A prominent human rights lawyer brutalised by security agents a few years ago put it beautifully: it is like asking a snake to have dinner with a frog. He was giving his thoughts on the swearing in of Morgan Tsvangirai as Prime Minister in front of an unsmiling Robert Mugabe. Deadpan or just uncaring. You could almost hear him: “Let’s just get it over with. I have other things to do.”

That is how this whole thing is being viewed by many who have had to watch the country being messed up by the increasingly senile Founding Father even in the face of all odds being staked against him. In the streets you could feel it, in the pubs and commuter omnibuses you could hear it: no joy that finally one of our own is in government to take us to the Promised Land.

While thousands thronged the stadium to hear the Prime Minister speak after his swearing in, many who stayed home cursed. Mugabe rules! The refrain was loud enough even as the people walked about aimlessly, wishing they were in another land where they had jobs and able to feed their families.

That people have lost all interest in contemporary politics is a reality all too palpable. The folks talk about how they have been reduced to scavengers; the very scavengers as described a few years ago by the very man who today stands as Prime Minister. When he said it back then, he inevitably invited the acerbic tongue of the Founding Father and his doctors of spin. Even when that valiant Catholic prelate from Bulawayo Pius Ncube and the then executive mayor of the city Ndabeni Ncube reported people in the city were dying of hunger, the Founding Father was apoplectic. These people were in league with the Devil, never mind that the snake as used in Biblical symbolism is the Devil himself.

It is this and other things that has people cursing: why have this charade of a unity government with a snake? And this is not that snake in the grass that strikes while you are busy minding your own business.

People die of hunger and cholera and one man and his cohorts claim it is a silent genocide being perpetrated by imperialists. No one understands why this GNU thing had to happen. Politics as usual perhaps?

When Nkomo entered into that pact with the devil, his story was that he wanted to stop the violence, the killings, and the politics of hate that existed back then. Today however, I hear some people say what reason did the MDC have for joining the Zanu PF in government?

Some analysts say it was pressure from the toothless SADC leaders. Then if that holds true, the people here have every reason to say they were never part of this negotiated settlement in the first place. It was all African politics as usual that excludes the interests of the ordinary man, woman and child.

If an opposition political party can be pressured to enter into a coalition government with a losing party, then as logic would have it, the losing party can also well be pressured to leave power gracefully. Unless of course the losing party still controls the state apparatus of power and threatens civil strife if it is not given political space in the proposed government. They said it before anyway, them who claim to have fought the 70s bush war, that they are ready to take up arms and return to the bush and reverse any electoral outcome that favours the opposition.

We have heard it all before, a ruling party loses an election and it claims the winning opposition rigged the poll. What crap! But then Zimbabwe is just full of crap.

You just have to hear the people talk. No optimism whatsoever. Misery with a capital “M”.

Just this month alone, I know whole families who left the country for South Africa and these families have no clue what they will do once they get to the so-called “place of gold.” But their stories are from the same abject universe: “we need to send our children to school.”

A journalist working for a government-controlled daily also left for South Africa, never mind that he had no passport. He just had to leave, and according to him, he has no clue what he will do once he gets there. I recalled a cynic years ago who quipped, “I don’t know where am going, but I believe I’m in the right direction.”

And imagine all these people are fleeing just when a “new” government has been formed, so one has to imagine that this GNU ought to give people hope for a new beginning but then no one wants to stick around to find out how it pans out. What then? Turns out only the politicians know.

An SW Radio Africa headline caught my eye the other day: MDC say they will not be held ‘prisoner’ in unity deal.

The Tsvangirai MDC has moved to reassure sceptical supporters that it will not be held ‘prisoner’ in a government of national unity with ZANU PF. Speaking to Newsreel on Monday, party spokesman Nelson Chamisa said if for any reason the deal failed to work they would have no hesitation in walking out.

Well. The MDC may not be held prisoner. But Zimbabwe Peace Project Director Jestina Mukoko certainly is. She was abducted over two months ago, on 3 December 2008. She was missing for three weeks, with the police claiming not to know where she was. She was found 23 December – in police custody! Since then, she has been accused of “banditry,” and has had a series of court appearances, none of which seem to be getting her any closer to freedom.

Today, High Court Justice Alphas Chitakunye rejected her latest application for bail, saying that he couldn’t grant bail because Jestina “had yet to be advised by a court on her charges.”

So this woman, who was arrested after the Global Political Agreement was signed now won’t be released, after the inclusive government has been finalised? You’ve had this woman, and her six co-accused, for two months and you haven’t even charged them yet?

Surely the issue of these detainees is a litmus test for this new government. Write to MDC-M and MDC-T and remind them that whilst pro-democracy activists remain detained and disappeared, none of us are free, and that the spirit of the inclusive government is flawed. And if you hear back from them, let us know what they say!

In an effort heed the advice of many of the people who have commented on my MDC sell outs blog, I’ve been reading up about what others have to say about MDC-T’s decision to join this new “inclusive government.” At the suggestion of my colleague, I thought I could make a little table – one column with commentators in favour of this move, the other column citing those more sceptical about it.

Unfortunately, my table as it stands is weighted heavily with the sceptics. And currently all the commentators I’ve seen referenced are men. I haven’t included any leaders of the parties that signed onto the deal, my theory being that of course they’d argue in favour of it; they signed it.

Anyone want to point me in the direction of a few more optimists?

Optimists

Tawanda Mukakiwa, a vendor – “This is a real attempt to address the crises in the country and in that respect the move deserves credit.”

Alex Magaisa – “The only hope is that should it join, the MDC will try to be to any opponents what Zanu PF was never able to manage when the MDC was in opposition. If that is possible, then at least the new arrangement would have achieved one important thing: to free space for political activity and therefore create a culture in which democracy can potentially thrive.”

——

Sceptics

John Makumbe – “The desperate people of Zimbabwe deserve better than a political fix that will keep Robert Mugabe in power.”

Wellington Chibhebhe – “A casual glance at the power-sharing pact only gave the MDC ‘administrative work’.”

Dale Dore – “No to the power-sharing deal! No to collusion with the Mugabe dictatorship!”

Brian Kagoro – “Firstly, there’s nothing national about it, secondly there’s absolutely no unity in it. So as an exercise in futility it’s a waste of precious time.”

Tendai Dumbutshena – “After the June 27 putsch by Robert Mugabe signs were always there that the MDC were headed for surrender. It officially happened on January 30, 2009 when the party hoisted a white flag on top of its Harvest House headquarters. What followed was a pathetic attempt by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai to portray this decision to join the unity government without any of their conditions
being met as some sort of victory.”

Lovemore Madhuku – “It’s catastrophic. In so doing, Tsvangirai undermined the intention of the MDC to have a complete change.”

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Reserving Judgement

Takavafira Zhou – “It brings hope on the surface that there may be better things to come and at the same time we remain sceptical.”

Daniel Molokele – “The big question that remains to be answered is whether or not the decision by the MDC to join up with Zanu-PF was a strategically wise one or not. Well as they say, the jury is still out on this one. Only time will tell!”

Well now.

It’s taken almost a year for us to get a result from the 2008 March election. Hmmm. Then Tsvangirai said he’d halt any negotiations regarding a Government of National Unity until all abducted and detained activists were returned or released. That didn’t last for long, he was soon back at the round table and the mini bar. And now that he has agreed to jump into bed with that old guy, he’s said that previous demands like the allocation of ministries will be sorted out over the next 6 months, or so. Sounds wonderful doesn’t it?

John Makumbe writing for openDemocracy has this to say:

The bottom line is that Robert Mugabe and Zanu-PF have no intention of handing over power to the MDC, except under severe political pressure from both within and outside Zimbabwe. The activists gathering at the African Union summit in Addis Ababa on 26 January-3 February 2009 to highlight the “passive genocide” in their country are right; those who are prepared to consent to a political fix that will entrench its architects in power are wrong. Read more

To temper my scepticism over this inclusive government, I’ve been reading what some of our subscribers have to say about it via SMS. I may not agree with all of them, but they are certainly hopeful. Here are some of the text messages we’ve received about Friday’s deal.

I think its a good move we a going to dismantle ZANU from inside. SADC PF has lost credibility both localy regionaly & internationaly.

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Is that a gud idea?

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Thank god for the agreement

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Thank u very much. Tambai tsoro with honesty to the people…The suffering

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What about the people abducted and jailed

I’ve been thinking about this “inclusive government,” and about the notion that that MDC had no choice – that it couldn’t risk “defying SADC,” that it had to agree to the terms of the 27 January SADC Communiqué.

One problem with that whole theory is that it gives to SADC an authority that I don’t think it deserves. Granted, some heads of certain SADC countries respect the rule of law, treat their citizens fairly and promote justice at home. But since when has SADC been an honest, reliable broker when it comes to Zimbabwe? It’s always had a bias – as evidenced by the very fact that the Zimbabwe crisis has stretched out as long as it has. And it feels like Mugabe has a case of selective sovereignty. Mr You keep your Britain and I’ll keep my Zimbabwe suddenly cares what other countries think about what he does at home? Yeah, right.

It also comes back to this question of desperation. The MDC say they’re weren’t desperate to be in government, but their actions tell a different story.

Along these lines, Dale Doré sent in these comments recently which resonated with me:

In September 2008 the MDC was pressured by Mbeki into a deeply flawed agreement. For all Mugabe’s loathing and contempt for the MDC and its leaders, there are those in the opposition who still believe that a deal with Mugabe is their only option. Instead of believing in themselves, they believe in Mugabe’s omnipotence. Instead of sticking to their democratic principles as the route to legitimate political power, they believe that power can be shared with Mugabe. Instead of believing themselves to be the true heirs of democratically-won political power, they fear that Mugabe will form a government without them. Until and unless the MDC believe in themselves and move boldly to capture the high moral and political ground – nothing will change.

Even after Mugabe illegitimately grabbed the lion’s share of power, SADC has still put their trust in him to negotiate in good faith when implementing the power-sharing agreement. Instead of fair and unbiased arbitration, Mbeki and the SADC leaders have now placed the MDC in a lose-lose situation. If the MDC pulls out of the agreement, they will look like the spoilers. If they enter the agreement, they will be completely dominated by the very forces they oppose and make them complicit in Mugabe’s dictatorship. However, our first responsibility is not to Thabo Mbeki or leaders of other countries.

We must not sign any agreement to appease Mugabe, Mbeki or SADC. Our responsibility is first and foremost to the people of Zimbabwe. Having tried our utmost, but having failed to reach agreement, we must now put aside any kind of power-sharing deal, including that which SADC has put on the table. A bold, new approach is needed.

Read more here