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Tichaona Zindoga My Turn—
It is one of the most troubling questions that many people of goodwill have in relation to Zimbabwe’s politics or politics anywhere else in the world.So much blood-letting, battery and skulduggery. Perhaps that is what makes this game called politics, which every elementary commentator will tell you is dirty.
It is so sad.
Or is it precisely the reason why those who have softer noses — or is it softer hats — should not dare enter such a field?
Many people were thankful that the last elections in Zimbabwe were largely peaceful, thanks to the exhortations of President Mugabe for peace and tolerance.
At some point he called for the respect of individual choices, even if one were to cast their votes into the river.
So, based on the gospel of peace that he preached in the run-up to the last elections, it is a safe bet that if President Mugabe had lost the last elections, which he thankfully didn’t, he would have taken it with equanimity.
We cannot be too sure who else would be inclined to doing the same.
Happily, yet, the last elections and post-election period were peaceful, even in spite of calls for violent protests and confrontations that issued from some quarters like Roy Bennett.
Zimbabwe turned a corner. Well, largely.
There unfortunately has remained some room in the country’s politics and we have seen incidences of violence within the MDC-T and some Zanu-PF/MDC-T clashes in Epworth as recently as seven days ago.
While MDC-T touts itself as a democratic party, it has time and again shown its violent side and this it deploys towards internal and external enemies.
Perhaps it all began in that September 2000 pronunciation by Morgan Tsvangirai when he said at a rally in Harare: “What we would like to tell Mugabe is please go peacefully. If you don’t want to go peacefully, we will remove you violently.”
For all its wanting to play victim of Zanu-PF violence, the MDC has never been a saint.
It has probably given as much as it has received and MDC went further to create what it called Democratic Resistance Committees, which composed of urban terrorist warfare thugs.
Both parties acknowledged culpability in the Global Political Agreement which led to the formation of the inclusive Government in 2009.
Perhaps unlike Zanu-PF, MDC-T is particularly notorious for resorting to violence as a means of solving internal problems. Tsvangirai has been the kingpin of the violence as thugs that worship him have always used violence to try to outdo internal rivals.
They have usually succeeded.
The list of names of the victims is lengthening by the day: from Welshman Ncube and Trudy Stevenson through Elton Mangoma to one Leonard Dendera who was allegedly battered at Harvest House a few days ago.
Only at the weekend, Alex Musundire can count himself lucky that he was not beaten black and blue at a Tsvangirai rally for his alleged sympathies with the renewal team.
Before the now almost formal split recently, all those in the renewal lobby or perceived to be, would not dare show their faces at Tsvangirai’s rallies.
Unless they were foolish or brave enough. Self-preserving politicians — they always are — like Settlement Chikwinya and Biti himself knew good to stay way and ship out eventually.
Such is the sad state of affairs in the country’s politics when our most democratic party becomes a haven for thugs.
So sad!
Yet Zanu-PF must not go uncensored.
Let’s take the most recent incident; the one in Epworth, which was not only unnecessary in so far as it perpetuated a needless violent culture but also in giving the MDC-T which is facing its own challenges, something to cling on to.
(An MDC-pliant news site conveniently announced that, “Zanu-PF reignites violence against MDC-T”.)
We saw sad pictures of injured people and destroyed property.
But how did this start?
Here is what Zanu-PF chairman for Tembwe District in Epworth, Japhet Chiromo told this paper: “The MDC-T supporters first provoked us by sending three of their youths to some tuckshops that are near our offices wearing their regalia.
“This happened when they were still conducting their rally at an open space near Epworth Local Board offices.”
According to the report we carried: “After their (MDC-T) rally some of the supporters boarded a lorry while others walked on foot towards our offices. We then mobilised ourselves in order to block them and they made a U-turn.”
With all due respect, and barring any possibility that Chiromo was misquoted, how does going to tuckshops near a rival party’s offices wearing your own regalia constitute a provocation in a democracy where freedoms of movement and association are guaranteed?
Have Chiromo and co, and by extension Zanu-PF, become some kind of bulls that are averse to the colour red?
The reasons given by Chiromo are not convincing at all, if we grant he told the whole story.
The long and short of it is that they should have shown maturity.
Zimbabwe is supposed to have crossed the Rubicon last year and why, anyway would people let blood over vanquished opponents like the MDC-T?
As a blood elixir to bring it to life?
In which case there should be a great deal of introspection on the part of the revolutionary party.
Violence is rarely revolutionary.
In fact it has worked wonderfully well to defeat the cause of Zanu-PF most of recent times as people, even Zanu-PF people at heart have been violated and assaulted by some thugs who not only do not vote but know nothing about history or the political economy.
We often heard some annoyed gentlemen or senior citizens rebuking some unruly and overzealous youths over who should be teaching who about Zanu-PF.
Many people have been turned off by gratuitous violence and force by some unscrupulous Zanu-PF elements.
The image of the party and country suffered.
No-one benefits from violence, really.
It is in the interest of politicians in this country to grasp this and institute measures that it should not be used as a means of political control again.
It is such an ugly tool, especially considering that we are the most educated Africans in the world.
Our civilisation must teach us better. Politics indeed can be cleaner and bloodless.
Just consider that elections in South Africa, where people are less endowed with education and literacy than us and are more given to mayhem behaved well in the just ended elections.
There are more enlivening things in politics and we should outgrow the idea that violence, although it may depict our passions on issues, a tonic to political processes.
Online Reporter