Opinion / Columnist
MDC-T embrace rogue war veterans like Mahiya out of mercenary opportunism!
17 Aug 2016 at 21:30hrs | Views
Morgan Richard Tsvangirai, leader of Zimbabwe's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), is a "flawed and indecisive character," reported American Ambassador to Zimbabwe (2004 to 2007), Christopher William Dell. The report was meant to be top secret for US officials only but it was leaked and made public by WikiLeaks.
Ambassador Dell came to this conclusion after meeting Tsvangirai a few times. We, Zimbabweans particularly those in his party who elected him MDC leader, had known him for years but failed to notice's he was not leadership material. Even after WikiLeaks report came out flagging Tsvangirai's serious weaknesses, MDC supporters and the nation at large ignored the warning and went on to vote for him in droves in 2008 and 2013 elections.
Of course Ambassador Dell was right in his assessment of Tsvangirai and subsequent events have proven that Tsvangirai is breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent; MDC's failure to get even one democratic reform implemented in five years of the GNU is one of the most graphic proof of this. It was MDC's failure to implement the reforms that allowed President Mugabe to blatantly rig the July 2013 elections and retain to power. If Zimbabweans did not appreciate the seriousness consequences of failing to stop him getting back into power, they do now because the tyrant has done nothing since other than drag the nation deeper and deeper into this hell-on-earth.
Zimbabwe facing a serious economic meltdown; unemployment has soared to 90%, up to 76% of the population are now living in abject poverty, basic services like supply of clean running water and electricity are now a luxury, etc. President Mugabe and his cronies are not paying any attention on the economic problems and the tragic human suffering they are causing; they are busy looting and/or fighting amongst themselves over who will inherit the dictatorship from Mugabe.
Looting is big "business" in Zimbabwe. In March this year President Mugabe admitted that $15 billion in diamond revenue was looted is the last six years. Ministers Jonathan Moyo and Kasukuwere have since said a big "chunk" of the $15 billion was looted by former VP Joice Mujuru and her late husband. It is no secret that the two had a diamond mining concession in Marange but they were not the only ones with such looting rights. So the full extent of the wholesale looting and plunder of Marange and Chiadzwa diamonds must be hundreds of billions of dollars!
If Zimbabweans had listened to Ambassador Dell's warning and ditched the flawed and indecisive Tsvangirai we would not be in this mess. Worse still, because Zimbabweans did not ditch Tsvangirai and his MDC friends after the rigged July 2013 elections they have allowed these corrupt and incompetent idiots to sow confusion and chaos in the nation.
"The Zanu-PF regime, as it continues to fizzle out of power and collapse like a deck of cards, has recently been persecuting and harassing genuine war veterans. The recent arrest of war veterans leaders, Victor Matemadanda and Douglas Mahiya is a case in point," wrote the MDC-T spokesman, Obert Gutu.
It is a matter of public record that Zanu-PF has used rogue war veterans as its storm troopers since 2000 to harass, intimidate, beat, rape and even murder innocent Zimbabweans under the pretext fighting agents of regime change. President Mugabe granted these rogues carte blanche powers to act above the law and they did. The tyrant has rewarded these war veteran thugs with one-off generous war-induced disability grants, pension and school fees allowances.
Rogue war veteran leaders like Jabulani Sibanda, Chris Mutsvangwa and now Victor Matemadanda and Douglas Mahiya have publicly acknowledge their support of President Mugabe and his corrupt and tyrannical rule. They have boosted of their role in keeping the tyrant in power. The last two individuals have described themselves and their fellow rogue war veterans as the "stockholders of Zanu-PF and Zimbabwe", meaning they have the veto over who rules the country and as Zanu-PF storm troopers they have wielded their veto alright!
No genuine war veteran would ever accept committing such acts of barbarism against innocent civilians because it goes against the grain of what the war of independence was about! Matemadanda and Mahiya are war veterans in that they did fight in the war of independence just as Emmerson Mnangagwa and even Mugabe himself did. No doubt Obert Gutu will not describe Mnangagwa and Mugabe as "genuine war veterans" because of what they have done since independence; destruction of the economy, the brutal oppression, Gukurahundi massacre, etc.
Until a few months ago Mahiya and his fellow rogue war veterans were fighting to impose the Zanu-PF dictatorship; they were not just in the same camp with Mugabe they were his flag bearers! Mahiya and company are angry with President Mugabe not because of his "dictatorial tendencies" as they said; they never noticed that before because they were rewarded. They are angry with him now because he has stopped paying them.
Zimbabwe's liberation war was fought by those who believed in the cause of freedom and human dignity for all, the genuine war veterans. It was also fought by mercenaries who cared about freedom, liberty, justice and economic prosperity for only themselves and no one else. Mercenaries are renowned for betraying the cause for which they were fighting for yesterday in pursuit of their reward of power and wealth; they appetites for both are insatiable.
Of course President Mugabe and his Zanu-PF cronies including the rogue war veterans like Mahiya have proven beyond all doubt that they are mercenaries who have betrayed the people and all those genuine war veterans who believed in the struggle for independence.
Both Mai Mujuru and Nelson Chamisa and members from their respective parties, Zim-PF and MDC-T attended the court hearings of Mahiya and other rogue war veterans – they were arrested as part of the fall-out with the tyrant. It is one thing for Mujuru and her Zim-PF friends to support these war veterans, after all she is still Zanu-PF in all but name. MDC-T members and the public at large were the victims of these rogue war veterans' thuggery!
As the victims of the Zanu-PF tyranny of course any thinking ordinary Zimbabwean is pleased to see Zanu-PF thugs fighting amongst themselves and the dictatorship implode. But for anyone, much less opposition leaders like Gutu whose members have been on the receiving end of tyrants like Mahiya and his fellow rogue war veterans, to pretend Mahiya and company are innocent reeks of mercenary political opportunism – same opportunism that turned Mugabe, Mahiya and all the other Zanu-PF members into the corrupt and murderous thugs they are today.
"The people of Zimbabwe deserve a new beginning; a fresh and brand new start. The MDC is the government-in-waiting and we are not going to disappoint the long-suffering masses of Zimbabwe," continued Obert Gutu.
MDC-T is busy recruiting the same rogue war veterans who helped Zanu-PF impose the de facto Zanu-PF dictatorship with a view of the war veterans doing the same thing for MDC-T; how does that constitute a fresh start for the nation? We are fighting to end the dictatorship and not to end the Zanu-PF dictatorship and replace it with a MDC-T or Zim-PF dictatorship!
Right now, the people of Zimbabwe have the government they rightly deserve – the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu-PF government complete with its army of corrupt and incompetent opposition parties. A nation that continues to follow blindly someone like Morgan Tsvangirai ten years after they were warned that he is "flawed and indecisive character" and in total disregard of the mountain of evidence proving just how incompetent he is, is setting itself up for failure. We are a failed state, and so will remain until we learn to elect competent leaders!
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Patrick Guramatunhu <patguramatunhu@gmail.com
Ambassador Dell came to this conclusion after meeting Tsvangirai a few times. We, Zimbabweans particularly those in his party who elected him MDC leader, had known him for years but failed to notice's he was not leadership material. Even after WikiLeaks report came out flagging Tsvangirai's serious weaknesses, MDC supporters and the nation at large ignored the warning and went on to vote for him in droves in 2008 and 2013 elections.
Of course Ambassador Dell was right in his assessment of Tsvangirai and subsequent events have proven that Tsvangirai is breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent; MDC's failure to get even one democratic reform implemented in five years of the GNU is one of the most graphic proof of this. It was MDC's failure to implement the reforms that allowed President Mugabe to blatantly rig the July 2013 elections and retain to power. If Zimbabweans did not appreciate the seriousness consequences of failing to stop him getting back into power, they do now because the tyrant has done nothing since other than drag the nation deeper and deeper into this hell-on-earth.
Zimbabwe facing a serious economic meltdown; unemployment has soared to 90%, up to 76% of the population are now living in abject poverty, basic services like supply of clean running water and electricity are now a luxury, etc. President Mugabe and his cronies are not paying any attention on the economic problems and the tragic human suffering they are causing; they are busy looting and/or fighting amongst themselves over who will inherit the dictatorship from Mugabe.
Looting is big "business" in Zimbabwe. In March this year President Mugabe admitted that $15 billion in diamond revenue was looted is the last six years. Ministers Jonathan Moyo and Kasukuwere have since said a big "chunk" of the $15 billion was looted by former VP Joice Mujuru and her late husband. It is no secret that the two had a diamond mining concession in Marange but they were not the only ones with such looting rights. So the full extent of the wholesale looting and plunder of Marange and Chiadzwa diamonds must be hundreds of billions of dollars!
If Zimbabweans had listened to Ambassador Dell's warning and ditched the flawed and indecisive Tsvangirai we would not be in this mess. Worse still, because Zimbabweans did not ditch Tsvangirai and his MDC friends after the rigged July 2013 elections they have allowed these corrupt and incompetent idiots to sow confusion and chaos in the nation.
"The Zanu-PF regime, as it continues to fizzle out of power and collapse like a deck of cards, has recently been persecuting and harassing genuine war veterans. The recent arrest of war veterans leaders, Victor Matemadanda and Douglas Mahiya is a case in point," wrote the MDC-T spokesman, Obert Gutu.
It is a matter of public record that Zanu-PF has used rogue war veterans as its storm troopers since 2000 to harass, intimidate, beat, rape and even murder innocent Zimbabweans under the pretext fighting agents of regime change. President Mugabe granted these rogues carte blanche powers to act above the law and they did. The tyrant has rewarded these war veteran thugs with one-off generous war-induced disability grants, pension and school fees allowances.
Rogue war veteran leaders like Jabulani Sibanda, Chris Mutsvangwa and now Victor Matemadanda and Douglas Mahiya have publicly acknowledge their support of President Mugabe and his corrupt and tyrannical rule. They have boosted of their role in keeping the tyrant in power. The last two individuals have described themselves and their fellow rogue war veterans as the "stockholders of Zanu-PF and Zimbabwe", meaning they have the veto over who rules the country and as Zanu-PF storm troopers they have wielded their veto alright!
No genuine war veteran would ever accept committing such acts of barbarism against innocent civilians because it goes against the grain of what the war of independence was about! Matemadanda and Mahiya are war veterans in that they did fight in the war of independence just as Emmerson Mnangagwa and even Mugabe himself did. No doubt Obert Gutu will not describe Mnangagwa and Mugabe as "genuine war veterans" because of what they have done since independence; destruction of the economy, the brutal oppression, Gukurahundi massacre, etc.
Until a few months ago Mahiya and his fellow rogue war veterans were fighting to impose the Zanu-PF dictatorship; they were not just in the same camp with Mugabe they were his flag bearers! Mahiya and company are angry with President Mugabe not because of his "dictatorial tendencies" as they said; they never noticed that before because they were rewarded. They are angry with him now because he has stopped paying them.
Zimbabwe's liberation war was fought by those who believed in the cause of freedom and human dignity for all, the genuine war veterans. It was also fought by mercenaries who cared about freedom, liberty, justice and economic prosperity for only themselves and no one else. Mercenaries are renowned for betraying the cause for which they were fighting for yesterday in pursuit of their reward of power and wealth; they appetites for both are insatiable.
Of course President Mugabe and his Zanu-PF cronies including the rogue war veterans like Mahiya have proven beyond all doubt that they are mercenaries who have betrayed the people and all those genuine war veterans who believed in the struggle for independence.
Both Mai Mujuru and Nelson Chamisa and members from their respective parties, Zim-PF and MDC-T attended the court hearings of Mahiya and other rogue war veterans – they were arrested as part of the fall-out with the tyrant. It is one thing for Mujuru and her Zim-PF friends to support these war veterans, after all she is still Zanu-PF in all but name. MDC-T members and the public at large were the victims of these rogue war veterans' thuggery!
As the victims of the Zanu-PF tyranny of course any thinking ordinary Zimbabwean is pleased to see Zanu-PF thugs fighting amongst themselves and the dictatorship implode. But for anyone, much less opposition leaders like Gutu whose members have been on the receiving end of tyrants like Mahiya and his fellow rogue war veterans, to pretend Mahiya and company are innocent reeks of mercenary political opportunism – same opportunism that turned Mugabe, Mahiya and all the other Zanu-PF members into the corrupt and murderous thugs they are today.
"The people of Zimbabwe deserve a new beginning; a fresh and brand new start. The MDC is the government-in-waiting and we are not going to disappoint the long-suffering masses of Zimbabwe," continued Obert Gutu.
MDC-T is busy recruiting the same rogue war veterans who helped Zanu-PF impose the de facto Zanu-PF dictatorship with a view of the war veterans doing the same thing for MDC-T; how does that constitute a fresh start for the nation? We are fighting to end the dictatorship and not to end the Zanu-PF dictatorship and replace it with a MDC-T or Zim-PF dictatorship!
Right now, the people of Zimbabwe have the government they rightly deserve – the corrupt and tyrannical Zanu-PF government complete with its army of corrupt and incompetent opposition parties. A nation that continues to follow blindly someone like Morgan Tsvangirai ten years after they were warned that he is "flawed and indecisive character" and in total disregard of the mountain of evidence proving just how incompetent he is, is setting itself up for failure. We are a failed state, and so will remain until we learn to elect competent leaders!
------------
Patrick Guramatunhu <patguramatunhu@gmail.com
Source - Patrick Guramatunhu
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