Zimpapers Logo

Zimbabwe, led by President Mnangagwa, is united in its respect for opposition MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, who passed on in South Africa last week.

The Head of State and Government visited the Tsvangirai family to console the family on its loss and he not only made a pledge to help the family with medical expenses accrued in South Africa — to the tune of R2 million — but also made it clear that people had to separate politics and matters of life and death.

Essentially, he was speaking to that sacred construct called Ubuntu which we hold dear as Africans compelling us to mourn with those who mourn, among other cultural injunctions.

Zanu-PF has equally been fairly disposed to the grieving family and rivals across town.
However, in one remarkable irony, there have been nasty fights in Mr Tsvangirai’s party and family, totally out of sync with the national mood and tolerance.

There is a serious tussle for leadership among the party’s vice presidents that could soon degenerate into physical violence.
Nelson Chamisa has literally seized control of the party, having marshalled the party’s powerful organ, the National Executive Council, to make him interim leader for the next 12 months.

Dr Khupe

His colleagues, Engineer Elias Mudzuri and Dr Thokozani Khupe, are not taking it.
They have their supporters who have been at each other’s throats and they have not waited for the ceremonies associated with Mr Tsvangirai’s demise.

Eng Mudzuri

It has been such an ugly spectacle.
Not to be outdone, the family of the late trade unionist has cast its own little drama that has seen them interfering in the leadership and succession race and also castigating Ms Elizabeth Tsvangirai, the widow.

The low point came when Mr Tsvangirai’s mother had an outburst at the arrival of her son’s body, threatening to commit suicide if Mr Chamisa and Ms Macheka are allowed at the funeral.

The incident added to the growing controversy and the poor grieving woman became a target of abuse — which was uncalled for and a low point.

Mr Tsvangirai will be buried today at his rural home in Buhera.
We are afraid to predict that there will be more of these ugly fights at home and in the troubled opposition party.
We shudder to imagine just how low the whole debacle will go.

It is instructive to point out that Mr Tsvangirai and his party failed to take vital lessons from the succession drama in Zanu-PF.

Mr Tsvangirai, even belatedly, must have put the matter to bed in the name of protecting his legacy as the founder of Zimbabwe’s biggest post-independence opposition party, a necessary institution in any democracy. Now the party is in serious danger under the dark cloud of confusion.

It does not help the party that Zimbabwe is staring down at elections to take place within a matter of months.
MDC-T will need to put its house in order so that the election contest becomes a real test of our democracy as ideas contest.
Voters will also want that chance to vote for the best possible candidates.

A poor contest may lead to widespread apathy, which does not reflect well on our processes and the legitimacy that is crucial.