No one will be fooled by President Mnangagwa’s advisor, Chris Mutsvangwa’s, pathetic attempts to deny the Zimbabwe National Army is nothing but a department within the political party Zanu PF; there to do the party’s dirty bidding during elections and, like every other section of the party, was caught up in the factional war that has torn the party into shreds in the last three years!
“Contrary to reports that were attributed to me, that the army would ensure an electoral victory for ZanuPF, its a lie,” said Mutsvangwa.
“I said there was a team which helped to undo the dynastic tendencies of Mugabe. Then I promised the president that we would deliver an election victory to him and that specifically excludes the army because the army had played a role in the ascendancy to power of the new president.
“The army is a professional entity which doesn’t get involved in election campaigns and I urge all journalists to report accurately.”
Mutsvangwa was trying to counter his statement at the Zanu PF Special Congress where he said the Army would help deliver an election victory for the party. People like Mutsvangwa have excellent memory, he remembers every detail of the liberation struggle, for example. But, like most other Zanu PF thugs, he also have a very selective memory in that he cannot remember the pivotal role ZNA has played in past Zanu PF’s electoral victories. Former President Mugabe remembered and he thanked the Army generals, the other securocrats and the war veterans for “rescuing him and the party” from electoral defeat in 2008 in operation “Mavhotera papi!” (Whom did you vote for!).
The Zanu PF dictatorship had deployed the Army, Police and CIO in much the same way it deployed the party loyalists war veterans to punish the civilians for daring to reject Mugabe and Zanu PF in the March 2008 vote. Mugabe had lost the vote to Tsvangirai’s staggering 73%. The regime had connived to have the vote reduce to 47% to force a run-off and then use violence to overturn the Tsvangirai’s 73% into an 84% Mugabe victory.
“What was accomplished by the bullet cannot be undone by the ballot!” Mugabe had boasted, encouraging the violence and thuggery.
The Army and the other securocrats have played a major role helping Mugabe and Zanu PF remain in power but in 2008 they went the extra mile and staged what many agree was a coup to stop Tsvangirai and MDC ruling the country. What Mugabe did not realise at the time was this was not going to be their last coup much less that he himself will be the target of the next coup.
The rogue war veterans under Chris Mutsvangwa and, before him, Jabulani Sibanda have been Zanu PF’s storm troopers who have done the threatening and harassing of voters to ensure the party’s electoral victories. The more systematic harassment, beatings and murderers have been carried out by ZNA, Police and CIO.
The November 2008 coup; “Operation Restore Legacy”, as one of the coup leaders, General Chiwenga, dubbed it; was about restoring State power back in the hands of the Join Operation Command (JOC), a Junta comprising the top brass in the Army, Police and CIO, Mugabe, Mnangagwa and one or two others. Mugabe had tried to handover power to his wife and her G40 faction and hence the need of the coup to force him to resign.
After risking all to restore JOC’s iron grip on power, some of the coup plotters have just secured for themselves cushy position in President Mnangagwa’s administration, it will be naïve of these individuals to then risk losing that power by holding free, fair and credible election. Mutsvangwa can say what he like but the whole world knows that the Army, Police, CIO and the war veterans will be out campaigning for Zanu PF in next year’s elections.
If Zanu PF’s hold on power is threaten as happened in 2008, then the nation can be certain there will be operation “Mavhotera papi!” mark 2! Zanu PF is a party of thugs and they will stop at nothing to make sure the party does not lose power.
“Zanu PF ichatonga! Igotonga!” (Zanu PF will rule! And rule!) as President Mnangagwa has often said.
What he and the rest in the party will be doing is deploy the Army, Police, CIO and the war veterans as before only this time the party must do everything possible to cover the thugs’ tracks.
Of course, Zanu PF is not just relying on the Army and other thugs to deliver election victory, it many other vote rigging activities such as the Chiefs and other traditional leaders who have already received their down payments for their contribution. The 226 Chiefs country wide will each get a new Isuzu twin cab truck and in return they will be expected to carol and herd villagers to vote for the party.
The real challenge for Zanu PF is not so much how to rig next year’s election but rather how to conceal all these vote rigging activities for the party to claim the election was free and fair and get away with it. If the international community, especially SADC, should dismiss the election as a sham, just as they did following the 2008 elections, then Zanu PF rule will come to a crashing end. While in 2008 the regime was given a lifeline by being allowed go into the GNU; the party will be given no such meaningful role this time. The world knows that Zanu PF is a party of ruthless thugs who cannot be trusted.
“The army is a professional entity,” said Mutsvangwa. Yeah right! Since when has vote rigging and
staging coups become the most highly priced relevant experience for soldiers!
President Mnangagwa thanked Gen Chiwenga for showing consistency and steadfastness during his tenure.
ReplyDelete“I, therefore, urge you to maintain the same loyalty, robustness and dedication to duty as you move to your next assignment which is quite prominent.”
“Our Defence Forces are renowned and respected nationally, regionally and internationally for their professional conduct of duties,” he said.
After 37 years of absolute power it is not surprising that Zanu PF thugs have grown to believe that they are invincible and infallible. The world and reality is whatever they say it is. The regime is one of the most corrupt and tyrannical regime in modern history, they have destroyed the country’s once promising economy and murdered over 30 000 innocent Zimbabwe in their 37 years reign of terror but to hear them speak, you would think they brought the golden age to rival that of Greece.
The ZDF has a checked history of corruption, vote rigging, staging coups and violence against innocent civilians including murders for selfish political; many of the top brass leaders should have been locked up a long time ago. And yet the same thugs are being showered with praise as exemplary professionals.
The coup last month has consolidated the Zanu PF dictatorship’s hold on power and all those in power today have all been in power all along and amassed a lot of wealth and skeletons too. Still, their hunger for power and wealth is razor sharp.
The state of Zimbabwe’s economy and the tragic human suffering it has brought says the nation is desperate for meaningful political change without which there will be very little economic recover. Mnangagwa and his cabal are so desperate to hang on to power, they will kill for it just as Mugabe has taught them how.
It is moment like this that the seriousness of MDC’s failure to implement the reforms during the GNU hits home and hit hard. If only Tsvangirai and his MDC friends had not sold-out, we would not be looking up the barrel of the gun with dread. If only!
None of the American soldiers were ever involved in vote rigging, staging coups or any politically motivated criminal activities or for selfish political gain. And yet all our soldiers cum politicians are all guilty of serious human rights violations and/or looting! All the thugs President Mnangagwa has been promoting for the last four weeks should all be in jail on high treason charges and yet they are even lining up to hold the highest office in the land.
ReplyDeleteGod have mercy on Zimbabwe, at a time when the country was hoping for change all hope has been banished. Get Mnangagwa and this lot out of office is going to be a taxing challenge!
The President vowed to deal with the cancer of corruption which underlined President Mugabe`s presidency.
ReplyDelete“Corruption remains the major source of some of the problems we face as a country and its retarding impact on national development cannot be overemphasised.
“The goal of my government is to build a new Zimbabwe based on the values of honesty, transparency, accountability and hard work,” Mnangagwa vowed.
The tragedy of having an oppressive political system is that whilst accurate and correct information is very hard to come by and yet the nation is literally drowning in the half-truths and misinformation from the government controlled media. It is no wonder the nation has been forced again and again to make wrong conclusions and turned left when we should have turned right.
President Mnangagwa has acknowledged that corruption is a serious problem but what he did not say is that we have failed to deal with it all these last 37 years because Zanu PF rigged the elections. The targeted sanction on the regime were designed to force it to stop it rigging elections.
In short rigorous sanctions on the regime could have forced the regime to end corruption and thus save the nation from the economic meltdown we are facing now. But all that has never been allowed to come out. The nation has been drilled to accept that sanctions damaged the nation’s economy although no supporting evidence has ever been provided!
The need for the country to free up the public media to allow real time debate on all issues of national importance is a key requirement in the nation’s recovery. We cannot continue to make one blunder after another because our decision are based on little information or worse!
The President vowed to deal with the cancer of corruption which underlined President Mugabe`s presidency.
ReplyDelete“Corruption remains the major source of some of the problems we face as a country and its retarding impact on national development cannot be overemphasised.
“The goal of my government is to build a new Zimbabwe based on the values of honesty, transparency, accountability and hard work,” Mnangagwa vowed.
The tragedy of having an oppressive political system is that whilst accurate and correct information is very hard to come by and yet the nation is literally drowning in the half-truths and misinformation from the government controlled media. It is no wonder the nation has been forced again and again to make wrong conclusions and turned left when we should have turned right.
President Mnangagwa has acknowledged that corruption is a serious problem but what he did not say is that we have failed to deal with it all these last 37 years because Zanu PF rigged the elections. The targeted sanction on the regime were designed to force it to stop it rigging elections.
In short rigorous sanctions on the regime could have forced the regime to end corruption and thus save the nation from the economic meltdown we are facing now. But all that has never been allowed to come out. The nation has been drilled to accept that sanctions damaged the nation’s economy although no supporting evidence has ever been provided!
The need for the country to free up the public media to allow real time debate on all issues of national importance is a key requirement in the nation’s recovery. We cannot continue to make one blunder after another because our decision are based on little information or worse!
Zanu PF is a party of ruthless thugs alright. All this euphoria following last month's coup is totally misplace, the thugs were removing one thug leader for another. A black mamba does not seize to be a dangerous snake just because it has shed-off its old skin.
ReplyDeletePresident Mnangagwa was in SA shouting "Zimbabwe is open for business!" He could spend all day and all night shouting, no one would hear him because he has failed to answer the question that drove away business people in the first place. Does Zimbabwe respect the rule of law and is it politically stable? The country is still firmly in the hands of thugs and, as if the underline that point, they have just staged a coup and they pretend that is perfectly lawful!
Ordinary Zimbabweans may be fooled by these Zanu PF thugs but no business person worth his/her salt is so easily fooled. Zimbabwe is not ready for business and until the country can demonstrate its commitment to rule of law, holding free and fair elections, etc. it will not be ready for business. No one wants to do business with thugs because only a fool would trust these thugs - business people are no fools!
“I refused to take the offer on a matter of principle as I made a personal vow never to work in a ZANU PF government whatever it took,” said Dumiso Dabengwa.
ReplyDeleteThe decades you worked with the regime you became one of them in every sense of the word. You were Minister of Home Affairs and you never lifted a finger to stop the Police harass, beat and even murder the opposition in the drive to keep Zanu PF in power. You too enjoyed the decades of absolute power and all the benefits it brought.
Like so many others who have left Zanu PF, you, Dr Dabengwa, have only become critical of the party when you left and could do nothing to stop the rot, which suggest you are a hypocrite!
“I will tell you that such visits are an insult that should never be applauded or repeated”.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100% particularly when those doing these publicity gimmicks are the wives of the same individuals who have rob the people blind these last 37 years. How many billions of dollars has President Mnangagwa looted to afford mansion and vast business empire. Charity begins at home, ask your husband to give up some of the looted wealth so hospitals can have drugs, clean running water, etc.
If there was one the poor hate with a passion, it is these thieving chefs using a tiny fraction of the looted wealth to help the poor and then making a big song and dance about it and the poor are expected to be forever grateful. The give with one hand and steal a thousand hold with the other and we are to be grateful!