Back to Index

Mugabe has gone too far
Union for Sustainable Democracy
October 08, 2010

President Robert Mugabe's recent unilateral appointment of governors is yet another gross violation of the Global Political Agreement. Indeed it is a worrying act of regression on his part - the kind that simply can no longer be allowed. Consequently, the Union for Sustainable Democracy supports Prime Minister Tsvangirai's call for the nullification of Mugabe's latest appointments and indeed of any other illegal appointments made during the tenure of the unity government.

By putting his signature to the Global Political Agreement on 15 September 2008, President Mugabe pledged himself to honour that agreement. There is not much point in having a law and ignoring it. And the law is very clear: he is enjoined, among other things, to act in consultation with the Prime Minister on all important appointments for the duration of the inclusive government.

Mugabe cannot continue to take Prime Minister Tsvangirai for granted. If there is one admirable trait for which Morgan Tsvangirai ought to be remembered it is that he has been willing to work with an extremely difficult man under extremely difficult circumstances on occasions to the point of covering up for him even when the situation dictated otherwise. That ought to count for something. It is not because Tsvangirai is as naïve as widely believed in some quarters. Quite the contrary, it is because he puts country ahead of self and believes in acting in the national interest. Sadly Robert Mugabe seems to think otherwise and so he has not reciprocated Tsvangirai's good will. Instead he has taken advantage of the Prime Minister and it is time for him to realise that he has gone too far.

The fact of the matter is that each time Tsvangirai has been interviewed about the state of the nation he has only sung Mugabe's praises. He has consistently and publicly stated that the country is on the right path; that progress has been made and that Zimbabwe no longer deserves the negative publicity. He even described Robert Mugabe as a hero in Johannesburg recently. Does the Prime Minister have to say these things? The answer is a resounding NO. He has tried time and time again to appeal to Mugabe's better nature- ostensibly to no avail.

Doubtless the time has come for Prime Minister Tsvangirai and his party to see Mugabe for the person he really is and to treat him accordingly. To do so is not just one way to return sanity to the Zimbabwe situation, it is the only way. How can anyone continue to respect a man who treats him with callous contempt of the sort Mugabe pours on Tsvangirai?

Visit the Union for Sustainable Democracy fact sheet

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP