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Joice Mujuru

Hildegarde The Arena
THIS is an open letter to the interim leader (maybe the first interim leader) of the new political outfit Zimbabwe People First, Dr Joice Teurai Ropa Mujuru.

There are times when we have to sit down and reflect on our actions, asking painful questions such as; Is this really necessary? What benefits am I deriving from it? How is it affecting my family, and what is the end result? Above all, how is it affecting national healing and cohesion?

Truth hurts, but sometimes, we have to travel that painful road in order to bring out the best as responsible citizens. Talk as in talk is cheap, unless we walk that talk.

When word of the formation of a political party started doing the rounds, and then when it came into being, we knew that we were dealing with an inevitability — an immature split.

However, we had not anticipated that it would be so soon, considering that ZimPF has not held a congress to elect a substantive leadership.

The speed with which you have managed to self-destruct, is breathtaking. Within a week, the nation and the world at large did not need anyone to tell them the goings-on in the so-called “house that Joice built.” It is like going on the Internet where you get anything and everything, truths and fake news alike, since you are outdoing one another to tell your side of story.

Thus the nationwide meetings are an exercise in futility, despite Dr Mujuru’s argument that victory is preceded by trials and tribulations. This is also taking people for granted, especially those people that believed in you.

Daniel 5:25-28 in the Bible comes handy when God put the writing on the wall for Nebuchadnezzar to see and act: “And this is the writing that was written, Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. This is the interpretation of the thing: Mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. Tekel; Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. Peres; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.”

One observer said, what is happening in ZimPF is an embarrassment to the nation and it makes Zimbabwe a laughing stock.

You continue to character assassinate each other, when we thought that last week’s expulsions and counter-expulsions, including the resignations were the climax in the battle to control this thing called ZimPF — the purse strings actually.

As you know, we say in Shona, “Rine manyanga hariputirwe mumushunje, rinotukunyudza,” or “Chakafukidza dzimba matenga.” For the benefit of those who do not speak the language, it means the truth cannot be hidden, because it simply will come out. And, there is also no alternative for truth.

The allegations levelled against interim party leader Dr Mujuru by Kudakwashe Bhasikiti on last week’s Star FM programme have since had lots of additions, subtractions, denials and amazing allegations, especially in yesterday’s private media.

They feasted on you in what we think was a play with semantics. However, when so much has happened and been said in just a week, it would be folly to ignore their glaring headlines: “Bigwigs wanted to sleep with me: Mujuru” (NewsDay); and, “Mujuru working with feared CIO . . . Mutasa claims, as ZPF war turns very nasty.” (Daily News)

That is when you realise that ZimPF was nothing but a marriage of convenience where both parties never trusted each other, and where power dynamics played a major role. The blame game is centre stage, with each one of you claiming kudos for doing the best to make things work.

However, if this was a gripe against Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo alone, as you narrated at the meetings in Masvingo and Bindura this week, why then did some of your close lieutenants call it quits?

Why did they accuse you of ineptitude and sheer incompetence to take the party from where it is, to what you believe you want to be — the next Government, even if you want to do it with MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai?

Retired Brigadier-General and former Ambassador Agrippah Mutambara and writer summed it up very well in his resignation statement published in the media last week.

Said Rtd Brig-Gen Mutambara in part: “Zimbabwe People First, led by Joice Mujuru, has got its feet firmly lodged in sand, quicksand.

“The more it struggles, the more it sinks into it. As a decent human being, I respect Dr Mujuru. But as a leader of a promising political party that aims at dislodging Zanu-PF’s 37-year grip on power, I find her indecisive and clueless.”

Retired Colonel Claudius Makova also said something not very complementary about your leadership skills.

These are former soldiers and war veterans. They know the stuff that makes a commander-in-chief. And, when the party’s feet are lodged in sand, quicksand for that matter, it means that you did a ratchet job in building a foundation.

The Lord Jesus taught in Matthew 7:24-27 when He said that houses built on rocky foundations are a product of wisdom and they withstand any challenges. He also says a house built on sand will not last: “And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

Thus Rtd Brig-Gen Mutambara’s assessment is quite telling!

I have also noted that as an individual nurtured by Zanu-PF since the days of the liberation struggle until 2014, rising to the highest level where many women wanted to be, the moment you were out of the ruling party, it has now become the “Zanu-PF regime.” Wow!

A new operating system is in place, and is erasing all that ideology from the liberation struggle. This is what it means.

But what really led me to make this an open letter are some of the remarks I picked up from your Bindura meeting where you admitted tongue-in-cheek that your party is receiving external sponsorship. You claim that the funds were abused by Gumbo and Mutasa.

Whatever happened to the money is an in-house issue, but as someone who was in Government for 35 years, you were also party to the crafting and implementation of the Political Parties Finance Act that prohibits foreign funding of political parties.

It reads in part: “No political party, member of a political party or candidate shall accept any foreign donation, whether directly from the donor or indirectly through a third person.”

Would the following admissions in Bindura have been made if it were not for the revelations made by the media that the real battle for the soul of ZimPF are the funds donated by some Western organisations?

And, why be angry that the donor fatigue started with Tsvangirai, who did not deliver, if you wanted to be self-reliant, using your own resources: “Ndozvandakati, tikangotanga nokuti vanhuwe-e, vanhuwe-e; after all hakusisina mazimari aye ataiona Tsvangirai achisainirwa paBanket nemafarmer aya. Mafarm acho akaenda kare kare.

“Vacho vaipa mari vakaona mari yacho isi kuseenzeswa, nokuti ndocomplain yavari kupa, kuti hatimbokupai mari. Vakatanga ndovakachenjedza. . . Those two old men (Gumbo and Mutasa) never ever, ever gave me a dollar up to today. Havana!

“Ndakatambudzika. Ndaa ndiri muchoto. Mukazoona mwana wouya kumusha woti murume ndaramba, iwe uine vana 9, zvanetsa. Zvinenge zvanetsa ukaona chembere hora yosunga mikwende kuti ndaramba murume, hapasi pekutamba napo.”

In short, you were a victim of Gumbo and Mutasa’s abuses, although it sounds like you know that external donors were financing your party’s programmes? Donors are no longer willing to fund opposition parties because Tsvangirai did not deliver. How simplistic!