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Philemon Mutedzi Correspondent
Zimbabwe’s politics is sick. It is sickening. It is self-defeating. It is toxic.

Of late there has been a worrying dangerous trend of Zimbabweans staging abductions and kidnappings, all aimed at falsely presenting Zimbabwe as a fascist state, while simultaneously placing the New Dispensation under the international spotlight.

The backdrop

The Second Republic has deliberately sought to distinguish itself from the First Republic by pursuing reformist policies.

It has pursued a two-pronged approach. It pursued a re-engagement programme under the auspices of the “Zimbabwe is Open for Business and Re-engagement” policy, which focuses on re-integrating Zimbabwe into the totality of community of nations, while instituting economic reforms to ensure business thrives and industries are revitalised.

Vision 2030, which was kick-started by the Transitional Stabilisation Programme (TSP) anchored on stringent austerity measures, has resulted in the stabilisation of the economy and key fundamentals put in place.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is impressed by the strides made by the New Order on the economic front.

Concurrently, the New Order has embarked on far-reaching political reforms aimed at re-aligning bad laws that are ultra-vires the Constitution. This process has been moving at great speed with laws such as Public Order and Security Act (POSA) and the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act (AIPPA) in the legislative process of being repealed and replaced by the Maintenance of Peace and Order Bill (MOPA), as well as the Freedom of Information Bill, Zimbabwe Media Commission Bill and the Data/Information Protection Bill.

The opposition campaigned peacefully in the run-up to the July 30, 2018 elections, while peaceful demonstrations have been allowed to proceed without hindrance.

Uncle Sam is not pleased by this progress and has been working overtime to besmirch the New Dispensation and soil all the progressive manoeuvres by President Mnangagwa. Big Brother has instituted a cocktail of black operations, from financing violent demonstrations, organising them, executing them through his CIA agents (not diplomats) housed at his expanded new embassy in Westgate, as well as through Trojan Horses in the form of the MDC and the motley host of civil society organisations.

Uncle Sam has sent them on training courses on regime change.

All these black operations have been ably thwarted and outed by the ever-alert security services much to the chagrin of Uncle Sam.

Upping the tempo

Uncle Sam, realising the futility of his evil designs on Zimbabwe, has upped the ante in his bid to effect illegal regime change. He is now staging well-choreographed alleged abductions which the regime change train lurches on to to push the false narrative that the New Dispensation is undemocratic and intolerant. Two cases stick out like a sore thumb.

SADC Summit

Ahead of the SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government, the US masterminded the alleged abduction of Bustop TV comedienne Samantha “Gonyeti” Kureya. The Americans led the way, through their Twitter handle, to call on Government to stop abductions. But Gonyeti’s case had many loopholes and could not sustain itself. It simply ran out of legs. It ran out of breath. It fizzled out.

The location of where she was allegedly dumped changed from Crowbrough North to Norton then to Mufakose. Gonyeti claimed to have been thoroughly beaten but did not have a single laceration or contusion to show for it. She even managed to call while being abducted, yet she was allegedly hounded naked with only a pant and T-shirt.

United Nations General Assembly

Now, having been miffed by the dogged protection of the New Order which snuffed out American-sponsored violent demonstrations, and smelling a good opportunity to have Zimbabwe put on the UN agenda, the US has done it again.

An unknown quantity by the name Dr Peter Magombeyi suddenly goes “missing”. No one knows this boy, except his handlers. But within 24 hours of his alleged abduction, he is a missing hero who ostensibly has been abducted by President Mnangagwa. A march to Munhumutapa Building is organised to confront the President to “release” this missing character. Interestingly, ARTUZ leader Obert Masarure, a teacher, partakes in the demonstration. You are left wondering how many other hired “doctors” did partake in the demonstration.

Before you know it, the US Embassy starts yapping about fictitious abductions numbering 50. As expected, there is chorus of disapproval from the usual culprits — Human Rights Watch of Southern Africa’s Dewa Mavhinga and Freeman Chari of Pachedu (read US Embassy) — who invites MDC supporters to ratchet up pressure on Government on the sidelines of the UNGA. Boom, Patson Dzamara, Evan Mawarire, Fadzai Mahere and MDC leader Nelson Chamisa start urging Zimbabweans to join the medical practitioners (read political practitioners) in their demonstrations.

While Zimbabweans are trying to digest all this, a well-organised night vigil is hosted at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, where there is a shocking imposing presence of white folks, who by the way do not get treated at these public hospitals. What the hell is going on?

The false narrative

Zimbabweans woke up to claims that Dr Magombeyi had sent a text message to his colleagues during the alleged abduction informing them that he had been abducted by three armed masked men. Conveniently, Dr Magombeyi had a few weeks ago claimed that he was being threatened by unknown people on his phone. No police report was made. It was just aimed at setting the stage for the impending “abduction”.

No one bothered to reveal that the same Dr Magombeyi attended a disciplinary hearing on September 10, 2019, emanating from his truancy at work. The outcome of those proceedings are yet to be known.

While still digesting these emerging details, it turns out that Dr Magombeyi was not “abducted” at his home in Budiriro as he left home telling his housemate that he was going for an all-night prayer. Dear reader, this is Friday, the same day he claims to have been abducted.

Dr Jena, the housemate, in an official memorandum dated September 15, 2019, said that Dr Magombeyi bade him good night and told him to lock up since he was going for an all-night prayer.

Curiously, Dr Jena reported the case of a missing person at Budiriro Police Station.

Uncanny resemblance with the Gonyeti case

Both the alleged abducted individuals were “taken” at night. Both alleged victims had the opportunity to use their cellphones while armed dangerous men looked on.

Both cases were initially reported by other parties other than them, Gonyeti’s brother and Dr Jena, respectively. In both cases, the US Embassy, Pachedu and the usual suspects ran with the cases, ascribing blame on Government.

Both “abductions” occurred ahead of key summits — the SADC Summit and the UNGA.

The US and the MDC stand to gain

The choreography of the alleged “abduction,” the threatening calls, the text message, the report to the police, the disciplinary hearing, the all-night prayer, the social media brouhaha, the demonstration, the night vigil — all smell to the high heavens.

The US Embassy went for the jugular, falsely claiming more than 50 people had been abducted. Pachedu followed suit. Chamisa latched onto it. Chalton Hwende, Prof Jonathan Moyo and Dzamara urged Zimbabweans to join the demonstrating political practitioners. The private media screamed with headlines such as “ED in tight spot over kidnappings . . . as latest abduction coincides with UN Mission on abuses,” and “Doctors confront ED, paralyse hospitals.”

The clincher

The headline in one of the local dailies above talks of the latest abduction, as if there are many more before, coinciding with the visit by UN Special Rappoteur, Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, on a fact-finding mission over previous false allegations of abuses in Zimbabwe.

There is no coincidence in all these incidents. There is pre-planning. It is contrived. It is choreographed. It is stage-managed.

The US, the MDC and its minions stand to benefit from the negative placement of Zimbabwe on the international radar, and ultimately the UN agenda. A special rapporteur is in the country, and jetted in at the height of the “latest” abduction. What an operation by the US and the MDC.

It is my sincere hope that Nyaletsossi Voule sees through this contrived yarn. The tempo has been set. Already, Chari of Pachedu, in concert with the MDC, is preparing to escalate their anti-Zimbabwe campaign by demonstrating on the sidelines of the UNGA. It is high time the Zimbabwean authorities upped the tempo and stop the kid gloves with these unpatriotic charlatans sabotaging Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, patients are dying in hospitals, both public and private, while those who swore a Hippocratic Oath have abandoned their duty and are now into full-time acting, demonstrating and dabbling in politics! This is sick.

Ichoooo, we meet in New York!