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Cuthbert Mavheko
THE recent suspension of the MDC-T treasurer general Elton Mangoma by the party’s national council and the roping in of MDC-99 leader Job Sikhala and others, who have been wondering aimlessly in the political wilderness since they parted ways with Morgan Tsvangirai,many years ago, is more than enough testimony that the MDC-T leader is at his wits end.
Amid the hullabaloo it is self-evident that things are falling apart in the MDC-T, nothwithstanding the fact that Tsvangirai continues to peddle falsehoods that he has everything under control. The MDC-T’s violent crackdown on dissenters has exposed Tsvangirai as a ruthless autocrat who cannot tolerate diverse views and opinions.
His style of leadership is archaic and, as I personally see it, Tsvangirai can only be followed by politically blind people.
Like the vicious hoodlums who brutalized Mangoma for telling him, Tsvangirai, to step down.
The MDC-T has been torn asunder by factionalism since its memorial defeat by Zanu-PF in the July 31 harmonized elections.
As a party that professes democracy, MDC-T has failed ignominiously to espouse transparency, level-headedness and democratic values in dealing with its internal squabbles. Its propensity for violence when faced with grim realities has seen its credibility as a democratic movement takes a nose dive.
The return of Job Sikhala, Jobert Mudzumwe and renegades from Professor Ncube’s MDC, Edward Mkosi and Siyabonga Malandu, will not add value to the beleaguered party.
It is the honest opinion of this scribe that the four political malcontents have returned to the MDC-T solely to revive their moribund political careers.
Discerning analysts will no doubt, incur with me that Tsvangirai has dug his own political grave by surrounding himself with praise singers, bootlickers and opportunists, who are only after self-glorification and do not have the interests of the party at heart. To win Tsvangirai’s favour, some of his sympathizers have described him as the ordained one, a political Messiah and a beacon of hope for a better tomorrow.
Others have portrayed him as the biblical Moses, sent by God to lead the children of Zimbabwe into the Promised Land of milk and honey. Such utterances are scandalous and baseless- they actually display shocking and political short- sightedness. It is an incontestable fact that Tsvangirai is a puppet of the West and leads counter-revolutionary movement that was created and nurtured by the same imperialistic forces that enslaved and oppressed Zimbabwean people for donkey years.
Only one suffering from debilitating naivety can deny that it is Tsvangirai and his cronies in the MDC-T who invited and continue to support Western sanctions on Zimbabwe. These illegal sanctions have wreaked havoc in the country, forcing company closures and sending legions of once gainfully employed Zimbabweans into the wilderness of joblessness, where they are beating the dust of poverty
ZANU (PF) has been able to outpoint not only the MDC-T but all its political foes in the electoral boxing ring since the outset of independence in 1980 because it enjoys overwhelming grass root support. Its policies and programmes are pragmatic and resonate with the interests of the indigenous citizenry.
Tsvangirai who has piloted the MDC-T plane since 1999 when it took off on its maiden fight across the political skies has suffered consecutive defeats at the hands of ZANU (PF), mainly because his party does not respect the ethos of the liberation struggle and the idealogy of Pan-Africanism, which are the bed-rock of Zimbabwe’s nationhood.
Sight should not be lost of the fact that Zimbabwe’s nationhood is inextricably intertwined with the liberation struggle and it is the values and principles of this struggle that define the destiny of this country.
Lest we forget, the liberation struggle was not a stroll in the park- it was a time of the dire peril and hardships. It was a time when future leaders of this great country were chosen, tried and tested. Those who passed the rigorous test with flying colours include the incumbent Head of State Cde Mugabe, the late Joshua Nkomo, Joseph Msika and Mai Mujuru among others. Impostors were also identified and exposed during this period. Among these we find the likes of the late Reverand Ndabaningi Sithole, Bishop Abel Muzorewa and many others, who were later forced to swallow the bitter bill of being rejected by the masses when they contested general elections in an independent Zimbabwe.
The late US civil rights protagonist Dr Martin Luther King (junior) once said: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in times of comfort and convenience — but where he stands in times of challenges and controversy”. Those privy with Tsvangirai’s nondescript political background say he attempted to join the armed struggle in the early 1970’s but developed cold feet after hearing the crash of gunfire. He only crept out of his “hide-out” after the war had ended and joined the trade union movement. Shockingly, today he is being portrayed as a hero — a gallant freedom fighter and champion of democracy. This absurdity is worse than a cruel joke. In all honesty, how can a man who went into hiding whilst his contemporaries sacrificed their lives for this country’s freedom and independence to be called a hero?
In rounding off this discourse, let me point out that attempts by Tsvangirai to extend an olive branch to the Mangoma faction will not yield positive results. It is an exercise in futility to expect Mangoma and his faction to accept a compromise deal that leaves Tsvangirai’s at the helm of the MDC-T, having gone so far in their campaign to dethrone him.
At the time of writing, MDC-T secretary general Tendai Biti had proposed the formation of a new political party- the United Democratic Front. The formation of this party is no doubt the final nail in the coffin of the MDC-T. The writing is now on the wall MDC-T will implode. Only a miracle can save it.
Online Reporter