A curse that will forever haunt Zimbabwe opposition

THOSE of us who grew up in the village know that nothing can be as foul-smelling as a skunk.

It literally stinks to high heaven.

By some freak of nature, these cat-sized black-and-white bushy-tailed creatures have a fascinating defensive mechanism to keep predators at bay.

Typically, when cornered, they release from their rear an atomised cloud of stench that is overpowering enough to be paralysing and also lingers long enough to be forbidding.

Nothing can possibly brave the smell, which scientists believe contains sulphur compounds (thiols and thioacetates).

Village folk claim skunks do not only deploy their spray to ward off predators, but to hunt down prey, especially rodents.

Not known to be fast animals that could even chase down the slowest of rodents, the skunks' presence is usually enough to force the prey to retreat down into their burrows for safety.

Being relatively big enough to follow their prey, they often invariably resort to their default weapon of choice. They just squat over the hole and release the foul gas down the labyrinth of underground tunnels.

As a result, the dazed rodents will have two stark choices: To either put up with the stench and risk being asphyxiated to death or to take their chances by bolting out and making a run for it.

It was usually the latter option.

But the disoriented prey always became easy pickings for skunks.

Apparently, this is the same method that is used by village huntsmen to smoke out cornered rabbits from their burrows. It works like a charm all the time.

So, the skunks' smell was always dreaded.

Even dogs made sure to steer clear from these foul animals.

In the rare unguarded moments when dogs chased after them and had the misfortune to be deodorised, village folk would shoo them away for as long as the repugnant smell lasted and lingered.

The temporary banishment came with the unwanted loss of many privileges — decent meals, companionship and the occasional loving pats from the dog's owner.

Stench

Piqued by this curious mammal's ability to put up with itself, even when other animals cannot stand being near it, our village elders coined an idiom, which, loosely translated, states the truism that despite how foul a skunk might smell, it will never realise that it stinks (chidembo hachinzwi kunhuhwa kwacho).

And Bishop Lazi found himself thinking back on these interesting happenings that occasionally punctuate village life when he was reflecting on struggles by the opposition CCC — previously MDC — to exorcise the stench of being considered a puppet party that is doing the bidding of the West, especially in light of ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula's strong words at the Western Cape Ninth Provincial Conference on June 24.

Mbulala, who is known variously as Mr Fix It or Razzmatazz, did not take any prisoners.

He did not mince his words when it came to articulating the political question in Zimbabwe.

The United States (US), he said, was hell-bent on toppling the Zanu-PF Government and installing a "puppet" regime led by CCC leader Nelson Chamisa.

"Even in Zimbabwe, Mbeki stood firm. They wanted (Robert) Mugabe to be changed overnight . . . and then we said we don't subscribe to a regime change policy where governments must be changed willy-nilly through undemocratic means and through military power, because America can move right from Botswana and in the afternoon, Mugabe will be finished (sic). Because they are here in Botswana — are you aware?" he told the ANC delegates.

"We opposed the sanctions and we said these sanctions against Zimbabwe will be detrimental to the growth of Zimbabwe . . . They are still not satisfied till they get their puppet into power . . . Zimbabwe is still under sanctions despite the fact that Mugabe was removed . . . (Cde) Mnangagwa, he brought some reforms to Zimbabwe, but they did not want those reforms because they want a man called Chamisa. Is it Chamza or Chamisa? They want him there to be the new leader of a new Zimbabwe . . ." Kikikiki.

Well, Mbulala's words and assertions — incidentally delivered when Chamisa was having a series of rallies in South Africa as part of his election campaign — cannot be dismissed as mere banter from a politician south of the Limpopo.

The man is part of the ANC's "Top Six" and his words carry a lot of weight, particularly in the context of the inextricable relations and bond between Harare and Pretoria.

Senior South African politicians did not publicly criticise opposition figures in Zimbabwe before, but situations and circumstances have changed.

As Mbalula also observed on June 24, the ANC, which is a liberation movement just like Zanu-PF, "is under siege".

There was a story in South Africa last year that Bishop thinks did not get the attention it deserved.

On October 5, 2022, the High Court of South Africa granted the country's intelligence services — the State Security Agency (SSA) — an interdict to stop Independent Media and IOL journalist Thabo Makwakwa from publishing a "secret" intelligence report on the alleged activities of America's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in destabilising the ANC.

Although the story never saw the light of day, the biggest takeaway is that we now know that Uncle Sam has also been busy trying to effect regime change in South Africa.

Currently, relations between America and SA seem to have also soured following the former's failure to conscript the latter in its geopolitical cold war with Russia over the conflict in Eastern Europe.

SA's perceived close links to Moscow, which supported the ANC in its struggle against apartheid, have also made things worse.

So, the ANC is keenly aware of the covert schemes of the West in this part of the world.

But Mbalula is not the first senior South African politician to raise concern over the incestuous relationship and liaisons between the then-MDC led by Morgan Tsvangirai and the West, especially during the difficult period when Pretoria, under President Thabo Mbeki, was mediating talks between Zanu-PF and the opposition that later led to the birth of the Inclusive Government in 2008.

Reflecting on what was going on behind the scenes during those delicate discussions, Reverend Frank Chikane, who was director-general of the presidency, indicated that the MDC made the talks frustratingly difficult, as they often reneged on what would have been agreed on, indicating that they were being coached by "particular powers" that wanted to remotely dictate the outcome.

What was even more disturbing for Rev Chikane was the fact that in instances where talks were held at secret venues, foreign intelligence services from the West would always check in at the venues in advance before the delegates.

"In the Zimbabwean case, you would have an agreement now, but tomorrow the agreement changes, because they have not followed particular interests of particular powers, and that is where, for me, became important to look beyond the ordinary discussion and say who else has an interest in this particular matter. Who is listening through? Who is handling who?" said Rev Chikane in one of his media rounds in South Africa.

So, South Africans understand and appreciate the political situation Zimbabweans find themselves in.

But Bishop Lazarus would also like to believe that other countries in the region, especially our neighbouring countries, are similarly suspicious of Zimbabwe's opposition parties.

Last year, there were reports that a CIA outfit, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which has a chequered record of destabilising and toppling governments considered to be Washington's adversaries, had funnelled more than US$160 000 to civil society organisations (CSOs) under the auspices of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition (CiZC) through their bank accounts in Botswana.

In a world where there is now heightened surveillance on financial flows, it would be naïve to think security services in Botswana are not aware of exactly what is going on, more so, when one of the parties (NED) is known the world over for sponsoring regime change.

Such a reputation and tag will always be the stench associated with the opposition in Zimbabwe.

Original sin, curse

So, no matter how much Chamisa might try to fashion out an ostensibly new political movement unencumbered by the curse of being cast as a quisling political party conceived by the West to further regime change in Zimbabwe, it seems he has successfully inherited Tsvangirai's iniquities.

The MDC carried the original sin of being conceived and sponsored by white commercial farmers who wanted to reverse the land reform programme, and this haunted it to its certain death, which will be confirmed on August 23.

Its successor CCC's dalliances with the West are also likely to be a kiss of death.

Numbers 14 verse 8 says: "The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation."

This tag will not favour Chamisa and his party — especially in this epoch, where the ideals of Pan-Africanism, sovereignty and the push for self-determination have become the zeitgeist of a new crop of Africa leaders.

The injustices associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, where Africa was condemned to the back benches in its quest to get lifesaving vaccines when it needed them the most, as well as bullying from the West as it seeks to forcibly conscript and corral the continent in its proxy war against Russia, have engendered a Pan-African renaissance that is likely to shape Africa's political future.

Unless and until the opposition renounces its links with the West and evolve into a genuine homegrown opposition political party, its politics will always be futile, condemned and cursed, particularly in a country that paid, and continues to pay, an unimaginably heavy price for its freedom, independence and sovereignty.

It is time for the opposition to realise that its politics presently stinks.

Bishop out!