Douglas Mwonzora
With the Coronavirus situation slowly being contained, Zimbabwe should soon be preparing for by-elections to fill in parliamentary and council vacancies created following the recall of some elected parliamentarians and councilors by the now led Douglas Mwonzora MDC-T following a disputed inquorate Extra-Ordinary Congress held in December. Zanu PF, MDC-T, and the MDC-Alliance and any other parties interested in fielding candidates will have an opportunity to measure their popularity since the Supreme Court ruling. This will settle the question of who is the genuine opposition to a corrupt regime in Zimbabwe.
I am aware though that Douglas Mwonzora, leader of MDC-T, has already indicated that his party will contest the by-elections as MDC Alliance, claiming that the MDC-T is the leader of the electoral pact which created the MDC Alliance and that the agreement is still intact. He hasn’t thought well enough to notice that despite the fact that the original agreement said it was to last for five years, at least one of the partners, Transform Zimbabwe led by Jacob Ngaribvume, has disengaged, so there is no longer the electoral pact to talk about. What exists, instead, is a political party called the MDC Alliance that was formed post the death of Morgan Tsvangirai and that Party is led by Nelson Chamisa. Knowing Chamisa’s popularity, Douglas Mwonzora must be hoping to confuse the electorate to vote for his MDC-T disguised as the MDC-Alliance by error.
The MDC-T move is also meant to force the MDC Alliance to abandon its name. But Mwonzora will have enough memory to remember that we have had ballot boxes featuring Zanu PF and Zanu Ndonga before, and we have had ballot boxes featuring MDC-T and the MDC before, and we have had ballot boxes featuring MDC-T and MDC Alliance as late as 2018. So, what if the MDC Alliance Party decides to use the name MDC-Alliance Chamisa and retain the Symbol used in 2018 in the by-elections? To Douglas Mwonzora’s disadvantage, the electorate is displaying desperation in trying to run away from the name of the political party he is unconstitutionally leading following an inquorate Extra-Ordinary Congress held in December 2020 for the mere sake of confusing the electorate.
Douglas Mwonzora’s move to want to use the MDC Alliance name will backfire as the angry electorate will aim to punish him and Zanu PF which he has developed so much love and faith in of late in the forthcoming by-elections. It serves to fast track the demise of the outfit he leads, which is likely to be history after the 2023 elections. So, if Mwonzora and his friends insist on using the MDC Alliance until 2023 when they think the already expired MDC Alliance Agreement will expire, what name will they use in 2023? It shows they are sure that they won’t be in the game by 2023.
Mwonzora forgets that the MDC was formed to rescue oppressed Zimbabweans from Zanu PF oppression. One would be excused to have faith in Zanu PF is Zanu PF has changed, but Zanu PF remains as oppressive at it was at the time of the formation of the MDC, hence there is still a need for oppressed Zimbabweans to dislike Zanu PF for the situation they find themselves in. Yet Douglas Mwonzora publicly talks about his party’s unrestrained love and embrace for Zanu PF.
The only change in Zanu PF is that, even before Mugabe was overthrown in the November 2019 coup, the party has been reducing the rate at which it killed members of the MDC to give a false impression that it was no longer a violent party, yet Douglas Mwonzora knows very well that Zanu PF has increased it’s effective intimidation tactics. Douglas Mwonzora will have seen videos of Zanu PF officials telling villagers that if they voted for the MDC they will be severely dealt with. Douglas Mwonzora will be aware that Zanu PF parliamentarians have blocked assistance meant for ordinary Zimbabwean because the assistance was being offered by suspected or known MDC Alliance officials. Douglas Mwonzora will know that ordinary Zimbabweans have been denied food and other forms of assistance post-Mugabe.
What has changed about Zanu PF is that it is now led by a man who sheds crocodile tears, while deep down he is more corrupt than the previous leader. Look at what is emerging now – the First Family being seen in the company of persons who have been corruptly been awarded tenders, in some cases in the First Family Home. The latest arrested contact of President Mnangagwa is obviously the person given the job of ‘Honorary Consul’ of Zimbabwe to Belarus, Alexandre Zingman. One would expect the leader of a genuine opposition party not to fall in love head over heels with a party with a leadership suspected to be corrupt the way Douglas Mwonzora has done.
People of Zimbabwe must never be distracted from the original intentions of the formation of the MDC which was and should remain to be the liberation of the country from corrupt and ruthless leadership. It may have taken long to achieve that, partly because there are some who joined the party even at its formation stage for personal gain. The struggle should never be about personal gain, and when leaders start to hero-worship oppressors, people will read between the lines, connect the dots and see for themselves the sincerity or otherwise of Douglas Mwonzora and his friends in MDC-T.
It would appear Douglas Mwonzora and his followers are going the same route of hero-worship which happened after independence when people hero-worshiped Mugabe and Zanu PF to the extent that we thought they were perfect. Some people never learn. There are so many high suspicious things that are happening and we have never heard Mwonzora and his followers raise their voices against those things. Word has it that he is scared of ruffling feathers with the hope that the system will protect him from the alleged abuse of taxpayers’ money when he arranged the withdrawal of funds given to the MDC-T as part of the Political Parties Finance Act allocation.
The people will prevail! The proof lies in the by-elections to be held soon, not only to replace the parliamentarians and councillors who have been illegitimately been recalled but even a few who have passed on – may their souls rest in peace.
Post published in: Featured