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The people have spoken: he must go
James Maridadi, The Zimbabwe Independent
April 03, 2008

View story on the Zimbabwe Independent website

WHEN an organisation continues to live in the past, constantly failing to adapt to the call for renewal in response to the dictates of modern-day leadership, that organisation runs the risk of becoming irrelevant to the obtaining scheme of things.

When such a scenario prevails, the leadership soon becomes a burden to those that it leads and this results in those that are being led upstaging their leadership in a bid to find renewal elsewhere.

This postulation amply sums up the situation that the Zanu PF party, its leader President Robert Mugabe and his outgoing ministers find themselves in. But just how Mugabe, an eminent scholar who prides himself with the brain power to analyse, would allow himself to be misled by those goons surrounding him to fight a desperately onerous and visibly lost battle with his back stuck against the wall like a bull cornered, boggles the mind. Results have been slow in coming and the nation has been waiting desperately and anxiously. Theories as to the causes of the unnecessary delay have been propounded and aftermath positions have been proffered. As this tortuous fiesta unfolds, with winning and losing figures sumptuously displayed at the national command centre for all to see, one thing is certain, teeth are rattling. The sound is loud and clear and is coming from one side of the great political divide. No prizes for guessing. The octogenarian leader and his paternalistic sunset party are out -fait accompli. Whether by a straight victory or a run-off, "the die is cast and history has been made" - Otto von Bismarck.

The people have spoken and their will, for certain will prevail. No amount of wishful thinking or dilly dallying can possibly placate this theorem.

The thinking people of Zimbabwe have simply condemned Mugabe and his hopelessly useless cronies to the dustbin of history. A position not salvable.

Some of these ministers like the rampantly unwise Samuel Mumbengegwi who, for close to two painful years, masqueraded as Finance minister, were even rejected by their own party Zanu PF in the primaries.

Even if Mugabe were to win, who would be his ministers given the constitutional provisions which do not allow appointments outside the two houses? All his trusted lieutenants have been dumped. From Patrick Chinamasa to the ever bungling Joseph Made.

He would not try to re-appoint Ignatius Chiminya Chombo, a man who single-handedly took Harare and all the country's urban centres into the woods.

At this juncture it may be in order to say what options exist for Mugabe. He may, like the true patriot that he is, choose to stay put and witness the shaping of a new political dispensation as he eagerly awaits the due process to "exonerate" him of any culpae.

He may, like the coward that he is not, choose to go into exile and allow the country to go through the process of healing without having the burden of his presence acting like an irritant reminder of his poisonous misrule.

All current indications point towards a run-off between Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai. The result of the run-off will be obscenely one-sided. Tsvangirai will garner upwards of 80%.

Why would Mugabe wait to face such further rejection? The option for him will be to allow either Joice Mujuru or Emmerson Mnangagwa to run and lose and start the process of rejuvenating an opposition Zanu PF party in preparation for the 2013 plebiscite.

This scenario will also call for Simba Makoni to launch a fully fledged political party and start working with the zeal and order that he has grown to be known for.

The sum effect of this will be that the Tsvangirai government will be kept on its toes right from day one by a vibrant opposition in a country that respects political diversity.

It must also be realised by all progressive forces that the process of re-building, reconstructing and re-engaging will be so odious and imposing that there may be very little room for malicious retributive manoeuvres. Zimbabwe needs all the expertise and human resources that the nation can muster in order to heal smoothly and expeditiously.

Maybe Andy Brown will lend us his hit song Tichangoshaina. It says: "Ko sei vamwe vane zvese, vakaba vachadzorera, handei nerudo vanhuwe-e, handei nerudo. Tichangoshaina kana tiri tose." ("How come others have everything, those who stole will return the loot. Let us move forward with love and together we will shine.")

How prophetic.

Our national broadcaster, ZBC, is certainly everything that it is not. Showing us a two-hour film on farming methods in Japan and a fashion show in Malaysia? We are in the middle of a defining moment for the country and a fashion show in the Far East is the last thing on our minds. Is this too much to ask?

On a lighter note, I received an sms from my 10-year-old niece. It read: "Kana vaMugabe vobuda muState House vasiye makey pasi pe meti yepa gonhi. Kana vachinyara ngavasiye vakanda pakona paSamora Machel Ave na7th St." ("Tell Mugabe to leave State House keys by the door mat as he takes flight and if he is too embarrassed to do this he may just drop them at the corner of Samora Machel Ave and 7th Street).

Such is the level of expectation, anticipation and anxiety from even 10-year-olds.

What level of desperation can one man and his bunch of cronies drive an entire nation of more than 12 million innocent souls? It is unforgivable. People have always accused President Mugabe of surrounding himself with carrion. But when one lives with the dead for too long, he will soon assume their characteristic of lifelessness and start emitting an odour just as bad if not worse.

We may be in for a treat if our goo-ol-sis Oppah Muchinguri lives up to her word. Last year she threatened to expose her ministerial behind if Mugabe lost to Tsvangirai. Here is her opportunity to make good her threat. Out of mere public decency she may well be advised to reserve that piece of malfeasant pornography for the serenity of the next politburo meeting where they are in the habit of clapping and ululating unnecessarily. In conclusion, Zanu PF provides very interesting lessons to those keen to learn. They give vivid and practical lessons on how not to run a political party, how to effectively campaign for a loss in a harmonised election, how not to govern a country or, put it simply, how to run down a once prosperous nation in just 28 years. I love Zimbabwe.

*James Maridadi is a freelance journalist

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