HARARE A battle has erupted between President Robert Mugabes Zanu (PF) and the MDC-T led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to win the support of traditional chiefs as both parties look to bolster their power base ahead of zero-sum elections next year that could make or break either party. Zanu (PF) has in recent weeks intensified its efforts to whip traditional leaders into backing the party. Mugabe told chiefs attending a Council of Chiefs meeting in Kariba last week that traditional leaders must protect national interests by backing his party. The veteran leader urged traditional leaders to actively participate in Zanu (PF) politics.
How can you be called traditional chiefs who are supposed to lead the people when your subjects are suffering because of sanctions, when the people have no accommodation, when there is hunger? You should not fold your arms and just watch because you are supposed to be apolitical. Whoever said that you should be apolitical? Mugabe, who was speaking in Shona, told the chiefs last Thursday. He added: That is not what we fought for during the war of independence,
Senior officials
Not to be outdone, the MDC-T has said it is deploying senior officials to engage key traditional leaders to resist attempts by Mugabe and his party to use the chiefs as campaign tools in the planned crunch 2011 general polls. MDC-T spokesman Nelson Chamisa said his party was advising the traditional leaders who comprise the chiefs, headmen and village heads to refuse to be used as political football or napkins by Zanu (PF)”.
“Our chiefs must stop being used as tissue or napkins because all they want is to use you to deal with their mess,” Chamisa told The Zimbabwean on Sunday. The MDC-T hatched the plan to open talks with chiefs after all traditional leaders countrywide were summoned by army generals last week to appear at the respective provincial military headquarters to be briefed on the Zanu (PF) election modus operandi.
The commander of 3 Brigade in Mutare, Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba, last week summoned close to 200 traditional leaders from Manicaland province for a two-day indoctrination workshop. The so-called workshop, held inside the Brigade barracks in the eastern border town, was attended by chiefs, headmen and village heads from all the seven districts of the province.
An ambitious one-star general, Nyikayaramba told chiefs from seven Manicaland districts that MDC-T rallies must be banned in their areas. Similar meetings were held countrywide. “How do you have soldiers chanting a Zanu (PF) party slogan in uniform? How is that possible? Chamisa said.
Ian Smith
Chamisa accused Zanu (PF) of using the same tactics used by former Rhodesian Prime Minister Ian Smith by attempting to rope traditional leaders to their political side and putting them on the forefront of political campaigns to clampdown local resistance. “Its not just a breach of GPA. It is also a breach of the Traditional Leaders Act that says chiefs should not be partisan,” the MDC-T spokesman said.
He added: “Its a breach of the laws of the country and the common good. It flies in the face of our culture that they want to use the custodians of our tradition and culture for political ends, particularly when they are being abused by an unpopular political party”. The top brass of the army, police and intelligence structures have been reactivated to push the Zanu (PF) agenda in the rural areas where the party is said to have lost considerable support.
The rural areas used to be the bedrock of the former ruling party, but its modus operandi of using violence to coerce people to vote Zanu (PF) has backfired. Nyikayaramba is one of the top military generals who helped Mugabe retain power after his devastating electoral defeat in the March 2008 poll. He covertly took control of the presidential election machinery to ensure Mugabes victory in a sham one-man run-off poll, following the Zanu (PF) leaders electoral loss to Tsvangirai.
Post published in: News