Sexually transmitted leadership will not take us anywhere: flouting democratic values

My previous article regarding the nomination of Sibangilizwe Nkomo to contest the Zapu presidential candidacy must have been too emotional to appreciate my perspective. What is disturbing is that be it Matabeleland, Mashonaland, Manicaland, the Tongaland or whatever corner of the land we dwell in, we learn and internalize wrong things in our social settings. We should have learnt a lesson from "Dr" Grace Mugabe that it is improper to think that if she was the wife of Robert Gabriel Mugabe, it did not mean that she automatically assumes the succession leadership of Zanu PF. Someone from the G-40 must have misled Grace she could take over from her husband by virtue of her marriage to Bob. Do we want to page back those dark moments of our history whereby "Dr" stop it was our household name?

In the same vein: Sibangilizwe Nkomo or his emissaries misled him into thinking that he can be president of Zapu by the same standards Grace used to try to usurp power from Zanu PF party and government. In his maiden interview he made, humbly accepting the nomination as leadership contender of Zapu party, Sibangilizwe confessed that it was not his personal wish but those of his home constituency, to stand for elections disregarding the fact that he has not been an active member of Zapu at grassroot level in the first place.

To pedestalize Sibangilizwe from an inactive party member to presidential candidacy spells doom for democracy. What the people of this great country can least afford is to have people who, have either by birth or marriage connections think they can gun-jump those democratic processes leading to their candidacy for political power; this is tantamount to urinating on our faces as if we do not have brains to think. They are surprised again when we resist this hero-worshipping of family connections by some members of the party.

This coronation flies in the face of a party whose democratic values and have been lost or have never really existed in the first place. Zapu Matobo constituency or Kezi, by allowing Sibangilizwe to contest the presidential elections is a display of nondemocratic values upon which the fundamentals of the Zapu party was hatched on in 1957, even before Sibangilizwe Nkomo was born. The Zapu we know is moving away from its values it pride itself with.

What is happening in Zapu is not isolated thing: we have seen this in all other parties be it in the ruling party or the opposition MDCs - they are many of them we cannot count. We do not need to refresh us about the undemocratic activities in Zanu party and government: the tenets they uphold high. However it is pertinent to roughly recap the undemocratic activities in MDC-Alliance even the MDC-T under Douglas Mwonzorwa and Thokozani Khuphe. In 2005 MDC split because President reneged the democratic senate ruling. It split again when the party lost elections in 2013; some MDC-T rank and file wanted a leadership change. They wanted Morgen Tsvangirai to democratically step down to give up the leadership to a much younger generation. It is inherently African never to step down from power it did not matter how failing his performance was. Richard Morgen Tsvangirai refused to step down democratically even in the face of dismal election failure. In developed countries if a party leader lost election, they stepped down. In Africa, this does not happen. A leader remains in power except in the case of a coup or death.

Press fast forward: Tsvangirai died after a long illness. But before he died; he was aware of his terminal condition; he nominated two vice presidents in MDC-T leadership to make sure that Thokozani Khuphe does not assume power after his demise. Within 24 hours after the announcement of Tsvangirai's death, some noddy MDC-T caucus called for an inner-party meeting to immediately replace the leadership vacuum created by the death of the führer: Tsvangirai a man who had open disdain for democratic processes. Tsvangirai had tested power to the point he did not realize the importance of exemplifying democracy as opposition party to the ruling Zanu PF government.

Nelson Chamisa should know that his presidency in the MDC-Alliance lacked legitimacy, undemocratic and is playing in the gallery of Zanu PF. He was undemocratically elected in power by those few and he reneged the party constitution because our political parties, all of them in Zimbabwe are wholly undemocratic institutions much as they want the world to know about them. They have serious problems with democratic values and principles. All these shenanigans playing out between Chamisa's MDC-Alliance and the Zanu government are the making of Chamisa who does not take critique from anybody even from his chicken cabinet. It is for this reason that his party is failing dismally in legal fighting with the judiciary. How many are leaving the party and joining the ruling party for reasons known to them?

It is not clear how the Extra Ordinary Congress MDC-T came with the winner as Douglas Mwonzorwa. Knowing our Sis Thokozani Khuphe how she plays her politics to her favour, we cannot blame anybody about what transpired in the congress in December 27, of 2020. What we know about the EOC election process is that it was life and death, dog eat dog, swim or sink, survival of the fittest. This the opposition that displays disdain of democratic process that is supposed to give an example to Zanu: what is democracy dear opposition parties?

We see the same modus operandi taking place in Zapu. This hero-worshipping of individuals is still intact: Some of the noddy traits can be traced back from Zanu PF and MDCs or all of them. The question is; if all these opposition parties replicate Zanu party by their actions and operations; they appear to sing in Zanu PF hymn book, why can they not give us a break and do the right thing join the ruling party; our political problems will be done and dusted overnight. Well this suggestion is full of irony. I am simply expressing the obvious on the ground. I am deeply disappointed about the Zapu party and its hero-worshipping some individuals and generational appreciation also known as sexually transmitted leadership takeover.

I doubt very much, (my statement cannot be evidenced anyhow) but I will say it: if Joshua Nkomo had lived, he was not going to vote for his second son Sibangilizwe to takeover Zapu leadership. He must be turning in his grave MHISRP. As someone coming from this region of Matabeleland, I should be the first person to understand their thought processes. This region yearns for a Kingship. Instead of coming up with one King: we have three Kings in this region coming from a 5% population of Nguni tribes. The kingdoms of yester year were fought through and whoever won in the battlefields became king. Imposing leadership in this region is in the vein running. Democracy is a far cry in Matabeleland and to my surprise everywhere in Zimbabwe.

To talk about democratic values in a region that still upholds monarchic values becomes a challenge. The people of Kezi do not see their failure in imposing Sibangilizwe as genuine contender but must be a coronation from Joshua Nkomo to Sibangilizwe Nkomo and it must be done without question. Whoever questions this arrangement is a traitor in as much as we have equally questioned the coronation of three Nguni kings from a minority tribe with 5% population in the region? When I questioned the abilities and capabilities of Sibangilizwe in his last interview, I did not mean by any stretch of anyone's imagination I could have done a better interview than him: this is how Thulani Nkala confronted my comments and he got it wrong. I have never and will never aspire to be a presidential candidacy of any political party. However, a political activist, my pen is sharp: I critique without favour and I do not fear because I am safe. In 2021, the second Millennium, I cannot not be silenced by men. If Zapu is flouting democracy it must be criticized in as much as we critique Zanu PF.

No animal will be spared from their political misdemeanours and shenanigans in this country. I shall respect Zapu if they respect democracy, no sexually transmitted leadership in Zapu should be tolerated because we had enough of it in the Mugabe era. Sibangilizwe must tell us how he failed the family business in Bulawayo town in the early hours of independence. We do not want: we do not tolerate a college-failed non-academic leader of Zapu. He should give us a track record of a successful businessman and should refrain from telling us how he is going to beg the White man donor funding to improve Zimbabwe. These white people are not stupid as he thinks. They know how rich Zimbabwe is; how do you again import coal to Wankie; take water from dry Lupane and fill the Zambezi River.

Young men and women in the region must be persuaded to come back and revive the Zapu party and we strategize once more. As we gear up to the 2023 elections, let us have parties in the region that will position themselves to get regional seats, implementing the devolution - a Zapu brainchild. We need new names and young people: Where are our young dynamic Siphosami Malunga, Nso Ndlovu, Thamsanqa Zhou, Bekezela Dube, Zenzo Ncube, Zwe Ncube, Fariranai Zhou, Zanele Matiwaza and several men and women I may no know by name?

We have realized now that be it Zanu in power or MDC-Camisa coming to power: both are not for the benefit of the development of Matabeleland. It is for this reason we stop fighting Zanu to get MDC-Chamisa in power, a wasted energy: Let us focus on region development targeting regional parliament and council seats only rather than to wait for an MDC-Chamisa Chete Chete government that will make no difference in Matabeleland. If a devolution is enshrined in the constitution, we need to take advantage of this clause to provide bread to our societies especially in the rural regions of both Matabelelands.