Opinion / Letters
Open Letter to Tsvangirai
08 Sep 2017 at 07:40hrs | Views
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Revolutionary greetings Cde President!
Let me start by congratulating you on putting together the coalition of the opposition, which you now lead. The people of Zimbabwe have spoken about the unity of the opposition against the ZANU(PF) regime. You seem to have responded well to this call though there are still challenges, l hope you will overcome them. I wish you all the best as you prepare for the 2018 elections. I would not dwell much on the MDC Alliance in the absence of its election manifesto. I hope your election manifesto will define who you are in class terms. If need be, we will engage you on your manifesto, on its meaning to the working class , the peasants, the majority of whom are poor.
My writing to you, this open letter is motivated by your alleged statements which you are said to have made in Bulawayo over the weekend. You are quoted as having said, "l will give you an example. The reason why you had Gukurahundi was because you promoted ethnicity at the expense of defending all Zimbabweans. We would never had anything to do with ethnicity. And l want to emphasize here, those who are promoting ethnicity and ethnic affiliations are dangerous for this country". This statement attributed to you is widely circulating on social media, as l write to you, your office has not made any attempt to deny or to clarify what you meant.
Let's get to your statement Cde President. "The reason why you had Gukurahundi was because you promoted ethnicity at the expense of defending all Zimbabweans". The key word is " you" not "we". This means you are clear on who the victims of Gukurahundi genocide are. But what shocks me is this ," because you promoted ethnicity at the expense of defending all Zimbabweans ". How did the victims of Gukurahundi promote ethnicity Cde President?
Throughout the liberation struggle, the majority of Gukurahundi victims supported ZAPU and its military wing ZIPRA. When the liberation movement split in 1963, giving birth to ZANU, the majority of victims remained loyal to ZAPU, waging a struggle against colonialism and imperialism. When the Lancaster House finally adopted the new constitution and the date of the elections, it is common cause that ZANU leadership rejected the idea of a coalition of the liberation movement (what you today call an alliance of the opposition) against the minority Smith regime.
The proposed Patriotic Front never saw the light of day as the late Dr Joshua Nkomo was dumped in London by the leader of ZANU now President Robert Mugabe. When elections were held in 1980, the majority of the victims voted for PF - ZAPU. A year later, there was Entumbane battle between the Zipra and Zanla cadres. Two years later in 1983, the 5th brigade was sent to Matabeleland and parts of Midlands.
Now Cde President, are you trying to tell us that, by voting for PF - ZAPU in 1980 ,this was part of promoting ".....ethnicity at the expense of defending all Zimbabweans"? Was the voting of the MDC in 2000 part of promoting " ethnicity and not defending all Zimbabweans ", given the fact that, your own village in Buhera voted for ZANU (PF) and my village voted for MDC? Does this mean that, when the people in Buhera rejected you, it was part of what they had understood over the years , that ".....defending all Zimbabweans", one had to vote for ZANU (PF) as opposed to voting for the MDC , a party that you still lead up to this day?
Was the physical attack on you by the State apparatus particularly in March 2007 and your treason trial in 2002 part of "......defending all Zimbabweans" by ZANU (PF) the party that you belonged to in the 80s? Is the refusal by the ZANU(PF) regime in implementing the 2013 constitution, which speaks to devolution of power, conduct of democratic elections and etc part of ".....defending all Zimbabweans"?
So when the people of Zimbabwe go to an election next year, the victims of Gukurahundi should correct the mistake of not "...... defending all Zimbabweans" by voting correctly for the leader and party that you voted for in 1980?
As l conclude Cde President, am reminded by the words of one great revolutionary Amilcar Cabral who said, "claim no easy victories, tell no lies". What you did at White City stadium Cde President, was to lie to the world with regards to the circumstances that led to Gukurahundi. Am shocked that a man of your stature, who is seeking the highest office in our country can be so naive.
Africa needs leaders who are honest and truthful. Instead of addressing ethnicity patronage, which has kept ZANU (PF) in power for years, leading to looting of our resources, you elect to blame the victims. The ethnicity patronage policy by ZANU (PF) since 1980, has given birth to ethnic divisions in our society, leading to strong calls for a separate State.
It is only socialism that will unite our society. For us to achieve this unity, we must wage a struggle against imperialism, its stooges in our country and the unpatriotic black bourgeoisie that continues to loot our resources.
Ours Cde President is a class struggle against capitalist exploitation. You concluded by saying , " those who are promoting ethnicity and ethnic affiliations are dangerous for this country ". I want to say to you Cde President that, a leader like you who analyses society through ethnicity lenses, is dangerous to our country and must never be allowed near State House. Our society is not made up of ethnic groupings, but is made up of two social classes, one rich, which constitute the minority and the other poor, which constitute the majority.
Once again, all the best in 2018 Cde President.
Yours Comradely
Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena
Marxist - Leninist student.
Contacts : +27 83 340 1000
Email : ngqabuthomabhena@gmail.com
Let me start by congratulating you on putting together the coalition of the opposition, which you now lead. The people of Zimbabwe have spoken about the unity of the opposition against the ZANU(PF) regime. You seem to have responded well to this call though there are still challenges, l hope you will overcome them. I wish you all the best as you prepare for the 2018 elections. I would not dwell much on the MDC Alliance in the absence of its election manifesto. I hope your election manifesto will define who you are in class terms. If need be, we will engage you on your manifesto, on its meaning to the working class , the peasants, the majority of whom are poor.
My writing to you, this open letter is motivated by your alleged statements which you are said to have made in Bulawayo over the weekend. You are quoted as having said, "l will give you an example. The reason why you had Gukurahundi was because you promoted ethnicity at the expense of defending all Zimbabweans. We would never had anything to do with ethnicity. And l want to emphasize here, those who are promoting ethnicity and ethnic affiliations are dangerous for this country". This statement attributed to you is widely circulating on social media, as l write to you, your office has not made any attempt to deny or to clarify what you meant.
Let's get to your statement Cde President. "The reason why you had Gukurahundi was because you promoted ethnicity at the expense of defending all Zimbabweans". The key word is " you" not "we". This means you are clear on who the victims of Gukurahundi genocide are. But what shocks me is this ," because you promoted ethnicity at the expense of defending all Zimbabweans ". How did the victims of Gukurahundi promote ethnicity Cde President?
Throughout the liberation struggle, the majority of Gukurahundi victims supported ZAPU and its military wing ZIPRA. When the liberation movement split in 1963, giving birth to ZANU, the majority of victims remained loyal to ZAPU, waging a struggle against colonialism and imperialism. When the Lancaster House finally adopted the new constitution and the date of the elections, it is common cause that ZANU leadership rejected the idea of a coalition of the liberation movement (what you today call an alliance of the opposition) against the minority Smith regime.
The proposed Patriotic Front never saw the light of day as the late Dr Joshua Nkomo was dumped in London by the leader of ZANU now President Robert Mugabe. When elections were held in 1980, the majority of the victims voted for PF - ZAPU. A year later, there was Entumbane battle between the Zipra and Zanla cadres. Two years later in 1983, the 5th brigade was sent to Matabeleland and parts of Midlands.
Now Cde President, are you trying to tell us that, by voting for PF - ZAPU in 1980 ,this was part of promoting ".....ethnicity at the expense of defending all Zimbabweans"? Was the voting of the MDC in 2000 part of promoting " ethnicity and not defending all Zimbabweans ", given the fact that, your own village in Buhera voted for ZANU (PF) and my village voted for MDC? Does this mean that, when the people in Buhera rejected you, it was part of what they had understood over the years , that ".....defending all Zimbabweans", one had to vote for ZANU (PF) as opposed to voting for the MDC , a party that you still lead up to this day?
Was the physical attack on you by the State apparatus particularly in March 2007 and your treason trial in 2002 part of "......defending all Zimbabweans" by ZANU (PF) the party that you belonged to in the 80s? Is the refusal by the ZANU(PF) regime in implementing the 2013 constitution, which speaks to devolution of power, conduct of democratic elections and etc part of ".....defending all Zimbabweans"?
As l conclude Cde President, am reminded by the words of one great revolutionary Amilcar Cabral who said, "claim no easy victories, tell no lies". What you did at White City stadium Cde President, was to lie to the world with regards to the circumstances that led to Gukurahundi. Am shocked that a man of your stature, who is seeking the highest office in our country can be so naive.
Africa needs leaders who are honest and truthful. Instead of addressing ethnicity patronage, which has kept ZANU (PF) in power for years, leading to looting of our resources, you elect to blame the victims. The ethnicity patronage policy by ZANU (PF) since 1980, has given birth to ethnic divisions in our society, leading to strong calls for a separate State.
It is only socialism that will unite our society. For us to achieve this unity, we must wage a struggle against imperialism, its stooges in our country and the unpatriotic black bourgeoisie that continues to loot our resources.
Ours Cde President is a class struggle against capitalist exploitation. You concluded by saying , " those who are promoting ethnicity and ethnic affiliations are dangerous for this country ". I want to say to you Cde President that, a leader like you who analyses society through ethnicity lenses, is dangerous to our country and must never be allowed near State House. Our society is not made up of ethnic groupings, but is made up of two social classes, one rich, which constitute the minority and the other poor, which constitute the majority.
Once again, all the best in 2018 Cde President.
Yours Comradely
Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena
Marxist - Leninist student.
Contacts : +27 83 340 1000
Email : ngqabuthomabhena@gmail.com
Source - Ngqabutho Nicholas Mabhena
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