For some reason, sometime between now and next February, the four zeroes will detach and each one will go in a different direction and away from the others. It is thus assumed this will mark the end of the road for the old man. A famous Nigerian prophet, TB Joshua, has predicted that one African head of state will die of an undisclosed illness within 60 days. People are speculating that this could be Mugabe, Zambia’s Sata, or Malawi’s Bingu wa Mutharika. In the past, some of TB Joshua’s prophecies have come true. April 8th will be the 60th day from when he gave his “prophecy”. Do not cross your fingers, please.
State media is abuzz with the news that the latest RG birthday celebration was attended by a record number of loyalists – some 30 000 of them. What they do not tell us is that most people were forced to attend. Commuter omnibuses were commandeered by CIO agents and forced to take all passengers to the venue.
We all know that Mugabe’s birthday celebrations are always used by him and Zanu (PF) for election campaign purposes. During his birthday speech at Sakubva Stadium, Mugabe lamented that in March 2008, the people of Manicaland voted in favour of the MDC-T while shunning Zanu (PF). He observed that out of a total of 26 parliamentary seats, the MDC-T won 20 and his own party only six seats. He was hoping that this situation would be reversed in the next election.
Somebody should have told Mugabe that the majority of those forced to abandon their regular activities in order to attend his birthday bash would not vote for him or his party come next elections. They were infuriated by the lack of respect for their individual preferences demonstrated by Mugabe’s handlers. You do not force people to come and spend hours watching and listening to you and expect them to vote for you. That does not happen in Zimbabwe. Mugabe effectively de-campaigned himself and his political party by forcing people to attend his birthday bash.
Commuter omnibus operators were infuriated that security details forced them to carry people to the venue for free. Some quickly pulled their vehicles off the road in order to avoid incurring heavy losses. Worse still, after the bash, no free transport was available to take people back home. They had to fork out their own money to get home. What were they thinking and talking about on their way home after this gross abuse by the mighty and powerful? I am certain they were not singing Mugabe’s praises. There is the real danger that they may have been cursing our dear President and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, Chancellor of all State universities, and head of state. If this is not the last birthday celebration, I fear for what might happen to next year’s venue.
Post published in: Opinions