Opinion / Columnist
Zanu-PF leaders experts at doublespeak
26 Jul 2023 at 06:41hrs | Views
THE current wave of politically-motivated violence perpetrated by Zanu-PF in the run-up to August 2023 harmonised elections is deeply worrying and requires decisive action.
Zanu-PF leaders, supporters and some government institutions like the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) are experts at doublespeak.
They and their leader President Emmerson Mnangagwa preach about peace during the day and do the opposite when night falls. Opposition activists are being beaten up and their rallies banned by the police. If Mnangagwa is not secretly inciting violence against political opponents, then he is either an outright weak leader or supporters are irreparably undisciplined and gravely wayward to the point that he cannot convince them to do the right thing.
Since he usurped power from the late former President Robert Mugabe in November 2017, the uninspiring Mnangagwa has made several calls for peace which some have credited for the marked decline in political violence in the country. As the Freedom Alliance we are not convinced. He and his party are yet to walk the talk.
His supporters have been on the rampage. One such delinquent is the Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry deputy minister Barbra Rwodzi who was recently recorded threatening a police assistant inspector investigating a case of electoral violence. She attempted to cow the law enforcement officer, in stark violation of the calls for a peaceful electoral campaign.
This is a dangerous trend, especially considering that Mnangagwa is not only the leader of Zanu-PF, but is also the head of State and government. It could be one of the reasons the country will have a disputed election that will prolong the country's woes.
Together with the Zanu-PF youth leader Tinoda Machakaire, Mnangagwa has vocalised the need for peace, albeit in futility and obvious insincerity. Conspicuously, his lame attempts are being publicly amputated by his own party members and supporters who have evidently neither listened nor obeyed, if he ever intended that they should.
The reasons could include the fact that Zanu-PF members are so used to the hypocrisy of their leaders to the point that they can hardly believe his calls for peace. The record is the same as before, so they know. A close analysis of the history of Zanu-PF and its leaders shows that it is an organisation that largely hunts with the hounds while running with the hares. During the Lancaster House negotiations, the leadership of Zanu would talk about unity with PF Zapu in formal meetings, but underhandedly implement sinister resolutions in contrast to the originally agreed positions by the Patriotic Front, co-led by Joshua Nkomo and Mugabe.
They would later use violence against PF Zapu supporters in the run-up to the 1980 election. In the same vein, immediately after independence, the then Zanu-PF leader, Mugabe, would talk peace in public while secretly committing a genocide in Matebeleland. To this day, Mnangagwa has not acknowledged the genocide and the roles they played in it.
Therefore, it is imperative for Mnangagwa to rise above party politics and be a morally upright statesman. The recent signing of the Patriot Act is not even helpful. He just has to do the right thing, genuinely instruct his party supporters to stop engaging in violence.
If Zanu-PF members and the police continue to refuse to obey Mnangagwa's calls for peace, regardless of how feeble they may be, then he should gracefully resign because he would have failed to lead them.
If he fails to control his party members and ZRP, how then can he positively influence the whole country which does not even buy into his leadership, which is a huge failure? One would hope that Mnangagwa is not pretending to be against political violence in public, yet clandestinely propelling it in his party hierarchy and government.
Ultimately, we in the Freedom Alliance fully identify with the victims of violence, wherever they are in Zimbabwe or the world. The Freedom Charter calls for a peaceful and non-violent government of the people by the people.
By voting violence out of power on August 23, 2023, the people of Zimbabwe would have done a great service to themselves. Zanu-PF and violence are one. To get rid of violence, we should remove Zanu-PF from office.-Nhlanhla Moses Ncube Freedom Alliance spokesperson
Zanu-PF leaders, supporters and some government institutions like the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) are experts at doublespeak.
They and their leader President Emmerson Mnangagwa preach about peace during the day and do the opposite when night falls. Opposition activists are being beaten up and their rallies banned by the police. If Mnangagwa is not secretly inciting violence against political opponents, then he is either an outright weak leader or supporters are irreparably undisciplined and gravely wayward to the point that he cannot convince them to do the right thing.
Since he usurped power from the late former President Robert Mugabe in November 2017, the uninspiring Mnangagwa has made several calls for peace which some have credited for the marked decline in political violence in the country. As the Freedom Alliance we are not convinced. He and his party are yet to walk the talk.
His supporters have been on the rampage. One such delinquent is the Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry deputy minister Barbra Rwodzi who was recently recorded threatening a police assistant inspector investigating a case of electoral violence. She attempted to cow the law enforcement officer, in stark violation of the calls for a peaceful electoral campaign.
This is a dangerous trend, especially considering that Mnangagwa is not only the leader of Zanu-PF, but is also the head of State and government. It could be one of the reasons the country will have a disputed election that will prolong the country's woes.
Together with the Zanu-PF youth leader Tinoda Machakaire, Mnangagwa has vocalised the need for peace, albeit in futility and obvious insincerity. Conspicuously, his lame attempts are being publicly amputated by his own party members and supporters who have evidently neither listened nor obeyed, if he ever intended that they should.
The reasons could include the fact that Zanu-PF members are so used to the hypocrisy of their leaders to the point that they can hardly believe his calls for peace. The record is the same as before, so they know. A close analysis of the history of Zanu-PF and its leaders shows that it is an organisation that largely hunts with the hounds while running with the hares. During the Lancaster House negotiations, the leadership of Zanu would talk about unity with PF Zapu in formal meetings, but underhandedly implement sinister resolutions in contrast to the originally agreed positions by the Patriotic Front, co-led by Joshua Nkomo and Mugabe.
They would later use violence against PF Zapu supporters in the run-up to the 1980 election. In the same vein, immediately after independence, the then Zanu-PF leader, Mugabe, would talk peace in public while secretly committing a genocide in Matebeleland. To this day, Mnangagwa has not acknowledged the genocide and the roles they played in it.
Therefore, it is imperative for Mnangagwa to rise above party politics and be a morally upright statesman. The recent signing of the Patriot Act is not even helpful. He just has to do the right thing, genuinely instruct his party supporters to stop engaging in violence.
If Zanu-PF members and the police continue to refuse to obey Mnangagwa's calls for peace, regardless of how feeble they may be, then he should gracefully resign because he would have failed to lead them.
If he fails to control his party members and ZRP, how then can he positively influence the whole country which does not even buy into his leadership, which is a huge failure? One would hope that Mnangagwa is not pretending to be against political violence in public, yet clandestinely propelling it in his party hierarchy and government.
Ultimately, we in the Freedom Alliance fully identify with the victims of violence, wherever they are in Zimbabwe or the world. The Freedom Charter calls for a peaceful and non-violent government of the people by the people.
By voting violence out of power on August 23, 2023, the people of Zimbabwe would have done a great service to themselves. Zanu-PF and violence are one. To get rid of violence, we should remove Zanu-PF from office.-Nhlanhla Moses Ncube Freedom Alliance spokesperson
Source - newsday
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