Give me strong contacts, not weak links!

Newsday

18 December 2010

By Rejoice Ngwenya

The pathetic Zanu PF caravan of jocular politics never ceases to amaze me. These fellows need urgent psycho-therapy.

Do they take us for brainless buffoons? Says “a top official in the Attorney-General’s office”, according to a report on the Zimbabwe situation: “

The people of Zimbabwe should not only look up to President Robert Mugabe to take action against Mr Tsvangirai, as it is now clear to them that he committed treason and should be charged by the laws of the land and the people.

“Sanctions imposed by the West have crippled the entire economy and Mr Tsvangirai as a member of the Government and the Executive goes behind its back to ask for more sanctions that will hurt ordinary Zimbabweans, it’s unacceptable . . . ”

My prognosis is that these so-called “people of Zimbabwe” exclude the twenty thousand victims of Gukurahundi, their dependants, relatives and friends murdered by the Zanu PF-controlled Fifth Brigade in the 80s.

What about the one million homeless victims of 2005 Murambatsvina? Never mind four million Zimbabweans in exile who fled from Robert Mugabe and Gideon Gono’s 231 000 000% inflation between 2006 -2008?

Have I mentioned the five thousand “white” commercial farmers whose land was expropriated between 2000 and now, including one million farm workers and their dependants who were violently displaced?

If I were to do a research on the “lost generation” of high school and college students who have been ejected into a largely dysfunctional economy between 2000 and 2008, the statistics of trauma and idleness would be too ghastly to comprehend.

I will remind this “top official” how, between 2000 and 2008, almost two thousand MDC activists were kidnapped, killed, maimed or arrested.

Need I mention the general national trauma that we “people of Zimbabwe” have been subjected to in the last thirty years of Mugabe’s vicious and unrelenting authoritarian rule? Have we not watched with horror and dismay as Zanu PF and its cronies parcel up the country amongst their few selves, handing over large chunks of resources to the Chinese in their deficient but over-played “look East policy”?

These people have a nerve! If you want to see a decent stock of sell-outs and purveyors of treason, look no further than Zanu PF!

Another report continues on Tsvangirai: Tsholotsho North legislator Professor Jonathan Moyo said: “There are only two things that could happen in any civilised democracy, for him to resign not just from Government but public life altogether.
He must also be prosecuted for a litany of treasonous acts against the State.” I have very little to say about the professor — for most has been said — but he should know better.

In a civilised democracy (that he has written extensively on), tolerance and political competition are fundamental. Between 1980 and 2008, all our national elections have been directed by an institution and system that conveniently ignores intimidation, rigging and dishonesty.

As near as June 2008 — when the professor was an “independent” — we saw Mugabe competing against himself in a process that left a murderous trail of destruction worthy of an international court of justice’s attention.

Only a few weeks ago, journalists were incarcerated apparently for no reason other than legitimate disclosure.

Those artists like Owen Maseko who have ventured to express their political opinions are persecuted and threatened with death. So much for “civilisation”!

In a civilised democracy, public broadcasters are accessible to everyone, not just the “ruling” party. Newspapers are not bombed or banned, neither are demonstrators battered or arrested.

And so when WikiLeaks publicises what everyone else knows and agrees with, it is hard to see any treasonous thing about it.

The facts are clear: entry of MDC into national politics would always be complicated by Mugabe’s control of “military resources”.

This is why it made sense for people like Welshman Ncube, David Coltart, Nelson Chamisa, Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga and Tendai Biti to accept and concentrate on “socio-economic” ministries.

The “real” people of Zimbabwe want education, health and jobs, not guns and bullets. When Morgan Tsvangirai or Arthur Mutambara for that matter, sit and discuss Zimbabwean politics with Americans, Germans, South Koreans and Japanese, this would hardly qualify as treason. Regime change?

Of course in a “civilised democracy”, regime change is legitimate. The late Edison Zvobgo had friends in London — like Tiny Rowland — who used to help finance Zanu PF elections.

During the liberation struggle, Nordic NGOs donated money and food to Zapu and Zanu. Didymus Mutasa has made numerous trips to China and Cuba to discuss Zimbabwe’s (or is it Zanu PF) political options.

The mere fact that these discussions have not been “wiki leaked” does not in any way absolve Zanu PF of any transgression.

How do you explain small arms shipped Nicodemously into Zimbabwe, diamonds making their way to China and riot gear from Israel without any “secret discussions”?

Therefore, I submit a humble opinion that hard evidence exists on how Zanu PF has oppressed people of Zimbabwe to almost genocide proportions — and yet no one of them has been jailed or “investigated”.

How much more treason can one do than murder twenty thousand innocent citizens in his own country?

Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. Do not divert our attention with weak links. There are more important national priorities.

Democracy, good governance and freedom are universal and integral extension of modern-day civilisation

Rejoice Ngwenya is a social commentator