed in violence to meet political ends, the threats of violence at the weekend all but confirm that the strategy on August 1 was to try and scuttle the conclusion of the electoral process of announcing results in the hope of taking over the reins of power not through the ballot but through street protests.
And before the commission of inquiry concludes its investigations into the August 1 violence, the MDC is back to its modus operandi which all but gives all the answers into who was responsible for the violence on the day.
Reacting to the weekend non-event, Zanu-PF condemned the actions by the MDC describing them as treasonous and as a ploy to provoke the ruling party.
"Yesterday's (Saturday's) political circus at the MDC Alliance celebrations at Gwanzura Stadium in Harare where those who attended were hoodwinked into believing that Nelson Chamisa is Zimbabwe's president following the July 30 harmonised elections, resembled a kindergarten spectacle," said Zanu-PF spokesperson, Simon Khaya Moyo.
Khaya Moyo said inviting Mr Chamisa to the podium to light up what he termed "democracy flame" which resembled Zimbabwe's Independence Flame, was an insult to the country's protracted liberation struggle and an affront to the people of Zimbabwe.
It is the duty therefore of all peace loving and patriotic Zimbabweans to ignore such calls of anarchy by Mr Chamisa and his party, especially at a time when the Government is working flat out to turn around the economy and return the country to the days of prosperity.
Source - chronicle
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