Opinion / Columnist
HRH Chief Ndiweni, 'MyRight2Vote' election campaign message is not a 'game changer' but disingenuous
28 May 2021 at 08:37hrs | Views
(You remain my paramount chief of Ntabayezinduna until you resolve your family disputes with Bhudi Jorum.)
Reading Bulawayo24 you are officially advising your royal constituency to register for voting as the only way to reverse undemocratic governance in Zimbabwe. This statement provoked serious thoughts in me, what reversing undemocratic governance could mean in our current political dispensation. Has this nation ever been democratic before, what are we reversing now, when was democracy in Zimbabwe lost and now it must be reversed? I am sure both HRH and I are talking from different political perspectives altogether.
Chieftainship was trust upon you when former President Robert Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe, I am making wild assumptions here, I am not sure. What I know is that you had relatively a working relationship with him until the second republic took over. It is also abundantly clear that you are comfortable with the Chamisa MDC-Alliance opposition camp. You are telling your royal constituency, me included, to register to vote as preparations for the 2023 coming elections to vote for Chamisa's MDC-Alliance.
With all due respect I have for you as our chief in Ntabayezinduna, (my mother's birthplace) telling the people to register to vote is politically not the way to remove despots. We all know that Zanu will rig elections, it has done so several times since 1980. What will make vote registration different this time around if it did not make a difference in other elections. Has it become generic to be part of the exercise to register; go to the elections and lose; cry foul that the elections have been lost therefore no legitimacy for Mnangagwa government?
How do we repeat the insanity of going to vote knowing too well that Zanu will rig elections broad day light: repeating insanity all over and we expect a different result: is that not the definition of insanity? I am sure you know the words of Albert Einstein who said: to repeat; doing something again and again hoping for a different result is definition of insanity.
When Mnangagwa dethroned you in 2019, you said verbatim: "democracy and the rule of law no longer exist in the country. In retrospect, your royal highness, democracy has never existed in Zimbabwe since its inception in 1980. It is a farce to talk about reversing laws that would have been democratic if that very democracy has never existed in the first place. You say you have found a ray of light in your roadmap code: "MyRight2Vote" in your rallying call. I fail to come to terms with the fact that you genuinely think that Mnangagwa's Zanu PF will be ousted by elections?
The Ntabayezinduna royal constituency believe in you HRH, but to deceive them to believe the sloganeering MyRight2Vote is nation building is out of the realm of good senses. At best this is outright disingenuous, devoid of facts on the ground. The facts on the ground since the inception of the nation in 1980 will tell you that democratic processes are absent zero in Zimbabwe. We live in a dictatorship that is worse than that of Ian Douglas Smith's UDI. The constitutional amendments are made daily to consolidate Mnangagwa's dictatorship. Out of nowhere HRH Chief Ndiweni comes up with a political slogan "MyRight2Vote" and he calls this a "game-changer" in the 2023 election campaign.
I would advise his HRH to sit down with President Chamisa and advise that he needed to stop taking part in the 2023 general elections because by participating in the elections he is giving Mnangagwa government credibility and legitimacy. Taking into consideration how he has been weakened by Zanu government, it is the time he made firm, informed and correct decision to keep his vibrant opposition constituency. The 2023 elections must be boycotted.
There is no time as of now until the elections to make laughable campaign sloganeering "MyRight2Vote" and you sincerely call that a game changer. We always had the right to vote since 1980, it is another thing if we were nearer to winning them. Richard Morgan Tsvangirai won the 2008 elections, but did he get into power? In that GNU what did he and his party do that was a game changer politically? Admittedly the economy with Biti as Finance Minister improved, but the MDC parties were compromised to the point of madness.
There is no need whatsoever to go for elections in 2023 HRH. These elections are already done. Your participation as opposition is needed by Mnangagwa and Zanu to give legitimacy curiously enough you are willingly going to render Mnangagwa what he desperately wants. I have always said that the people of Matabeleland should stop focusing on elections: instead, form regional organisations that will seriously investigate the development of the region.
There is no politics to talk about in Matabeleland HRH but there can be development without politics. I am sorry to say that MDC-Alliance under Chamisa is as tribal as Zanu and has no genuine interest in this region. He is interested in getting votes in the region yes and nothing beyond in terms of developing the region. I can bet the last penny; the Chamisa government will not address the Gukurahundi issue either. We have a duty to the future generations in the region to engage in the development earnestly and truthfully.
Reading Bulawayo24 you are officially advising your royal constituency to register for voting as the only way to reverse undemocratic governance in Zimbabwe. This statement provoked serious thoughts in me, what reversing undemocratic governance could mean in our current political dispensation. Has this nation ever been democratic before, what are we reversing now, when was democracy in Zimbabwe lost and now it must be reversed? I am sure both HRH and I are talking from different political perspectives altogether.
Chieftainship was trust upon you when former President Robert Mugabe ruled Zimbabwe, I am making wild assumptions here, I am not sure. What I know is that you had relatively a working relationship with him until the second republic took over. It is also abundantly clear that you are comfortable with the Chamisa MDC-Alliance opposition camp. You are telling your royal constituency, me included, to register to vote as preparations for the 2023 coming elections to vote for Chamisa's MDC-Alliance.
With all due respect I have for you as our chief in Ntabayezinduna, (my mother's birthplace) telling the people to register to vote is politically not the way to remove despots. We all know that Zanu will rig elections, it has done so several times since 1980. What will make vote registration different this time around if it did not make a difference in other elections. Has it become generic to be part of the exercise to register; go to the elections and lose; cry foul that the elections have been lost therefore no legitimacy for Mnangagwa government?
How do we repeat the insanity of going to vote knowing too well that Zanu will rig elections broad day light: repeating insanity all over and we expect a different result: is that not the definition of insanity? I am sure you know the words of Albert Einstein who said: to repeat; doing something again and again hoping for a different result is definition of insanity.
When Mnangagwa dethroned you in 2019, you said verbatim: "democracy and the rule of law no longer exist in the country. In retrospect, your royal highness, democracy has never existed in Zimbabwe since its inception in 1980. It is a farce to talk about reversing laws that would have been democratic if that very democracy has never existed in the first place. You say you have found a ray of light in your roadmap code: "MyRight2Vote" in your rallying call. I fail to come to terms with the fact that you genuinely think that Mnangagwa's Zanu PF will be ousted by elections?
I would advise his HRH to sit down with President Chamisa and advise that he needed to stop taking part in the 2023 general elections because by participating in the elections he is giving Mnangagwa government credibility and legitimacy. Taking into consideration how he has been weakened by Zanu government, it is the time he made firm, informed and correct decision to keep his vibrant opposition constituency. The 2023 elections must be boycotted.
There is no time as of now until the elections to make laughable campaign sloganeering "MyRight2Vote" and you sincerely call that a game changer. We always had the right to vote since 1980, it is another thing if we were nearer to winning them. Richard Morgan Tsvangirai won the 2008 elections, but did he get into power? In that GNU what did he and his party do that was a game changer politically? Admittedly the economy with Biti as Finance Minister improved, but the MDC parties were compromised to the point of madness.
There is no need whatsoever to go for elections in 2023 HRH. These elections are already done. Your participation as opposition is needed by Mnangagwa and Zanu to give legitimacy curiously enough you are willingly going to render Mnangagwa what he desperately wants. I have always said that the people of Matabeleland should stop focusing on elections: instead, form regional organisations that will seriously investigate the development of the region.
There is no politics to talk about in Matabeleland HRH but there can be development without politics. I am sorry to say that MDC-Alliance under Chamisa is as tribal as Zanu and has no genuine interest in this region. He is interested in getting votes in the region yes and nothing beyond in terms of developing the region. I can bet the last penny; the Chamisa government will not address the Gukurahundi issue either. We have a duty to the future generations in the region to engage in the development earnestly and truthfully.
Source - Nomazulu Thata
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