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The Godfather of the Zanu PF Mafia
Alex Magaisa
April 12, 2007

http://www.newzimbabwe.com/pages/magaisa48.16250.html

THOSE who have a rough understanding of the underworld in which the Mafia operate may realise that there is something vaguely similar about the internal politics of the ruling Zanu PF party in Zimbabwe.

Recent events provide a glimpse of the Zanu PF way of life, which intriguingly, has an uncanny resemblance with the Mafia, a feature that casts the challenges faced in a very different light.

It is said that the Mafia is not necessarily an organisation, but a way of life, encompassing a set of values and codes of practice, which members are expected to uphold and follow.

Likewise, Zanu PF is more than an organisation - it incorporates a way of life, with its own set of values and codes of practice and it is within this context that the behaviour of its members can best be understood. One must be awake to the fact that it is unlike dealing with any ordinary political organisation but confronting a way of life, a phenomenon that calls for different approaches than have hitherto been applied.

I must admit to having a, perhaps, unusual weakness for Mafia movies, from which I derive my admittedly, limited understanding of the underworld. I like to think I'm not alone in this obsession. They say the original name of the Mafia is "Cosa Nostra", which literally means "Our Thing". Looking at Zanu PF via the image of the Mafia, could help us to understand not just the behaviour of its members, but also the tactics they often adopt, the shady succession process and why certain methods that seem abhorrent to others, are considered part of the natural order.

There is something about the unique bond in Zanu PF that continues to baffle outsiders. Zanu PF revolves around Mugabe, as the principal figure, a position akin to a "Godfather" in the Mafia; its otherwise loose branches are inexplicably held by an intriguing code of brotherhood; a set of unwritten rules which entail that even when they see wrong, they are inhibited from taking a public stance against it.

As in the Mafia, the one thing that brings together otherwise disparate members in Zanu PF is the unbridled pursuit of wealth by any means. Everything else, including political differences, pale into insignificance when the issue of money is at stake.

They say in the Mafia, that one becomes a "made man", when accepted by the elders as a ranking member of "the family", a term given almost reverent meaning in this environment. It appears that the family is a basic unit of the Mafia - things are done for, within and in the name of the family. "The family", in this case, transcends the ordinary biological family unit. Being a made man confers many privileges, not least the protection of the family but also responsibilities to account to the elders in the hierarchy.

But the doors to becoming a made man are not open to everyone. It is said that traditionally, one had to be 100% Italian. Thus, in the movie, GoodFellas, it is said that Henry Hill and Joe Conway, expertly played by Ray Liotta and Robert De Niro, respectively, despite serving the family with distinction, could never become made men because they were Irish, even though Hill was half-Italian. They remained outsiders, unable to meet the specifications to become full members of the Family.

"The party" is to Zanu PF members, what "the family" is to the Mafia. Referred to almost in religious terms, the party or "musangano", in Shona, is almost omnipotent. In Mafioso parlance, Zanu PF is a family, complete with its own set of made men and a system of "making men" - the members of the Central Committee, the Politburo, the Cabinet, the Presidium - the made men and women of the Zanu PF Family. You have to meet certain specifications to become a made man in Zanu PF - witness how they insist on one's liberation war record. You cannot become a made man, if you cannot show your credentials or connections to the liberation struggle.

When one becomes a made man in the Mafia, he is expected to take the oath of Ormeta - the law of silence, which requires one to observe secrecy and forbids assistance to the law enforcement authorities. It is said that the punishment for breaking the oath is death. The ceremony at which one is inducted as a made man is elaborate and in some cases colourful. I do not know if they take oaths in the Zanu PF Family, but whatever it is that indices silence and blind allegiance must be very powerful.

Once a made man, one becomes eligible to rise through the ranks of the family, as a soldier, a Capo (Captain), Consigliere (Underboss) and the Boss or the Don of the Mafia family. The really special one takes up the high-ranking position of Capo di tutti Capi (the Boss of Bosses). Democracy does not sit comfortably in this territory - things are often decided from the top-down, with the Capo di tutti Capi having wide-ranging and overbearing influence over members of the family. They are respected, revered and feared as the ultimate wise guys.

It is clear that Mugabe is the Capo di tutti Capi of the Zanu PF Family, - he is the Boss of all Bosses. People often talk of factions in Zanu PF - they are no more than families or sub-families of the same Mafia system. Just as there are rival Mafia families, there are also competing families in Zanu PF. Retired General Solomon Mujuru and Emmerson Mnangagwa are no more than Dons of their respective sub-families of the broader Zanu PF Family in which Mugabe is the Capo di tutti Capi.

One of the privileges of being a made man is having certain territorial control and the protection of the family. It is said that a made man is almost untouchable, even by law. The family protects him. He commands respect and obedience and instils fear in those around him. The activities through which wealth is created range from the downright violent and forms to the more subtle, white-collar type. Similarly, in the Zanu PF Family, the made men and women have their own territories in which they operate. Some are in tourism, energy, mining, manufacturing, finance, etc - the made men in Zanu PF guard these territories jealously and exploit them with ruthless efficiency.

In the Mafia there is a system of paying tribute to the elders of the family. The elders have the benefit of wisdom born of experience and ensure that the business runs smoothly, managing the competition from rival families. So, for every amount received from a heist or transaction, a certain percentage goes to the elders. The corruption and kick-backs that characterise the award of lucrative tenders, land, mining and hunting licences, etc depict a similar system of paying tribute to the elders in the Zanu PF Family.

Violence is a part of the natural order - a natural consequence of failing to tow the line of the family and is regarded as a legitimate method of discipline.

"There is a stone in my shoe", is a memorable line in The Godfather trilogy, a typical remark referring to someone causing trouble for a member of the family. Of course, the process of removing that stone is often violent and ruthless. Likewise, Zanu PF does not hesitate to deploy violence in order to remove the proverbial stones in its shoes. Like the Mafia, the Zanu PF family has a set of enforcers, the foot soldiers who execute orders with religious zeal and meritorious efficiency. Like the Mafia, Zanu PF has no hesitation to deploy even parts of the state apparatus for this purpose of enforcement. Like the Mafia, the Zanu PF has a set of enforcers, the foot-soldiers who get angry on behalf of their bosses and execute orders with cold-blooded efficiency. Like the Mafia, Zanu PF has no hesitation to deploy even parts of the state apparatus for this purpose of enforcement.

The recent abductions, assaults, torture regarded by many as hideous, are no more than natural and ordinary methods of protecting the position of the made men and women of the Zanu PF Family. The victims are regarded as no more than irritating stones in their shoes.

One can also get an insight from the Mafia system, into Zanu PF's attitude to the issue of succession. Apparently, it is regarded a cardinal offence in the Mafia, to threaten, attack or kill a made man without the top hierarchy's authorisation, regardless of the legitimacy of the grievance. To threaten the boss is even worse. Indeed, in the movie GoodFellas, the psychotic, temperamental and morbid Tommy (a memorable character masterfully played by Joe Pesci), is killed just when he thought he was about to become a made man in the Luchessi Family. His offence was that he had previously killed Billy Batts, himself a made man belonging to the rival Gambino Family.

In the Zanu PF Family, they tend to not look kindly at anyone who dares to challenge the bosses, particularly Mugabe, the Capo di tutti Capi. The victims of the 2004 Tsholotsho Declaration know this only too well. Just recently, Mugabe is reported to have verbally chastised those of whom he suspected to be plotting for his removal as the Capo of the Zanu PF family. The reaction is just as one might see in the Mafia family, where democracy sits very uneasily.

At the end of the day, the Capo di tutti Capi, Mugabe knows everything and his power over the family lies in this wealth of knowledge and his control of the enforcers. It is said that he has a file on every made man and woman in the Zanu PF Family and whomsoever attempts to break the code of the party, the equivalent of Ormeta in the Mafia, is immediately brought to book and dispatched with brutal efficiency. From time to time, some of these made men, like Chris Kuruneri, James Makamba, Charles Nherera, William Nhara, etc, are used as examples of what the Zanu PF Family can do if one steps out of line. These examples are meant to ensure that the rest stay in line, lest they face the same fate.

It is these precedents, which come periodically for measured effect, that remind the Simba Makonis, the Joice Mujurus and the Emerson Mnangagwas that the Capo di tutti Capi remains firmly in control of the family and the penalty that one pays for transgressing. The allegiance is as much out of respect, as it is out of fear instilled by the spectre of the harsh consequences that can be visited upon those regarded as betrayers.

In dealing with Zanu PF, as in dealing with the Mafia, it is necessary to appreciate that one is not dealing with a mere organisation. Rather, one is dealing with a way of life; the Zanu PF way of life; a circumstance that makes the task a lot harder and also calls for entirely different approaches to the challenges posed. But that is the subject for another day.

Dr Magaisa can be contacted at wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk

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