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Zimbabwean politics, which way is up?

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As Zimbabweans remain stunned by President Mugabe’s 31 July poll proclamation, solace apparently can still be found for those with a huge appetite for political intrigue in Baba Jukwa.

I trawled the social media platforms to get a pulse of people’s reactions and Zimbabweans were simply bamboozled. It gets more fascinating noting that even legal opinion on this has been diametrical, raising questions about the interpretation of the law by these learned men and women.

But that’s not a question to ponder considering our very polarized and very poisoned post-2000 body politic where lawyers have been dragged into the hate politics that continue to characterise the country’s political landscape.

On Facebook for example, Baba Jukwa explained that the decision came outside the ambit of Zanu PF’s own politburo, that Communist Russia inspired anachronism, and which is not a surprise considering that Simon Khaya Moyo says his party is not ready for polls even after the “shock” announcement by his own boss.

And thus it is that Zanu PF officials have always been described in pejorative terms, and many believe the party has an unhealthy infestation of hawks.

To mind comes Patrick Chinamasa whom Baba Jukwa reports is the man – alongside Jealousy Mawarire – scripting Zimbabwe’s latest political drama, a man so bellicose in his demeanor many believe he would have been comfortable as Idi Amin’s right hand man.

Idi Amin was a boxer you see and his bad temper is legendary.

Remember Chinamasa’s parliament punch-up with Bennet, or is it Bennet punching-up Chinamasa?

Or Chinamasa allegedly threatening to beat up a British politician?

Or Chinamasa going loco on BBC’s Hard Talk.

According to BJ who has become that fly-on-the-wall in Zanu PF’s innermost sanctum, there is already a grand plan to take over the levers of the state by the so-called securocrats after the elections which these military men are certain Mugabe will win.

But then that’s not breaking news.

Still, there obviously is no comfort in that, the question is: are Zimbabweans going to allow their vote to be raped by men who in a normal democracy would never win a legitimate election?

A gem that I came across from Baba Jukwa on Chinamasa having now become too powerful for his own good: “To those who have seen our news today (13 June) you should have noticed that the Minister of Justice can’t brief diplomats because he is not the Minister of Foreign Affairs. This was Chinamasa firefighting and take the fight himself because he did his things privately with the President.”

Baba Jukwa seems confident that Zimbabweans must restore their belief in the power of their vote, the question is: are his followers who avidly listen in on the reported disintegration of Zanu PF going to take his exhortations to the letter?

Cynics have already said if only the massive following could translate into actual voting not mere appetite for tabloid-like sleaze.

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