Morgan Tsvangirai

Morgan Tsvangirai

Tichaona Zindoga Political Editor—

That Zimbabwe’s opposition, its waning face being Morgan Tsvangirai, is clueless from levels of individuals, organisations and as aspiring members of an increasingly stillborn coalition, is now as glaring as it is becoming both an embarrassment and headache for supporters and handlers alike.There is zero charisma.

Tsvangirai, once touted as brave in confronting the ruling party and Government of President Mugabe, is a pale shadow of the man he used to be some 17 years ago.

Not to mention his ill-health, Tsvangirai barely raises a voice to make a talking point, rally and galvanise popular sentiment.

It is like he is not there.

And when his cheerleaders decide to wake him up, he gives us that tired and perfunctory Mugabe-must-go mantra which now rings ever so hollow.

Not even Tsvangirai himself appears to believe that such words have the magical and galvanizing power they once appeared to have.

(We shall shortly return to Tsvangirai.)

There is zero charm in opposition leaders and there is an undeclared hunt for the new face of the opposition both by way of character and by way of political and grounding and appeal.

That person could well have been Joice Mujuru, a woman, a former vice president and someone with touted liberation struggle credentials.

Mujuru, leader of the Zimbabwe People First party, has not fared any better lacking as she does any real physical charm and political charisma that her pedigree should have given her with qualities cited above.

Instead, she has shown herself to be a polarizing figure who when she speaks does not inspire confidence, torch off sparks or strike fear in the hearts of her opponents.

She is just there — almost like the proverbial fencepost tortoise.

The evident vacuum has seen even rank outsiders from the mainstream opposition trying to stage a coup that would sweep across mainstream politics and civil society.

This gives us your Evan Mawarires, Patson Dzamaras and Sten Zvorwadzas.

Throw in a Fadzai Mahere in there, too.

They have identified a yawning charisma and leadership gap and have been keen to exploit it and become champions of a new generation of leader and cause.

They have not succeeded though for the simple reason that while they may strike one as courageous or even charismatic, they lack any real constituencies and or revolutionary ideas or enduring cause.

They are just empty vessels hollowing in the winds of present time.

It is hardly conceivable that they will outgrow the present.

They are like memes of the social media, itself a window to the world and a tool to approach it.

In all this, one cannot help but notice the anxiety among western diplomats and political circles which is just as desperate to find the next best man.

You see a Laurent Delahousse (former French ambassador to Zimbabwe) embracing one Itai Dzamara, or an effigy thereof or much worse, a clone activist brother, hoping for the best.

You see a Harry Thomas Jr, American envoy here, posing for a picture with some “brutalized” activist and imagine him singing silently these lines from pop musician James Blunt that, “…We were the ones who saw you first of all/We always knew that you were one of the brightest stars.” The times are desperate.

What makes a bad situation worse for the opposition, and the country that is ill served by it, is that there is a paucity of ideas in that side of the body politic.

Where we have identified a vacuum in charismatic leadership there is an abyss, a vast nothingness of ideas from the opposition camp.

Meaning that where Zimbabwe has seen the failures of the present Government, there seems to be nothing by way of alternative from the opposition.

Nothing sellable, even less viable at all.

It may be self-serving for the opposition to point out at the inefficacy, say of Government’s Zim-Asset (a convenient generalization, usually) but the opposition in its various shades has not maintained any sustained discourse on the economy anchored on its blueprints — the last we heard of which were JUICE from the MDC-T, Mujuru’s BUILD and something from Tendai Biti called ARREST or some criminally vacous-sounding thing.

Hence, when the big question of bond notes came knocking, all that came from the opposition were alarmist noises and an attempt to demonstrate.

It will be critical to note that demonstrations are the only ideas that the opposition have at the moment and have been banking on disruptive and violent demonstrations to make themselves relevant.

Unsurprisingly, the returns from these actions have been progressively yielding diminishing returns.

November 30 was supposed to be the biggest demonstration against bond notes but the demo flopped dismally.

Even by the low standards of the opposition in Zimbabwe, you can guess that this is going to be the last we are hearing of demonstrations against the currency experiment.

Brains failed, as did brawn — writing the story of the ineffectual opposition that is rudderless.

It becomes almost comical if you consider a statement by Tsvangirai as he purported to assure President Mugabe that he would not be “hounded” if he stepped down.

Tsvangirai pontificated that, “Every Zimbabwean only wishes that the President could take advantage of the day to announce his retirement so that the nation could move forward.”

He added: “We are proud Africans and in our culture, we value and respect old people. He has no reason to fear. He can safely announce his retirement and he has our assurance that no one will pursue him. Retiring now can only enhance his legacy,” Tsvangirai said.

It does not take much to realise that in this childish statement, which nobody can take seriously, Tsvangirai is sounding desperate.

Poor Tsvangirai, this kind of desperation has a tragic ring to it, from a man who sees his days of ever ruling the country numbered.

He is clutching at straws.

No, he is clutching at imaginary carrot and sticks where he will be called to exercise some prerogative of mercy that he will never enjoy.

And he better take his advice himself.

He should announce his retirement from the leadership of the opposition and preserve his legacy as the once formidable leader.

Already he has been called to be the Mandela of the party.

That way, maybe, we can see new charismatic and charming faces — and there are a couple floating around, some of them Godly people — that can better serve the opposition and our democracy.

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