The tyrant leads MDC up the garden path

Following the rejection of the extension of his tenure from 2008 to 2010 by his own party in December 2006, Robert Mugabe made it known that he would stand for the 2008 presidential elections. This aroused a huge debate within the ruling Zanu (PF) party regarding succession, and several factions within that party began to organise themselves and mobilise resources here at home and abroad to resist Mugabe’s intentions.  

As we all know, Mugabe himself also began to mobilise support from among the war veterans, the Zanu (PF) militia, youth and women, culminating in the flopped One Million Men/Women March a few weeks ago. The march attracted less than 200 000 involuntary marchers, contrary to fictitious claims by the state media. Jabulani Sibanda, who spearheaded the March and numerous similar but smaller marches throughout this country was mortally humiliated at the Zanu (PF) Extraordinary congress when Mugabe refused him permission to address the crowd arguing that Sibanda was still under suspension. That is what Zanu (PF) does, use you and then throw you into the trash bin. Jabulani Sibanda received what was due to him for supporting the dictator.

But the year 2007 will also be remembered for the evil activities of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), also known as the Zanu (PF) Repressive Police (ZRP). Most notable is the brutal beating and torture of numerous MDC party officials and supporters on March 11 at the Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfields. So brutal was the attack on the victims that the SADC was forced to call for an emergency meeting in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania at which it was decided to request South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki to embark on mediation talks between the MDC and Zanu (PF).  

These talks are now reaching an end although they will not necessarily reach a climax, but they have been a major feature of the political developments in the country this year. It is my prediction that the MDC is being led up the garden path by the tyrant, and the agreement they are likely to sign will be nothing but an exercise in futility. I shall be very glad to be proven wrong.

In typical fashion for any dictator, Mugabe approved the ill-conceived Operation Lower the Prices, with devastating effects on the national economy. Populist as ever, Mugabe thought he was embarking on a smart way of arresting the ever escalating rate of inflation that is currently well above 20 000%, by conservative estimation. The result was the disappearance of virtually all goods and services and the onset of abject poverty, hunger and unemployment right across the board or in all sectors of the economy. For the first time, even businesses belonging to Mugabe’s own faithful bootlickers were equally devastated thereby amply demonstrating that the old man was no longer fully aware of some of the consequences of his actions and inactions.

The year 2007 witnessed increased violence and probably the worst violations of human rights since the advent of national independence in 1980. To this very day, there are numerous arrests, beatings and all kinds of torture being inflicted upon innocent Zimbabweans by the satanic Mugabe regime. Mugabe’s visit to Lisbon was supposed to crown the year for him at the international scene, but it ended up being a dump squib when the detested racist dictator was news blacked out by the majority of international news networks. It is very clear to some of us that with the economy in a shattered state, with the RBZ failing to print the worthless Zim dollar fast enough, and the shops filling steadily of South African goods, the dictator is heading for a dramatic 2008. To me, the year 2008 will be the year of change, yes, regime change.