The Arena Hildegarde
THERE is no doubt that MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai lives in a world of his own, a world where unrealities no matter how absurd sound quite normal. When he played the alleged rigging song during the run-up to the harmonised elections, people thought that he was preparing for a soft landing considering that messages about his imminent defeat were coming from his Western friends.

We also thought that it was a joke taken too far, considering that observers wanted him to present them with evidence, instead of relying on media reports.

But the hubris which was so detached from reality continued unabated. Could these have been shock absorbers considering that normal things shock the MDC-T?
On August 1, Roy Bennett said he was “totally shocked at how badly they’ve (Zanu-PF) rigged it (the election) and expect to get away with it. It’s not a case of even rigging it. It’s a case of having totally stolen it. Blatant, outright, daylight theft of the greatest proportion”.

We wondered which planet Bennett resides on considering that the votes he alleges to have been stolen did not include his own personal ballots. We were equally shocked because Bennett was making these claims before the announcement of the results.

Since then, shock has been the order of the day in the MDC-T, as they try to come to terms with the mother of all defeats. Their Heroes and Defence Forces Days message issued on August 12 says it all.

At one instance, they sound like they are in solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe, but they are quick to withdraw that solidarity as they play victim with Zanu-PF being the aggressor.

To the MDC-T, not only did Zanu-PF “steal” the July 31 poll, but they are also guilty of human rights abuses, and they consider themselves the best party to restore the people’s dignity.

In the statement, they claim that Zimbabweans are “still shocked by the brazen manner in which their vote was stolen”.
“Once more the nation celebrates the Heroes Day with a heavy heart following a deeply flawed election in which the peoples’ victory was viciously thwarted and stolen by a few Zanu-PF cronies,” reads the statement.

Reading this out of context, it sounds like a message that the MDC-T leader issued at the National Heroes shrine, or at any one of the provincial shrines in the country’s 10 provinces.

It is our turn to be shocked because Heroes Day celebrations are always celebrated with a heavy heart since it is a time of introspection about the supreme “service and sacrifice” that many paid to ensure the democratic rights that people enjoy. The MDC-T completely loses the plot when it wants to equate its heavy defeat at the July 31 poll, with the loss of our heroes and heroines.

Such statements make it easy to see how far removed the MDC-T is to Zimbabwe’s narrative. Instead of remembering the fallen heroes and heroines and paying tribute to their sterling job, what does MDC-T do, back-stab them?

Their quest to claim victory blinds them to the reality that because of the combined forces in Zanu-PF, today, we are celebrating Heroes and Defence Forces Days, and not Rhodes and Founders Day.

The MDC-T leader cannot therefore claim to be shocked. Instead, the thousands that voted on July 31, and that went on to celebrate Heroes and Defence Forces Days across the country are the ones that are shocked that the MDC-T should claim their votes.

They are also shocked because the MDC-T is putting words in their mouths. If they were part of the people, why were they conspicuous by their absence at all the celebrations?

The jubilant mood that characterised this year’s Heroes Day commemorations was unprecedented, and to demonstrate who they voted for, the majority donned Zanu-PF party regalia. Of all the footage shown by local and international media, I don’t remember seeing a sea of people donning red regalia. No, it was the Zanu-PF colours they were wearing. So, which people were shocked by what MDC-T claims?

If indeed Zanu-PF stole the election, why was it that thousands turned up at the celebrations? Maybe the MDC-T will tell us that they were forced to attend. But how do they explain the celebratory mood, if indeed those thousands had voted for the MDC-T leader?

Tsvangirai also says, “It is sad to note that the independence which these brave sons and daughters fought for has still not yet brought the desired freedoms and prospects Zimbabweans aspire for”.

Shocked as he is, we will remind the MDC-T leader that MDC, a Western formation was meant to reverse the gains of our independence — not just political but also economic “freedoms and prospects”. The last lap of this struggle, which his movement has been fighting hard to thwart is what the Zanu-PF in the 2013 elections, says it will address: “indigenise; empower; develop and employ”.

Therein lies the issues that gave Zanu-PF the numbers the MDC-T claims are theirs.
When the MDC-T talks about heroism, it’s very easy to see that it is their so-called heroism in the past 13 years, which they are talking about. In their statement, they appropriate the people’s heroism: “It is gratifying to note that we remain a nation of heroic people, as we tenaciously continue to fight the unjust system of oppression, deprivation, and corruption which a few in Zanu-PF seek to perpetuate.”

The bitterness toward the Zimbabwe Defence Forces is quite overwhelming: “We, however, note that these brave men and women have been held captive by an unprofessional and partisan clique of senior members who behave like the security arm of Zanu-PF. The MDC will continue to push for better working conditions for the members of the defence forces”.

You also read the desperation in their quest to have security sector reforms and the feeling of despondency at failing to dislodge the service chiefs is quiet apparent.
This is why they are shocked. They cannot reverse the gains of the liberation struggle and no amount of money can wish away the people that liberated this country. This is more painful for the MDC-T since thousands of those liberators are still in our midst, and have committed themselves to safeguard the sovereignty of Zimbabwe.

What should actually shock them is that a good number of these war veterans, and some of their children are now members of the National Assembly and the Senate. What should also shock the MDC-T is that something has been re-awakened within the people — children of living and departed heroes and heroines are very active in the socio-political and economic spheres.

Despite giving a message full of double-speak, it is our turn to register our shock and amazement. Not only were we shocked that MDC-T spurned our heroes and heroines, but we were equally shocked by the fact that they did so protesting to get what they did not get.

We are also equally shocked because the nation has seen President Mugabe and his family on the campaign trail, voting and also at the Heroes and Defence Day commemorations. The nation does not recall seeing Mr Tsvangirai attending national events with his family. A lot was said when he had his twin children registered as voters, but people have been asking where Mr Tsvangirai’s children cast their ballots. People still want to know where the many ballots from within his family were cast.

When all is said and done, the so-called Heroes and Defence Forces Days statement was nothing but a desperate attempt to attract attention and feel relevant. What will shock the MDC-T is that their shenanigans will not stop Zimbabwe from moving on.

The history of Zimbabwe is also not shaped by Rhodesians, the British and the Americans. They are nothing but devils in the detail.
In 1980, the very Zimbabweans whom Tsvangirai claims to have been shocked, told Bishop Abel Tendekayi Muzorewa through song that:

Iwe-e Muzorewa-a
Uchatonga aniko povho yaramba-a
Zvamadhisinyongoro?

Brazenly, people told Muzorewa that they had rejected him through the ballot, and he was now irrelevant in their lives. This was despite the fact less than a year before that, these very people had given him a mandate to form an alliance with Ian Smith, resulting in Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.
Many parallels have been drawn between the 1980 and 2013 polls. It’s time Mr Tsvangirai and the MDC-T took a cue.

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