It is one thing to hear my aunt or nephew in the rural back waters Wittering about “Nelson Chamisa is Zimbabwe’s best foot forward!” Their understanding of even some of the most basic issues such as rigged elections, democratic reforms, etc. are superficial and therefore their political decisions are more an act of blind faith than rational reason.
Like it or not, my aunt and nephew have failed to understand what the reforms are much less how they are implemented. Yes, they have chanted “Chinja! Chinja!” at MDC/CCC rallies and meetings these last 23 years with the rest of the opposition wildebeest herd.
In the last few years they have taken to calling Chamisa “Change Champion in Chief!” They, like the rest of the herd, cannot name even one change Chamisa has brought in 23 years because he has never brought one. Fortunately for Chamisa, they don’t know even one democratic change they wanted MDC to bring.
How can povo blame MDC/CCC leaders for failing to implement even one reform in 23 years when they have no clue what the reforms are much less the dire consequences for the failure – Zanu PF rigging elections and thus perpetuating the dictatorship and the people’s own suffering and death.
The masses in Zimbabwe can be compared to Boxer, the horse in George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Boxer took as long to learn the first 4 letters of the alphabet as other took to learn all the 26 letters. He took just as long to learn the next 4 letters but by then it was discovered that he had forgotten the first 4 letters.
Boxer found it impossible to follow even the simplest of arguments. He could not string together anything coherent to answer back. He was all a muddle!
“Comrade Napoleon is always right!” Was Boxer’s motto! To those who have never read Animal Farm or cannot remember; Napoleon was the modelled in the image of Russia’s dictator, Joseph Stalin. A paranoid, psychotic and murderous tyrant “always right!”, such is the disastrous destiny blind faith will take you.
When my aunt, nephew and the rest of the CCC herd say “Chamisa is Zimbabwe’s only hope out of the mess!” This is no more an act of blind faith in Chamisa than Boxer’s blind faith in Napoleon!
One does not expect the likes of Hopewell Chin’ono, “Award winning International Journalist | Film Maker | 2 Time African Journalist of The Year | Africa Leadership FellowI Nieman Fellow” to parrot the idiotic blind faith of the CCC herd! He should know better!
Chin’ono should know that the democratic reforms are and that MDC leaders sold out big time by failing to implement even one token reform during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Worse still, he should know that Chamisa and company have been participating in these flawed elections to give Zanu PF legitimacy. MDC/CCC leaders themselves have publicly admitted this.
“Look, you can’t keep on participating in flawed electoral processes that serve to give big benefits to dictators such as Robert Mugabe. Mugabe has perfected the art of winning elections. So it will be very foolish for the opposition to continue legitimising these sham elections which don’t deliver,” Tendai Biti told Isaac Mugabi in an interview 2015.
“So you can’t continue subjecting Zimbabweans to processes where their hopes just get crushed.”
David Coltart went one step further and explained why he and his MDC friends participated in the 2013 elections even when they KNEW Zanu PF was rigging and that participating would give Zanu PF legitimacy.
“The (2013) electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility,” confessed David Coltart in his Book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.
In a recent panel discussion, Zimbabwe: The Crisis in Opposition Political Parties, chaired by Professor Ibbo Mandaza; Chin’ono admitted that MDC leaders ignored SADC leaders’ advice not to participate in the 2013 elections without reforms. What our award winning International Journalist conveniently ignored is to say why MDC leaders had failed to implement even one reform during the GNU.
Tsvangirai and company disregarded SADC leaders’ warning and participated in the 2013 elections without reforms because Tsvangirai believed he would win the rigged elections because “he had been touched by the hand of God!” Chin’ono explained.
Chamisa has in turn dragged the nation into one flawed election after another make the same outrageous claims of having winning in rigged election strategies. “God is in it!” Chamisa has claimed repeatedly. And Chin’ono, in his infantile wisdom, believes Chamisa will, after 23 years without not even one token reform to show for it, win Zanu PF rigged elections and the country will live happily ever after!
Zimbabwe is stuck with this corrupt, incompetent and murderous Zanu PF dictatorship because MDC/CCC leaders have failed to implement even one token reform in 23 years including 5 years in the GNU.
What the nation needs is people who will educate and inform the masses so that they can see leaders like Nelson Chamisa as not only fallible mortal but corrupt and incompetent mortals and not worthy of their blind loyalty. The last thing we want is intellectuals like Hopewell Chin’ono encouraging povo to continue the insanity of expecting national deliverance from fallible, corrupt and incompetent mortals with a well proven track record of being fallible, corrupt and incompetent.
Zimbabwe is a failed state and what landed us in this mess and holding us there is the Boxer “Comrade Napoleon is always right!” blind loyalty to leaders. If we need to snap out of it or we are doomed
Source Bulawayo 24
