Never before had Mugabe’s rule seen such a challenge. The party’s influence rapidly grew and in 2008, the MDC gave Zanu (PF) a vigorous kick up the backside – Mugabe’s first election defeat.
Fast forward to 2015 and the country’s main opposition party is in shambles. Morgan Tsvangirai, who has led MDC-T for 15 years, has troubles at home. Last year, the state -owned media seemed to have backed off from Tsvangirai, as the ruling party wheeled its canon around to set its sights on the more immediate threat of Joice Mujuru. But after the ouster of the former VP, the propaganda machine has again begun to spew its anti-Tsvangirai vitriol, most of which is to do with gossip about troubles with his wife, Elizabeth Macheka, a woman who worryingly grows progressively paler in each successive photograph.
Zanu (PF) itself is also in a mess, having made enemies out of its most popular members, Mujuru, Mutasa, Sibanda and several others. From an MDC standpoint, one would have expected Tsvangirai to call his troops to their battle stations, at a time when there is trouble in Zanu (PF). Other than internal bickering, the various MDC factions have also lost their financial backers, hence the return to fulltime legal practise by Biti and Ncube.
Mugabe has alienated a significant number of senior party members. As the saying goes, ‘your enemy’s enemy is your best friend.’ It was the expected thing for the MDCs to offer shelter and a meal to the recently orphaned Mujuru camp but no such alliance has materialised.
While Zanu (PF) literally crumbles, the MDC formations are fighting their own little wars. Apart from the much publicised tiff with the missus, Morgan Tsvangirai also had to contend with a rebellious lieutenant, in the form of Tendai Biti who, along with Mangoma and Holland, defected. After attempting to form a party of their own – also using the ‘MDC’ acronym, as if there wasn’t enough confusion over the name – Biti’s rebels have now joined forces with another MDC dissenter, Welshman Ncube.
But the unification of Biti and Ncube has not even registered on the political Richter Scale, as these parties combined have absolutely no influence. Ncube failed to win even half a seat in parliament (92,000 votes nationwide). When Biti formed his Renewal faction, he only managed to take with him his official party ballpoint pen and 21 legislators, who offer no threat to Mugabe’s 160.
Post published in: Analysis