By failing to abide by the new constitution, which required him to consult with his partners in the coalition government to reach an agreement on an election date before proclamation, and by usurping the responsibility of The Parliament of Zimbabwe to unilaterally pass amendments to the Electoral Act without going through parliament, the message he has sent to the Zimbabwean electorate is simple:
“I am still the same Mugabe who unleashed Gukurahundi on the people of Zimbabwe. I am still the same Mugabe who caused operation Murambatsvina which left thousands of Zimbabweans homeless. I am still the same Mugabe who selectively caused the deaths of many white Zimbabweans farmers, sparing those who support me like Joshua Sacho. I am still the same Mugabe whose actions caused the worst hunger experienced in Zimbabwe’s living memory in 2008. I am still the same Mugabe, and I am capable of doing worse. Vote for me again, and I will ensure Zanu (PF) officials continue to loot while the majority of Zimbabweans suffer”.
Is that what we want, my fellow Zimbabweans? To suffer worse than we did in 2008? We have the power to stop this by voting this dictator away. That power lies in our pen, which we should use wisely on 31 July 2013. All you Zimbabwean out there, there can be no leader capable of matching Mugabe’s brutality. The only person you should not vote for is Robert Mugabe. All other candidates contesting in this election are better than him.
But the dictator is cunning. Even though he has lost support, he is trying various machinations to entrench himself in power and impose himself upon us. But we have already been warned by Priscilla Misihairambwi who said if pro-democracy forces did not “pull up their socks”, or remained divided, it would provide a “priceless gift for those in Zanu (PF) who are bent on reversing the gains realised during the transitional period.”
Let us rally behind one man who has the biggest chance of dethroning Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai. If we do not do that, Mugabe will win, and a few months after he wins, will pass on the baton stick to a more cruel dictator. We must choose a President we know, not someone who will be imposed on us by old Mugabe. – Benjamin Chitate, New Zealand
Post published in: Letters to the Editor