Mugabe’s statemanship has failed

  Even now, with Zimbabwe’s increasingly despicable profile, the former freedom fighter has done little to assuage fears that his nation might come to irreversible ruin.

His declaration the other day in Harare lends credence to this thinking.  His words: Leadership is prepared to relinquish power to those (Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, ZANU) that uphold the country’s (independence) legacy.  This country cannot be sold at the stroke of a pen…  We are the custodians of Zimbabwe’s legacy.  We will pass this on to those we know are fully aware of the party’s ideology.  We will pass on leadership to them, telling them to move forward.

By that pronouncement, the 84-year old Zimbabwean leader unwittingly unveiled the grand design of his government to impose his narrow interests on the generality of the people.  By that, he failed to demonstrate statesmanship, a quality his country desperately needs at the moment.  For, at stake is not only the leadership of his party, ZANU-PF, but also that of the entire country.  If Mugabe succeeds in manipulating the results of the run-off and, by implication, the collective aspirations of Zimbabweans, it will be a great set-back for democracy and the destiny of a country that used to be a guiding light on the continent.

Sadly, most actions and utterances that have so far emanated from the government point to the likelihood of a repeat of the past drama of jaundiced politics, which ultimately culminated in pseudo elections.  Since the first round of the presidential election in March when Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) beat the incumbent but fell short of the required 50 per cent and one of the votes, according to the official result, the main opposition has known no peace.  Tsvangirai has been detained at least six times.  MDC supporters’ have either been killed, arrested, wounded or tortured while tens of thousands of Zimbabweans have been displaced.  Only last week, MDC’s Secretary-General, Tendai Biti, was arrested on trumped up treason charges.  To compound the situation, the country’s armed forces have openly expressed their support for the president. 
What makes Zimbabwe’s predicament even more bitting is the socio-economic fortunes of the people that have continued to rapidly move downwards.  With 165,000 per cent inflation and 80 per cent unemployment, that nation clearly has the worst macro-economy on earth today.  Those statistics also make nonsense Mugabe’s time-worn mantra of land nationalism and black economic empowerment.

In the face of this obvious abuse of power, the need to urgently help Zimbabwe back to the path of recovery has become imperative.  That should begin with ensuring that this week’s poll is conducted and concluded with decency, in an atmosphere devoid of intimidation.  Interestingly, British Prime Minister, Gordon brown, voiced the concern of the international community last week in London.  As he put it, In recent weeks, under Robert Mugabe’s increasingly desperate and criminal regime, Zimbabwe has seen 53 killings, the displacement of 30,000 people, the arrest and detention of opposition leaders… This is wholly unacceptable.  Mugabe must not be allowed to steal the election.

Well spoken.  But if not backed with purposeful, concerted action, Mugabe who has never hidden his desire to remain in office interminably will once again thwart his people’s wish.  Brown should, therefore, turn that reaction to a strong resolve and collaborate with the rest of the progressive world to put pressure on Mugabe to do the right thing.  African leaders should actually take the lead in that regard.  They should place the plight of Zimbabweans above the urge to protect their colleague.  The Zimbabwean strongman should be made to accept international election monitors and give the electoral body a free hand to carry out its momentous task. Anything short of fair election this time could prove truly disastrous.  That is a scenario that must be avoided.