Opinion / Columnist
Surely, there is no honour among thieves
18 May 2022 at 01:19hrs | Views
NO honour among thieves is a universal truth, a biblical saying that has found resonance globally to denote the actions of robbers who usually double-cross each other, never mind the perils involved in their oft dastardly deeds.
See, there is nothing noble that can be crafted by a bunch of criminals, however meaningful, their actions may appear, at the end of the day they are a bunch of crooks who are untrustworthy and whose motivation is to reap off the unsuspecting, in our case voters.
Such is the case of the CCC, an opposition party that so desires to one day assume the reins of power in Zimbabwe.
The CCC cannot account even for its own party books, and indeed how can they be accountable when they don't have a constitution, structures, and systems of checks and balances that are employed even by a community's grocery exchange club.
Nay, that is anathema, the CCC led by Nelson Chamisa, since its formation has always been a dodgy and shadowy organisation, living on the margins, avoiding public scrutiny because it is not a home-grown party and therefore does not account to anybody, even its bunch of supporters some of whom would, like the foolish fly, follow the reeking corpse into the grave.
An Oligarchy
As it is, the one man led CCC, which has thumbed its nose at calls to hold a congress, losing thousands of supporters in the process – including some who have been so sympathetic to the opposition party solely because it offered opposition to the behemoth ruling party Zanu-PF led by President Mnangagwa who outfoxed them in 2017 – is nothing but an oligarchy, a band of political upstarts that wish to be taken seriously, yet they do not take their party supporters seriously.
But there is a method to the madness, the party has no elected leadership, no constitution, no checks and balances, and no processes, in fact calling it a party is a misnomer because in form it is led by an oligarch who has vested all powers in himself.
Like seriously, how can Zimbabwe entrust such a dictatorial character with the keys to the State House when he is running his organisation like a tuckshop.
Where is the money for the bulletproof car?
Like any self-seeking person blinded by hubris, dreams of grandeur and political voyeurism, Chamisa sought a bullet-proof car, duly a crowd-funding platform, GoFundme, was launched and after an agonisingly long period, we were told the money had been raised, but the car never came.
Maybe it was never bought and now some within the party are asking genuinely what happened to the fortune that was milked off Zimbabweans scattered across the world who have faith, albeit diminishing faith, in the opposition party.
Fire begets ashes
A brief background perhaps: In October last year there were claims that Chamisa's car had been shot at, and making a case for the CCC leader the begging bowl was extended to the poor party supporters across the world, pennies and trinkets were thrown into the GoFundme bowl with reports suggesting that US$160 000 was raised.
One would have thought that with his life endangered, it was only a matter of time before the bullet-proof car arrived, to protect the opposition leader from "gun-toting gangs who were tailing him to his rallies", disrupting his political programmes.
The car never came, and yet all the while he is traversing the length and breathe of Zimbabwe unencumbered by hostile elements who only a few months ago were baying for his blood, what crass hypocrisy.
One may ask, was Chamisa's life ever in danger? Was it just another red herring and ploy by the opposition to soil the country's image as is its wont?
After a close shave on his life, one would have thought that by now the bullet-proof vehicle will be in the country with Chamisa safely chauffeured, as he currently does, in a car bought by his dwindling supporters.
But it is all deathly quiet, so silent are the mandarins at the CCC that is like a drum of water poured on the flames they feverishly fanned on social media platforms last year.
Indeed, fire begets ashes and from these ashes, there is no redeeming for Chamisa, for how can he be trusted with the national purse; taxpayers' monies when he cannot account for a few thousand that came in drips and drabs last year after his assassination theatrics.
Old habits die hard
The MDC that was formed by the late Morgan Tsvangirai, though a caricature of local politics, with its lineage to the country's erstwhile colonisers, had a modicum of checks and balances, resources, though all vested in the founding father were at least accounted for, but now under Chamisa's watch, never mind the name variant, there is no accountability, no transparency and no pretensions to democracy.
How can a leopard change its colours?
After illegally wrestling power, stepping on the corpse of Tsvangirai, Chamisa has centralised and personalised power, first in the MDC and now CCC that no one dares to stand up against his hectoring.
Not until last week when matters almost came to a head as the leadership discussed issues around forming a coalition and of course the whereabouts of the money raised for the bullet-proof vehicle.
In typical fashion, at the meeting, Chamisa reportedly shot down suggestions to form a coalition with any other party ahead of next year elections, saying that anyone who wanted to form a political partnership with him had to abandon their parties, specifically the names.
Tendai Biti, who leads the People's Democratic Party, must have cringed, but as noted earlier, no one dares speak against the revered leader.
What happened to the bulletproof car money?
Though few dared ask the self-proclaimed advocate the whereabouts of the money, underneath there is growing umbrage with his rule.
If the opposition is to be regarded as an alternative government, isn't it supposed to govern first itself in a democratic and transparent way.
That is, however, an aspect glaringly absent in the opposition.
Zanu-PF as we speak is preparing to hold its elective Women's League conference, a precursor to the national congress set for this year, having dispensed with the Youth League elective conference.
How can Chamisa, a man who cannot avail himself to intra-party scrutiny, be entrusted to rule millions?
Accountability, according to former CCC members, has never been the opposition's forte, after all the money is ill-gotten from neo-liberal Western countries that seek to remove the democratically-elected Zanu-PF Government by hook and crook, never by fair means of national plebiscites.
Writing on the micro-blogging platform Twitter, Tongai Matutu, a former MDC official also asked, where the bulletproof vehicle money was, before claiming that at one point US$2 million came from an international organisation and vanished without a trace.
For now, no one knows what happened to the money for the bulletproof vehicle other than the secretive Chamisa who sees himself as a demigod with no strictures or limitations imposed by a constitution.
See, there is nothing noble that can be crafted by a bunch of criminals, however meaningful, their actions may appear, at the end of the day they are a bunch of crooks who are untrustworthy and whose motivation is to reap off the unsuspecting, in our case voters.
Such is the case of the CCC, an opposition party that so desires to one day assume the reins of power in Zimbabwe.
The CCC cannot account even for its own party books, and indeed how can they be accountable when they don't have a constitution, structures, and systems of checks and balances that are employed even by a community's grocery exchange club.
Nay, that is anathema, the CCC led by Nelson Chamisa, since its formation has always been a dodgy and shadowy organisation, living on the margins, avoiding public scrutiny because it is not a home-grown party and therefore does not account to anybody, even its bunch of supporters some of whom would, like the foolish fly, follow the reeking corpse into the grave.
An Oligarchy
As it is, the one man led CCC, which has thumbed its nose at calls to hold a congress, losing thousands of supporters in the process – including some who have been so sympathetic to the opposition party solely because it offered opposition to the behemoth ruling party Zanu-PF led by President Mnangagwa who outfoxed them in 2017 – is nothing but an oligarchy, a band of political upstarts that wish to be taken seriously, yet they do not take their party supporters seriously.
But there is a method to the madness, the party has no elected leadership, no constitution, no checks and balances, and no processes, in fact calling it a party is a misnomer because in form it is led by an oligarch who has vested all powers in himself.
Like seriously, how can Zimbabwe entrust such a dictatorial character with the keys to the State House when he is running his organisation like a tuckshop.
Where is the money for the bulletproof car?
Like any self-seeking person blinded by hubris, dreams of grandeur and political voyeurism, Chamisa sought a bullet-proof car, duly a crowd-funding platform, GoFundme, was launched and after an agonisingly long period, we were told the money had been raised, but the car never came.
Maybe it was never bought and now some within the party are asking genuinely what happened to the fortune that was milked off Zimbabweans scattered across the world who have faith, albeit diminishing faith, in the opposition party.
Fire begets ashes
A brief background perhaps: In October last year there were claims that Chamisa's car had been shot at, and making a case for the CCC leader the begging bowl was extended to the poor party supporters across the world, pennies and trinkets were thrown into the GoFundme bowl with reports suggesting that US$160 000 was raised.
One would have thought that with his life endangered, it was only a matter of time before the bullet-proof car arrived, to protect the opposition leader from "gun-toting gangs who were tailing him to his rallies", disrupting his political programmes.
The car never came, and yet all the while he is traversing the length and breathe of Zimbabwe unencumbered by hostile elements who only a few months ago were baying for his blood, what crass hypocrisy.
One may ask, was Chamisa's life ever in danger? Was it just another red herring and ploy by the opposition to soil the country's image as is its wont?
After a close shave on his life, one would have thought that by now the bullet-proof vehicle will be in the country with Chamisa safely chauffeured, as he currently does, in a car bought by his dwindling supporters.
But it is all deathly quiet, so silent are the mandarins at the CCC that is like a drum of water poured on the flames they feverishly fanned on social media platforms last year.
Indeed, fire begets ashes and from these ashes, there is no redeeming for Chamisa, for how can he be trusted with the national purse; taxpayers' monies when he cannot account for a few thousand that came in drips and drabs last year after his assassination theatrics.
Old habits die hard
The MDC that was formed by the late Morgan Tsvangirai, though a caricature of local politics, with its lineage to the country's erstwhile colonisers, had a modicum of checks and balances, resources, though all vested in the founding father were at least accounted for, but now under Chamisa's watch, never mind the name variant, there is no accountability, no transparency and no pretensions to democracy.
How can a leopard change its colours?
After illegally wrestling power, stepping on the corpse of Tsvangirai, Chamisa has centralised and personalised power, first in the MDC and now CCC that no one dares to stand up against his hectoring.
Not until last week when matters almost came to a head as the leadership discussed issues around forming a coalition and of course the whereabouts of the money raised for the bullet-proof vehicle.
In typical fashion, at the meeting, Chamisa reportedly shot down suggestions to form a coalition with any other party ahead of next year elections, saying that anyone who wanted to form a political partnership with him had to abandon their parties, specifically the names.
Tendai Biti, who leads the People's Democratic Party, must have cringed, but as noted earlier, no one dares speak against the revered leader.
What happened to the bulletproof car money?
Though few dared ask the self-proclaimed advocate the whereabouts of the money, underneath there is growing umbrage with his rule.
If the opposition is to be regarded as an alternative government, isn't it supposed to govern first itself in a democratic and transparent way.
That is, however, an aspect glaringly absent in the opposition.
Zanu-PF as we speak is preparing to hold its elective Women's League conference, a precursor to the national congress set for this year, having dispensed with the Youth League elective conference.
How can Chamisa, a man who cannot avail himself to intra-party scrutiny, be entrusted to rule millions?
Accountability, according to former CCC members, has never been the opposition's forte, after all the money is ill-gotten from neo-liberal Western countries that seek to remove the democratically-elected Zanu-PF Government by hook and crook, never by fair means of national plebiscites.
Writing on the micro-blogging platform Twitter, Tongai Matutu, a former MDC official also asked, where the bulletproof vehicle money was, before claiming that at one point US$2 million came from an international organisation and vanished without a trace.
For now, no one knows what happened to the money for the bulletproof vehicle other than the secretive Chamisa who sees himself as a demigod with no strictures or limitations imposed by a constitution.
Source - The Herald
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