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Joice Mujuru

Nicole Hondo Correspondent
Rallies held over the weekend by MDC-T and Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) leaders respectively, have done nothing but expose the two opposition parties for shallow entities devoid of any new ideas that they are.

MDC-T held its rally in Marondera on Saturday, March 19, 2016. Addressing his supporters, the party’s leader Morgan Tsvangirai, true to form, stuck to the tired rhetoric of how he will “finish off” President Robert Mugabe come 2018 elections. How he intends to do this, Tsvangirai did not explain, choosing to rely on flimsy and empty promises to his gullible supporters.

Instead of telling his supporters how exactly he would improve the country’s economy if he were to get into power, or espouse at least one economic idea or plan, Tsvangirai opted to repeat, like a broken record, the claim that he won the 2008 elections.

Most people would agree that it is now high time Tsvangirai awoke from his 2008 fantasy of becoming a resident of State House and focus on the present day. Do they not have a saying in Shona about a child who cannot be comforted by past delicacies?

His repeated claims that he won the 2008 elections will not put bread on the people’s tables; they will not empower Zimbabweans who are known to be a hard working people who only need to have empowerment projects crafted for them to prosper.

At the Marondera rally, Tsvangirai once again demonstrated his penchant for violence and destruction by hinting that he would lead mass protests against Government (not that anyone would follow him). It is typical of Tsvangirai that what he has repeatedly failed to achieve through the ballot box or at the negotiating table, he seeks to achieve through brute force and by abusing his party’s supporters.

He has over the years demonstrated an amazing lack of political acumen, let alone firm ideology. Since the inception of the MDC-T, Tsvangirai has relied on what others term “mob psychology”, hiding behind the masses hoping they will do his bidding. While this strategy may have worked during his days as a trade unionist and in the formative years of the MDC-T, Zimbabweans are now tired of his antics.

It is now a different political climate altogether, one whereby cries over spilt milk and threats of violence fare badly against policies such as the land reform and indigenisation programmes.

The people of Zimbabwe want practical answers and solutions to the problems bedevilling the nation. They want demonstrable and proven strategies to better their lives instead of empty promises and suicidal encouragement to endanger their life protesting in the streets.

For, how will partaking in a mass protests increase the country’s GDP or send one’s child to school? In effect, Tsvangirai’s so-called meet the people rallies serve as a reminder of just how shallow, bloodthirsty, desperate and bereft of any progressive ideology or plan for the country he is.

On the same day as Tsvangirai’s “hear me cry” rally in Marondera, newly formed Zimbabwe People First was holding its own meaningless gathering in Harare’s Warren Park suburb. According to media reports, the rally resembled a church gathering as the greater part of the time was devoted to quoting of Bible verses. One paper reported that the gathered crowd intermittently burst into different hymns and church choruses.

Not that there is anything wrong with politicians, even sell-outs that make up the ZPF, quoting the Bible and even preaching the gospel, but to dedicate the bulk of proceedings of a so-called political rally to church hymns and “testimonies” from bitter former ZANU-PF members like Bright Matonga, again, shows lack of policy definition, direction and depth.

Empty vessels such as Matonga are notorious for making the most noise. He took the opportunity to play the newly repentant card, claiming he was responsible for spreading ZANU-PF propaganda and withholding 2008 election results.

Not to be outdone in the confession frenzy was the lost Munyaradzi Banda, who claimed ownership of the National Youth Service. Interestingly, Banda took the opportunity to attack President Mugabe for allegedly abusing the name of the late General Solomon Mujuru.

It was unashamedly hypocritical of Banda to accuse President Mugabe of abusing the dead when he narrates facts that transpired in the past, yet seeing nothing wrong in his leader, Joice Mujuru, abusing the same General Mujuru’s name through making wild speculative claims that he was murdered by persons unknown. Despite not having evidence to prove her claims, Joice Mujuru has no qualms using her husband’s alleged assassination to whip up sympathy from Zimbabweans and the international donor community. Who then is abusing the dead here?

It is also highly suspicious that all the ZANU-PF rejects going under the banner of Zimbabwe People First are reading from the same script, and are suddenly eager to “confess” their sins in public.

Is it perhaps a direct instruction from their puppet masters that they should present sanctified and repentant images to hoodwink the public, at the same time cooking up dirt against ZANU-PF?

Again, the Shona sages had some gem regarding dog litter which do not open their eyes on the same day.

Surprisingly, this Zimbabwe People First litter is an exception. Zimbabweans would be best advised to take the so-called confessions and secrets supposedly held by this bunch (of course withheld over fear of the Official Secrets Act, blah blah), with a pinch of salt.

Just as the colonisers came with the Bible, told our trusting forefathers to close their eyes, kneel down and pray, while they looted our country, so too are their puppets now attempting to lull the nation with Bible verses and choreographed repentances and confessions.

Strip away the facade of the “how to beat ZANU-PF” secret that Zimbabwe People First members supposedly hold, and the bunch is left devoid of any substance to offer the nation.

That party’s leader, Joice Mujuru, is on record having failed to articulate her own party’s ideology. During an interview with South Africa’s SAFM, Mujuru stuttered and failed to state what her party’s ideology was, only managing to repeat that “our ideology is that we would want to change our people’s way of living, we would want to change our people’s thinking, we would want our people to be part of the global village.”

This writer is no authority on politics, but this cannot, by the furthest stretch of the imagination, be mistaken for an ideology.

This is the epitome of a clueless leader who is opposing for the sake of opposing and because she was offered enough pieces of silver. Now if that was Mujuru’s best attempt at explaining ZPF’s ideology, one cannot really blame her minions for resorting to Bible verses and hymns.

The two opposition parties are currently engaged in countrywide tours and indeed, they should be encouraged to traverse the length and breadth of the nation exposing their ignorance and shallowness. For it is only when a monkey climbs up a tree that its bottom is exposed for all to see.