Mugabe gave Biti assurances

It was no surprise, therefore, when the bogus council meeting mandated Biti to write to parliament seeking protection for their MPs and councillors, who they rightly feared were to be recalled by the mainstream MDC under whose ticket they were elected to their positions.

If this is at all true, Mugabe may have based his promise to protect the MPs and councillors on the hope that Sipepa Nkomo/Biti’s meeting was going to make a quorum. If they go back to ask for Mugabe’s support with the situation as it is now, through the parliament or through the courts or any other platform, their argument will not hold water because whoever is making the decision will base it on the facts around the authenticity of the two council meetings.

Whoever rules in favour of Biti risks their professional reputation and could be dragged before the Anti-Corruption Commission. To want to continue the option Biti has taken is just to further embarrass the parliamentarians who are involved. Mugabe, seeing that Biti’s argument is indefensible, will use the opportunity to try and make inroads into enemy territory, and will instruct Parliament and the courts to turn down Biti’s appeal

Biti blundered when he reminded the electorate in his published letter to Parliament on the right of direct recall of elected officials by the citizenry. Zanu (PF) and the mainstream MDC could ask their members in the respective constituencies to petition parliament for the recall of Biti and his colleagues. The MPs in question, rather than rely on the courts to stay in parliament, must start their campaigns to defend their territory by going to their respective constituencies to campaign for the inevitable by-elections.

What Biti and his team must know is that they could have been infiltrated. This is evident from the fact that their plan to write to parliament was made public before they even had their “Council” meeting. The obvious suspects for the infiltration would be Zanu (PF), the CIO and the mainstream MDC led by Tsvangirai. Zanu (PF) obviously wants to weaken its opponents and take advantage of the infighting that happens in opposition parties, while the mainstream MDC may also want to get some inside information as to what is being planned.

There may have been a plan unknown to Biti and others to give them a false sense of support, only to find that some selling out the secrets while others develop cold feet at the last minute. That could be how in the end the meeting at Mandel Training Centre was attended by only 33 eligible persons who did not constitute a quorum.

Welcome to the world of real politics, Tendai Biti. Learn from the blunders that you have made so far, sniff out the sell-outs from your party, remain with the real committed cadres, and no matter how few you are, strategise and you may come up with the magic formula that will remove Zanu (PF) from power in 2018. But start with a thorough preparation for the forthcoming by-elections. Good luck. – Kennedy Kaitano, by email