Zimpapers Logo

Morgan Tsvangirai

One man, poor old Eddie Cross, is being lynched. His crime is that he has dared to say a self-evident truth that the person of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, Morgan Tsvangirai, is both ill and broke and therefore unfit for office. By now we have all heard the story. But two other aspects warrant attention: within an essay Cross, a top MDC-T official, wrote a week ago, he is accused of being too sympathetic to or supportive of a politician from across the floor, Zanu-PF, in the name of Emmerson Mnangagwa for reasons that for some of us best known to Cross himself.

On his blog, Cross notes that, “So often in the past 50 years, Emmerson Mnangagwa has taken the heat for Mr Mugabe, it was the Vice President as Chairman of the Joint Operations Command who gave Zanu-PF their two thirds majority in 2013 and returned Mr Mugabe to State House for another five-year term. An effective, even brilliant organiser he has held the State captive for Zanu-PF.”

Eddie Cross

In the pervasive, polarised debate of Zimbabwe, this has been interpreted as Cross’ backing of Vice President Mnangagwa and it is feared in some opposition circles that white people, including the British, have abandoned the MDC-T and are looking across to Zanu-PF. This is one of many claims that have not been tested and, lest it may be interpreted otherwise, we cannot vouch for that.

But the fear of losing the British, British and Western aid, is so troubling to the opposition, especially so in light of Western countries withholding their money and demanding accountability lately. Western countries are hard up themselves, but the opposition has shown to be a den of thieves, prodigal, spendthrift and reckless brats. We have seen how the opposition cousins in the civil society have been exposed as corrupt and in the past two weeks it was Tajamuka spokesman Promise Mkwananzi who was outed for being greedy and dishonest.

There have been other reports of civil society leaders living large and drinking whiskies on the back of abuse of donor money. The intended beneficiaries of Western donor money have not benefited or delivered the vote for which lots of donor money was the bait. Those that are known from abusing funds and resources include Tsvangirai himself. Tsvangirai is known to have a taste for finer things in life including having time of his life in high seas with women.

He has equally spent money on false attempts at marrying and being the decent man he appeared to be before his wife was tragically killed in a road accident in March 2009. His less than prudent private life and carelessness with women, in and with whom he has planted many children, has tainted his image. He may as well have destroyed himself — just as the Kings of old were told not to spend all their money on women and drink. He is sick now. He is broke, too, the combination of which are tragic in the circumstances and at a critical juncture.

Zimbabwe goes to the elections in 2018, and technically that may be half a year. And when Cross points this out, many in his party are just not ready to accept the reality. They are demanding Cross’ blood. They want to lynch him; hang him by his old nuts. And Cross is now being accused of being white and racist and linked to Britain, as though that was such a genius discovery! Here is the cold threat from party spokesperson Obert Gutu: “We are a party of discipline and we have internal processes to deal with those kind of issues . . . not only is Honourable Cross a senior member, but he’s also an old man, old enough to be your father,” he said.

“So, obviously the necessary processes will be instituted.” Cross has become an opponent. Gutu likes to see the back of Cross. He says: “All of us have the duty to be disciplined. And especially when you’re talking about matters to do with personal issues, no one has a mandate to talk about the state of anyone’s health because there’s an issue of confidentiality.”

Of course that is not without sense of irony on the part of the party spokesperson. We all recall how the MDC has been telling us that President Mugabe’s state of health and age are electoral issues. Now, a whole log is in the eyes of the opposition party. October 12 . . . and October 13 Morgan Tsvangirai is in the country. He flew in yesterday, from South Africa where he had gone to seek urgent medical attention and was to stay there for close to three weeks to yesterday. He is coming home at a time a dark cloud is hanging over his party and that is solely because of him!

Quite strangely, he chose Friday the 13th to come back home. That sounds ominous. Only a day before his arrival, on October 12, the party marked 15 years since the split of the original MDC. It was on a day on which the party splintered over a disagreement on whether to participate in the then newly introduced senatorial elections that took place the following November. At least that was the official reason: the “Pro-Senate faction” had won a slim vote over the “Anti-Senate” side that included Tsvangirai.

The former comprised of the most “Top Six” officials, including secretary-general Welshman Ncube and the late Gibson Sibanda who was the vice president. Tsvangirai stormed out of the meeting and convened a press conference at his house where he claimed to veto the national council vote.

The rest, as they say, is history. One-and-half decades later, the situation is starkly similar. In fact, it promises to be worse. There is deep division over the participation in an alliance with other political parties under the banner of MDC Alliance. Party stalwarts, vice president Thokozani Khupe, chairman Lovemore Moyo and organising chief Abednico Ncube are unhappy with the Alliance idea. Yes, there is the tribal element, just like 15 years ago. Yes, they accuse Tsvangirai of dictatorship.

And yes, Tsvangirai is at the centre of it all. Only, neither Tsvangirai nor the party is strong enough to take a serious body blow. Tsvangirai is too weak — wasting — and will not be at work any time soon. Not many of us were able to see Tsvangirai as he came back in a not so triumphant return as he was quickly whisked away from the Harare International Airport. His spokesperson gave the world a statement on Facebook with a decidedly old picture of Tsvangirai during his better, healthier days. Said Tamborinyoka: “President Morgan Tsvangirai touched down this afternoon from South Africa where he has been receiving routine medical treatment after he went public last year that he was suffering from cancer of the colon.

“The people’s leader, who was accompanied by his wife for his routine medical procedure, returns home amid a worsening national crisis that is sonorously calling for national leaders of his aptitude. The country experienced his competent hand on the wheel of government when he spent four years as the Prime Minister, spearheading the Government Work Programme which provided the much-needed respite to the weather-beaten people of Zimbabwe. President Tsvangirai’s arrival has confounded morbid sceptics; some of whom had publicly wished him dead.= He returns to take his rightful place in the trenches and to lead a stoic nation that has for years fought for democracy to remove a stubborn and inept government now engaged in a vicious succession struggle at the expense of the challenges facing the people. Starting this weekend, president Tsvangirai will resume what he knows best, galvanising the nation to register to vote following a nationwide voter registration blitz that kicked off on Tuesday . . .”

We all know that Tamborinyoka is lying that all is well and Tsvangirai “will resume what he knows best”. Not that anyone wishes the former trade unionist bad. However, the pragmatic ones like Eddie Cross are beginning to expect the worst.