Opinion / Columnist
The only ones stopping Court challenge of Mugabe's rigged elections are defeatist self-fulfilling prophets!
14 Jan 2015 at 23:37hrs | Views
It was Sociologist Robert K Merton who defined the term Self-fulfilling Prophecy as:
The self-fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a false definition of the situation evoking a new behavior which makes the original false conception come true. This specious validity of the self-fulfilling prophecy perpetuates a reign of error. For the prophet will cite the actual course of events as proof that he was right from the very beginning.
In other words, a positive or negative prophecy, strongly held belief, or delusion - declared as truth when it is actually false - may sufficiently influence people so that their reactions ultimately fulfill the once-false prophecy.
Zimbabweans have become victims of the self-fulfilling prophecies that:
1. Mugabe will never hold free, fair and credible elections and therefore it is futile to think there is anything we can do to change that.
1. When elections are held and lo behold they are not free, fair and credible, regardless how blatant the vote was rigged, it is utterly pointless challenging the results because the courts will throw out the case.
The set goal of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) agreed to by Zimbabwe's three political parties, Zanu PF led by Mugabe and the two MDC factions led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, and co-signed by South African President Thambo Mbeki in behalf of SADC as the guarantor of the agreement was to ensure Zimbabwe's next elections would be free, fair and credible. To achieve this set goal the GPA come up with a raft of democratic reforms that the Government of National Unity (GNU) were tasked to implement and to write a new democratic constitution.
The way SADC leaders had again and again reminded the MDC leaders to implement the democratic reforms and literally begged them not to take part in the elections without the reforms, as MDC MP Sipape Nkomo has admitted, shows that SADC believed Zimbabwe would have free and fair election if the reforms are implemented.
"It is common knowledge that Lindiwe Zulu (President Jacob Zuma's international relations adviser) advised us," admitted PM Nkomo. "Zuma also advised us and even the Sadc Heads of State meeting in Maputo (Mozambique) also advised not to participate in the elections without electoral, media and security sector reforms, among others."
So the MDC leaders signed on to the GPA agreeing to implement the reforms but for the next five years of the GNU did absolutely nothing to implement even one reform. Yes they are corrupt; there is no doubt that the $ 4 million Highlands mansion for Tsvangirai and all the trappings of holding high office for the rest of the MDC leadership made them very amenable to Mugabe's suggestion to do nothing about the reforms.
"MDC vadzidza kudya vanyerera!" [MDC have learnt to enjoy the gravy train spoils without rocking the boat!] Was the pithy retort from one Mugabe crony as to why MDC were not implementing any reforms.
Of course one has to be breathtakingly incompetent not to have foreseen that MDC leaders will not hold on to their political post if Mugabe rigged the elections. Lo behold Mugabe rigged the elections and, yes, many MDC leaders were unceremonious kicked off the gravy train.
Morgan Tsvangirai is luck, at least so far, to have held on to his Highlands bribe. Still he is having a real tough time; it is very hard to keep up a highflier lifestyle befitting that of one living in a $4 million mansion on zero income! Whilst most of the other MDC leaders who political careers came to a sudden stop on 31 July 2013, elections day, had other careers to fall back to Tsvangirai had no such lucky.
Tsvangirai is one of the many MDC leaders who really did not see the vote rigging coming; they are corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent, period. For the remaining few like Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, David Coltart and a few others there is a lot more to why they did not get even one reform implemented than being corrupt and incompetent – they never believed implementing the reforms would deliver free, fair and credible elections.
So we did not have free, fair and credible elections in 2013 because MDC leaders, in their infinite wisdom are prophesised way back in 2008 when the signed the GPA that Mugabe and Zanu PF would never concede to holding such elections and therefore implementing the reforms would be a waste of time so not even one reform was implement – deep breath – lo behold we did not have free, fair and credible elections.
The 2013 elections were blatantly rigged and I mean blatantly rigged – what could be more blatant than the number of polling station being increased from 2 000 to 9 000, four and half times two days before polling; failure to produce the voters roll, etc., etc. There was no real attempt to challenge the elections results regardless of the mountain of evidence of vote rigging because no one believed the Courts would consider the case because the judiciary is pro-Zanu PF. So you make the Judges' work much easier by pre-empting the case by pre-judging it?
Last year Mugabe, once again, blatantly rigged Zanu PF's own electoral process to elbow Mai Mujuru out of the way and install Mnangagwa as VP. Of course there are grounds for a Court challenge and the fact that some of the Judge will be from the Mujuru faction – given that this purge has divided Zanu PF down the middle. There should be no excuse for taking this to Court, one would think!
"Whether or not their legal argument is sound is quite irrelevant in this politically-charged case which will most likely be decided not on legal merit, but on political considerations," Dewa Mavhinga said. Mr Dewa Mavhinga is not just any lawyer he is the Senior Researcher for Zimbabwe and Southern Africa with the Africa Division at Human Rights Watch (HRW). He is a human rights lawyer who does not believe in the rule of law and is advocating that we should not bother with taking cases to Court regardless of the evidence and regardless of the critical importance of the case to not just Zanu PF members but to the whole nation – forcing Mugabe to abide by the law will constitute one of the greatest political decisions of our time!
How is it possible that a reputable organisation like HRW, whose core business is fighting for human rights and rule of law, would employ someone who does not even believe in the rule of law, beggars belief!
Ever since Zimbabwe's rigged 2013 national elections, it seems, nothing gives Tsvangirai greater sense of pride and fulfilment than announcing to the world that Mugabe rigged that election! "And it was I, Dr Richard Morgan Tsvangirai, who made it all easy and possible for him to do so!" He might as well add, drumming his chest like a silver-back gorilla!
Zimbabwe is in deep political and economic trouble because we are a nation of self-defeatists who love to indulge in self-defeatist self-fulfilling prophecies and, whilst wallowing in our own self-inflicted misery, we shameless boast of how all our self-defeatist prophecies have all come true!.
The self-fulfilling prophecy is, in the beginning, a false definition of the situation evoking a new behavior which makes the original false conception come true. This specious validity of the self-fulfilling prophecy perpetuates a reign of error. For the prophet will cite the actual course of events as proof that he was right from the very beginning.
In other words, a positive or negative prophecy, strongly held belief, or delusion - declared as truth when it is actually false - may sufficiently influence people so that their reactions ultimately fulfill the once-false prophecy.
Zimbabweans have become victims of the self-fulfilling prophecies that:
1. Mugabe will never hold free, fair and credible elections and therefore it is futile to think there is anything we can do to change that.
1. When elections are held and lo behold they are not free, fair and credible, regardless how blatant the vote was rigged, it is utterly pointless challenging the results because the courts will throw out the case.
The set goal of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) agreed to by Zimbabwe's three political parties, Zanu PF led by Mugabe and the two MDC factions led by Morgan Tsvangirai and Arthur Mutambara, and co-signed by South African President Thambo Mbeki in behalf of SADC as the guarantor of the agreement was to ensure Zimbabwe's next elections would be free, fair and credible. To achieve this set goal the GPA come up with a raft of democratic reforms that the Government of National Unity (GNU) were tasked to implement and to write a new democratic constitution.
The way SADC leaders had again and again reminded the MDC leaders to implement the democratic reforms and literally begged them not to take part in the elections without the reforms, as MDC MP Sipape Nkomo has admitted, shows that SADC believed Zimbabwe would have free and fair election if the reforms are implemented.
"It is common knowledge that Lindiwe Zulu (President Jacob Zuma's international relations adviser) advised us," admitted PM Nkomo. "Zuma also advised us and even the Sadc Heads of State meeting in Maputo (Mozambique) also advised not to participate in the elections without electoral, media and security sector reforms, among others."
So the MDC leaders signed on to the GPA agreeing to implement the reforms but for the next five years of the GNU did absolutely nothing to implement even one reform. Yes they are corrupt; there is no doubt that the $ 4 million Highlands mansion for Tsvangirai and all the trappings of holding high office for the rest of the MDC leadership made them very amenable to Mugabe's suggestion to do nothing about the reforms.
Of course one has to be breathtakingly incompetent not to have foreseen that MDC leaders will not hold on to their political post if Mugabe rigged the elections. Lo behold Mugabe rigged the elections and, yes, many MDC leaders were unceremonious kicked off the gravy train.
Morgan Tsvangirai is luck, at least so far, to have held on to his Highlands bribe. Still he is having a real tough time; it is very hard to keep up a highflier lifestyle befitting that of one living in a $4 million mansion on zero income! Whilst most of the other MDC leaders who political careers came to a sudden stop on 31 July 2013, elections day, had other careers to fall back to Tsvangirai had no such lucky.
Tsvangirai is one of the many MDC leaders who really did not see the vote rigging coming; they are corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent, period. For the remaining few like Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, David Coltart and a few others there is a lot more to why they did not get even one reform implemented than being corrupt and incompetent – they never believed implementing the reforms would deliver free, fair and credible elections.
So we did not have free, fair and credible elections in 2013 because MDC leaders, in their infinite wisdom are prophesised way back in 2008 when the signed the GPA that Mugabe and Zanu PF would never concede to holding such elections and therefore implementing the reforms would be a waste of time so not even one reform was implement – deep breath – lo behold we did not have free, fair and credible elections.
The 2013 elections were blatantly rigged and I mean blatantly rigged – what could be more blatant than the number of polling station being increased from 2 000 to 9 000, four and half times two days before polling; failure to produce the voters roll, etc., etc. There was no real attempt to challenge the elections results regardless of the mountain of evidence of vote rigging because no one believed the Courts would consider the case because the judiciary is pro-Zanu PF. So you make the Judges' work much easier by pre-empting the case by pre-judging it?
Last year Mugabe, once again, blatantly rigged Zanu PF's own electoral process to elbow Mai Mujuru out of the way and install Mnangagwa as VP. Of course there are grounds for a Court challenge and the fact that some of the Judge will be from the Mujuru faction – given that this purge has divided Zanu PF down the middle. There should be no excuse for taking this to Court, one would think!
"Whether or not their legal argument is sound is quite irrelevant in this politically-charged case which will most likely be decided not on legal merit, but on political considerations," Dewa Mavhinga said. Mr Dewa Mavhinga is not just any lawyer he is the Senior Researcher for Zimbabwe and Southern Africa with the Africa Division at Human Rights Watch (HRW). He is a human rights lawyer who does not believe in the rule of law and is advocating that we should not bother with taking cases to Court regardless of the evidence and regardless of the critical importance of the case to not just Zanu PF members but to the whole nation – forcing Mugabe to abide by the law will constitute one of the greatest political decisions of our time!
How is it possible that a reputable organisation like HRW, whose core business is fighting for human rights and rule of law, would employ someone who does not even believe in the rule of law, beggars belief!
Ever since Zimbabwe's rigged 2013 national elections, it seems, nothing gives Tsvangirai greater sense of pride and fulfilment than announcing to the world that Mugabe rigged that election! "And it was I, Dr Richard Morgan Tsvangirai, who made it all easy and possible for him to do so!" He might as well add, drumming his chest like a silver-back gorilla!
Zimbabwe is in deep political and economic trouble because we are a nation of self-defeatists who love to indulge in self-defeatist self-fulfilling prophecies and, whilst wallowing in our own self-inflicted misery, we shameless boast of how all our self-defeatist prophecies have all come true!.
Source - Wilbert Mukori
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