Utterances and statements emerging from Zimbabwe’s uniformed forces, starting with Rt Major General Paradzayi Zimondi, Head of Prisons, to the effect that they will not accept or salute either opposition Movement for Democratic Change Presidential candidate Morgan Tsvangirai or Independent and former ruling party minister Simba Makoni (should they win the Presidential election on 29 March) cannot go unchallenged. Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri and Army General Constantine Chiwenga are also on record saying they will not accept Robert Mugabe losing to what they derisively termed ‘puppets’. There is no room for such misguided utterances in Zimbabwe; these men of uniform must resign with immediate effect.

Zimbabweans will not be held to ransom by a bunch of men who should know that it is highly unprofessional for the army, police and prisons to delve in political matters or to attempt to influence the vote by spreading fear, alarm and despondency. Political engagement and discourse is for civilians and civilians alone, it is a fundamental right of the people of Zimbabwe to determine through the ballot who they wish to lead them; the uniformed forces must be reminded that this is none of their business. The uniformed forces belong to the people of Zimbabwe and have an obligation to respect democratic political processes and must swear allegiance to whomsoever Zimbabweans chose as leader.

It must be stated clearly that it is treasonous and shameful for the leadership of uniformed forces to issue such irresponsible statements threatening to return to war if President Mugabe loses elections; it is shameful for government of Zimbabwe to remain silent and not condemn outright such utterances; worst of all, it is shameful and unacceptable that SADC and international community should remain silent in the face of these treasonous statements which are obviously meant to sway and compel voters to vote for a value system that is unmarketable and can only be forced down the throats of the masses. Effectively, Chihuri, Chiwenga and Zimondi have become Zanu PF campaign agents, poor ones at that, as they only know the language of threats. It is very strange that, in the face of all these unconstitutional, frivolous and inflammatory utterances, South African President Thabo Mbeki still has the audacity to express hope that Zimbabwe elections will be free and fair. One wonders what benchmarks Mbeki is applying to elections in Zimbabwe; they are certainly not the SADC guidelines, standards and norms for the conduct of free and fair elections.

How can elections in Zimbabwe be possibly be credible, free and fair when the electorate is threatened with war should they vote out Mugabe? Enough is enough, we cannot accept mortgaging Zimbabwe’s future to a few cronies who selfishly cling to the past and are keen to destroy Zimbabwe for selfish personal interests. In a new Zimbabwe there will be no place for unqualified and unprofessional people in our uniformed forces, people will hold office on the basis of merit and merit alone, so let beneficiaries of political patronage beware.

This old guard in army, police and prisons must know that it is now time for professional uniformed forces who are not in any way part of political formations and that should either Morgan Tsvangirai or Simba Makoni win in the coming elections, if they do not wish to salute they must simply resign and go home. Already they have outlived their usefulness in these institutions and must be replaced in order to take our uniformed forces back to values of impartiality, patriotism, professionalism and allegiance to Zimbabwe’s constitutional values. Chihuri, Chiwenga and Zimondi cannot masquerade as kingmakers and godfathers of Zimbabwean politics, they must confine themselves to their terms of engagement which categorically exclude meddling in political affairs of the country.

The rank and file in the army, police and prisons must also reject these patently partisan and unprofessional utterances and be patriotic enough to resist illegal orders to vote for Mugabe. Soldiers, Police officers and prison officers have a right to vote, their vote must be a secret and a personal choice and not an order from anyone. I am hopeful and positive that the views expressed by these cronies are views of a tiny minority in Zimbabwe and do not reflect the views of masses inside and outside uniformed forces who love peace and democracy and are equally fed up with a diet of starvation and rantings of little men allergic to democracy and good governance. As a patriotic Zimbabwean, it is my sincere hope and trust, and my prayer that sense will prevail over madness.

I thought I never had any opinion of Dr Simba Makoni until I had the opportunity to watch an exclusive interview he gave to South Africa’s E.TV 3rd Degree show. Although I know a lot of Zimbabweans neither had privilege or opportunity to watch it, I know it would have really cleared the air for those who are not so sure whether to vote for him or not. I must say, that even after Debra Patta’s infamous 30 minutes of hard-hitting, straight-forward confrontation, I felt I knew Dr Makoni much less.

The man just wouldn’t be engaged, constantly evading questions with obscure answers and responses like, “Don’t put words into my mouth”. Or “You are best asking so-and-so that question,” etc. Asked what he thought of Morgan Tsvangirai for President he initially had nothing to say but later described him as a patriot who was simply standing up for what he believes in.

Asked what his opinion of Mugabe was – considering the history of Gukurahundi – and what he would do about him if he became President, Makoni retorted that he respected Mugabe as a leader and for what he achieved, and concerning the Gukurahundi atrocities, he would welcome some evidence concerning that matter. Hello? Was this guy on the moon? What a denialist and, how so deeply insulting. One must keep in mind that this guy is also ready to give Mugabe amnesty. He also claims to not have heard about the army chief saying they will not support or salute any other candidate save for Mugabe. Man …

Asked what he made of the criticism leveled against him and how he felt towards Mugabe for “leading Zimbabwe into its economic decline where inflation is soaring and people are starving”, he told the interviewer he felt “sad” for Mugabe and had no ill feelings towards him. Not that one expected him to engage in the diatribe of mudslinging and name calling now characteristic of Zanu PF, but eish, his complacency really smacks of a boot licker with so much Zanu PF blood running thick in him. Or probably he is just a true gentleman. Go figure.

Here are some of the questions that kept burning in my head after the show – why does this guy sound so apologetic? Why is he so prepared to grant amnesty to President Mugabe? And for crying in a bucket, what does he mean when he says he doesn’t stand against Mugabe but rather, stands for something else? What is the difference anyway?

Many people have, from the beginning, been convinced that Makoni was just a ‘stalking horse’ for Mugabe. Many hypotheses and theories around his candidature have been flying around. Above all, it is undeniable that voter registration did increase significantly following his announcement. But if this guy is raising the hopes of many Zimbabweans under false pretenses, I feel sad for him, to use his words. If you want more insight and probably something to help you decide how you are going to vote on March 29, visit the full transcript of Makoni’s interview here. Personally, I’m not sure what to think anymore.

And as a matter of interest, TV SA is currently running a forum where people echo their sentiments concerning the Makoni interview. You can view it here. I must say I was captivated by one who wrote:

“I must say thanks to 3rd degree for working hard at discouraging the people of Zimbabwe from voting now RGM can surely walk his way to victory. We would even vote for a monkey if it contested in the election where ever it comes from. Do you know most people were not going to vote were it not for Simba – people now believed there could be a way out but well there’s always big mouthed journalists who have to go and cast doubts on people’s mind. Obviously Miss Reporter you have a boss and am sure he makes some decisions against your word of advice – so should we hold that against you. Why then would you hold it against Simba. We are tired of these speculations we just want to change even if it’s from within.”

* A stalking horse is a candidate put forward to mask the candidacy of another person, for whom the stalking horse will then withdraw.

A friend and I were speaking this morning about the upcoming election. We were reflecting on how limited each of the presidential candidates are, in their various different ways. Why aren’t we more demanding, we asked one another. Why aren’t Zimbabweans more insistent that they deserve good leaders. Why do we settle for so much less than the ideal?

This was still on my mind when I came into the office and found this poem by Tawanda Mutasah, extracted from The Zimbabwean:

The Rural Vote

We are their cows
Why else would we be herded
Driven under the whip by these clowns
To the voting booths as if to be graded?
Isn’t it them who should be proving
Their worth to us the electors?
Why do the goal posts keep on moving
At the whims of these pretenders?

Chief’s dog in front, bums rotund from diverting humanitarian food aid
Chief atop brand new tractor, comically close behind
We the people, single file in between
Chief’s enforcers brandishing their whips, bring up the rear
Chief says this is to deliver an orderly vote
We the people, have been assured we are independent
Chief’s made-in-China, bright red tractor, looks quite orderly
Chief’s beard looks well developed, very black, shiny

Miss this queue that’s to be joined by every independent serf
You have lost without recourse even that barren ten-acre erf
Walk a trifle too slowly or too fast
Your tenure in this chiefdom cannot last
Smile to your marching neighbor your amusement at the Chief’s comical traction
An enforcing clown’s whip will administer prompt sanction
Mentally calculate by how much Central Bank underwrites the Chief’s beard
Food aid will be withheld by those much feared

Chief’s overfed dog arrives first at polling station
Chief arrives, chief’s bottom and tractor’s top outpuffing each other where they meet
We the people queue up in the order in which we came
Chief shows off his ballot, a clumsy “X” next to aged face of the Pharaoh
Chief beardedly proclaims: “this is how we vote in this village”
We the people are then told we are free to vote “in the manner of the village”
Chief’s enforcers stand close enough for us to smell their patriotic sweat
Chief’s dog growls steadily when it smells my extracurricular thoughts

Are we their cows?
Or is the power in our hands?
Is it enough to be placid serfs behind pained frowns?
Or, each alone in the voting booth, is it possible to seize destiny’s reins?
But before I can complete the thought
My marching neighbor taps me on the shoulder
Time to single-file back towards destiny still elusively sought
Leaving the embers of the mind yet again to smolder

- Tawanda Mutasah

News that huge salary increments continue to be awarded continues to flow out of the press and there must be jubilation out there. The beneficiaries will be like wives who receive flowers as an apology from a husband for errant and undignified behaviour that does not change one iota after the forgiveness.

These are interesting times for Zimbabwe and that is not meant to be interesting in the usual sense of the word. Indeed, the times are trying, exasperating, exacting and pushing the Zimbabweans way in to the wall. Any relief, however temporary, will thus be greeted like the second coming. Except the second coming is still a way off, if reports from the space station are anything to go by. Instead of ululating at this new found generosity that is dished out sparingly and to interest groups, Zimbabweans should instead be asking, what got us here in the first place? For us, in the coloured community that question is a no brainer. We have been shafted by both sides.

For the rest of you, remember that part of the reason why we are where we are now is because of the huge payout that was awarded to young war veterans followed by the adventure in the Congo. While this increase is welcome, the question must be asked: But where is the money going to come from? Does a father in a drought season hand all the food out of the granary to satiate every one’s hunger once and for all? Is that wisdom? By all means, take the increment, you have after worked for it and deserve it. Understand though that this is not the largesse of a political party, it is what is due to you as long suffering civil servants of an inefficient government. If the current government had not deliberately, and in a fit of a ten year long and on-going temper and tantrum, destroyed the economy you would not be in the position you are now. Accepting plasters for wounds that require surgery. The plaster might stem the outflow of blood but it will not save you.

You will have to be far more sighted than that and deal with the source of the wound so that you never have to be this undignified to the point where you only get decent increments at election time, again. Take the money, then vote him out!

What we need in Zimbabwe right now are more defections in Zanu PF, a viable plan of action for what we’ll do when the election is stolen (again), and citizens with courage. Without these, it is unlikely our next election will produce anything startlingly different than the past three have.

I’ve been reading the various reactions to Simba Makoni’s candidacy with interest. The Mutambara formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) has gotten behind Makoni. But by and large, the response from civic activists and supporters of the Tsvangirai-led MDC has been negative. The negativity is based on a couple of factors which include his late entry – he’s seen as someone who hasn’t been around long enough as an independent; and the fact that he has been Zanu PF and he intends to remain Zanu PF.

The thing is, even if the Tsvangirai MDC does win the March 29 election, Zanu PF will still be around. I don’t see them just up and disappearing come April. And we need to reach a place in Zimbabwean politics where extreme polarisation is a thing of the past. We need political parties to work together for the benefit of Zimbabwe whilst maintaining their different philosophies and ideologies. If Makoni can move Zanu PF to a new thinking and new leadership that makes them more approachable and easier to work with, he should be given the opportunity to do so.

An article entitled It’s an election not a coronation caught my eye recently. Both Tsvangirai and the MDC should reflect on these words. It is an election in which both candidates have to work hard to convince Zimbabweans to get out the vote for them. Having worked tirelessly for the last 8 years does not automatically guarantee Tsvangirai victory. And he should not be viewed as the only legitimate challenger to Mugabe.

A Kubatana subscriber emailed us this opinion:

Loyalty is a great quality, but we have to ask to what exactly are we being loyal. The argument that we should continue voting for Tsvangirai because of his past contribution is the same argument used by Mugabe as to why we should vote for him. Didn’t he liberate the country from colonial shackles and therefore we should continue loyalty well beyond his ability or willingness to deliver “the goods”? Sometimes, we have to step back from emotional loyalty and look to the greater good. Not voting for someone is not necessarily being disloyal to that individual. People’s contributions to a cause, does not bestow the entitlement of office or reward. We do what we do because it is the right thing, not because we expect high office. If Tsvangirai doesn’t make it to the Presidency, I will still respect and honour him. I just want to see my country begin the road to recovery, both nationally and individually.

For many years the MDC has been unable to convert their stolen elections. Why would they suddenly be able to do so in 2008? A failing economy and an ailing dictator don’t necessarily place victory in one’s lap. Indeed, Mugabe has become even more shameless (his latest election jingle features the refrain: “If you want a farm, vote Zanu PF. If you want a company, vote Zanu PF.”). And Mugabe is confident that his battle-cry of “sovereignty” allows him to rig elections with impunity and run Zimbabwe into the ground without any regard to criticism.

If Makoni can somehow encourage the neutralisation of Mugabe and create a “new Zanu PF” committed to justice and Zimbabwe’s social, economic and environmental recovery then this should be seen as progress.

“There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” appears to have been said with African elections in mind – and Zimbabwe is no exception! With each election, there must be beatings, torture, and political rape as Zanu PF activists violently “prove” their loyalty to the party whose leader has in the past declared he was prepared to beat the daylights out of anyone who dared challenge him.

The March 29 elections have been no exception according to human rights activists with heads being bashed solely on the accusation that the victims of that political rage are anti-Zanu PF. But there are signs of defiance in the high density streets as some young – and not so young – opposition activists are literally daring the devil by loudly and proudly wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the image of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

This has been a cardinal sin since 2000 with Zanu PF supporters taking it upon themselves to “reorient” compatriots who had been wooed by the opposition – and beat these people up they did. Remember the Hunzvi-inspired re-education camps where opposition supporters where abducted and had to endure hours of torture just to convince them Zanu PF was the party of the future. Today however, hordes of MDC (Tsvangirai) supporters can be seen wearing the t-shirts that boldly pronounce their allegiance as a sure sign of defiance.

It is a statement that they have had enough and are apparently ready to take the punches from any bellicose political thug. Young men can be seen putting up Tsvangirai posters in broad daylight, while in the past this was done at night when the owls started hooting for fear of being spotted by rats who would then inform the Zanu PF “beatmasters.”

These heavies would then descend on the home of the MDC daredevil, smash the windows of his home, drag him from his bed and dispense a sound beating. “How dare you support a party that wants to return the country to British rule?” they charge without any sign they are just pulling your leg. But then, they pull your genitals, flagellate your back, and make you wish you were never born. Never mind that the attackers also live in a land where they have to contend with abject poverty, bellies full of flatulence (because there is nothing in there you see!) which they incredibly blame on anyone other than the bespectacled Grandmaster himself.

Someone mentioned that the open defiance being seen in the run up to March 29 could be because Zanu PF’s erstwhile violent types in urban areas could be sensing a thrashing at the polls and would have nowhere to hide once the Bespectacled One is given one hard kick in the political butt. So imagine today you beat up a neighbour because he is wearing an MDC t-shirt or chanting a pro-Morgan Tsvangirai slogan, and tomorrow the same Tsvangirai is your president! Interesting Dr. Watson, interesting!

But then, politics is one weird sport where foot soldiers behave as if they are under some hypnotic spell and will engage in all sorts of behaviour that defies logic. So while the politicians battle it out trading barbs, their supporters decide to clobber each other because of t-shirts.

I read with interest the other day about a young man in Epworth who got so pissed off for some reason and vented his anger by pulling down a Mugabe poster. You can already imagine his fate! The cops were – in the fashion of a rapid response team – soon onto him like flies to sh*t. Throwing him behind bars for a month, the court said the unfortunate man’s behaviour could insight violence, thus jailing him for a month was an attempt to maintain political stability ahead of the polls! Great, just great. Imagine if he had decided to burn a t-shirt bearing the face of the bespectacled Grandmaster!

Reports about opposition MDC posters being pulled down across the country by Zanu PF activists remain unpunished, and one has to wonder rather aloud if such behaviour is not likely to insight violence. Shouldn’t these chaps be thrown into the cells to “maintain political stability?” But then this is Zimbabwe where the rule of law exists in different forms for different folks! I ain’t telling which t-shirt I am wearing as I write this, but be assured it is emblazoned with a face screaming for food on the table.

And that is the face of every Zimbabwean.