Be watchful when hunting with hounds

Be watchful when hunting with hounds

• There're no angels in politics

• After the Zanuslide, beware of Zanu PF bearing gifts

• On the legality of Tsvangirai's pullout from election

• 'St Paul moment' can't be far for Mbeki

• What would Masipula say of military rule in Zim?

• Zimbabwe's disenfranchised voters

• MDC must prepare for worst case scenario

• Understanding Mugabe's 'End of History' ideology

• Zimbabwe's winter of discontent

• Zim's presidency and balance of power

• Mugabe's crisis of legitimacy

• Judging Justice Uchena's judgment

• Did they have to die for this?

• Challenging ministers' constititutional authority

• Waiting for Godot

• Mugabe: beware the Ides of March

• The Godfather and the Zanu PF Mafia Part III

• Fallacy of the secret ballot in Zimbabwe

• The significance of Dabengwa's conversion

• Preventing a tyranny of the majority

• Who is imposing whom and why?

• The Tsvangirai-Makoni question: the results

• Can Tsvangirai make the ultimate sacrifice?

• Makoni'sbattle against conspiracy culture

• Makoni and the politics of stability

• The trouble with gifts for the judiciary

• The limits of megaphone central banking

• Makoni, Tsvangirai & Mutambara: wise men from the East?

• Democracy without wealth: the Gordian knot in African politics

• Democracy: Africa's elusive dream?

• A non-human rights perspective of Zimbabwe's collapse

• Zanu PF succession: Mujuru and Mnangagwa in tactical retreat

• Zimbabwe: when the elephants fight, it's the grass that suffers

• Big Joes, Little Joes: Zimbabwe's merchants of disorder

• Politics is for the well fed, an old timer told me in Mbare

• The Godfather and the African Mafia Part II

• The Godfather of the Zanu PF Mafia

• The President's missing clothes

• Confronting Zanu PF's anti-imperialist rhetoric

• South Africa's self-serving quiet diplomacy

• When will Africa demonstrate solidarity with Zimbabweans?

• Do they sleep soundly at night?

• Indepedence: was it worth the sacrifice?

• Judges under pressure: the Madzimbamuto case

• Succession debate a means of control for Mugabe

• Reflections on Ghana's Jubilee

• What happens when politicians fail?

• Fanon and the car as a symbol of progress

• Could change in Britain have impact on Zimbabwe?

• Machiavelli and perils of change in Zimbabwe

• Of rats, donkeys and the CNN story

By Alex T. Magaisa

THERE is a story which, to this day, villagers in my local area still reminisce about. In years gone by, men would often go on short hunting expeditions, relying on hounds, to chase and capture prey. The loyal hounds would often return with prey after capture and would be duly rewarded.

But during a particularly hard season, the hounds’ behaviour changed. They decided to satisfy their own interest first, which meant often, the hunters returned to the village empty-handed.

Until, that is, a certain fellow decided to take the hounds at their own game. This fellow, affectionately known as Mutsvuku, on account of his light hue, decided that, since the hounds could not be trusted and left to their own devices, he had to do something about it. He decided that it was best to run alongside them. Mutsvuku was so fast, sometimes, he even outpaced the hounds. That ensured that he would always be on hand to retrieve the prey upon capture.

Sometimes, I can’t help thinking that we Zimbabweans have placed too much reliance on hounds to do the chasing of freedom and democracy on our behalf.

You have to look at the character of the hounds upon whom we have entrusted our future to see the problem that we currently face. I thought we could sample some of the hounds chasing freedom on our behalf via the African Union. Here is a sample:

Paul Biya – Cameroon

The man is 76 years old and he has been in charge of Cameroon since 1982 – two years after Mugabe began his reign in Zimbabwe. In 1996, a new Constitution was adopted, providing for two presidential terms. His terms would have ended in 2011. But in April 2008, he announced plans to amend the Constitution to allow him to stay on beyond 2011, by providing for indefinite terms, jettisoning the two term limit.

There were student-led protests in Cameroon, but Biya deployed the military to thwart the uprising. The new Constitution was adopted by Parliament under the watchful eye of the military. The effect of these changes is to hand the life-presidency to Biya. Can we, surely, trust this hound to deliver freedom?

Eduardo Dos Santos – Angola

Dos Santos has been a charge of Angola since 1979. From 1975 to 2002 the country was ravaged by a civil war pitting Dos Santos’ Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and Jonas Savimbi’s Union for the Total Liberation of Angola (UNITA). The war ended when Savimbi was killed by government troops in 2002 and the parties cobbled up a Government of National Unity. Sounds familiar?

The first and only multi-party elections were held in 1992, the results of which were rejected by Savimbi, leading to a resumption of the civil war. There have been no elections since 1992. The next elections are scheduled for 2008 (Parliamentary) and 2009 (Presidential). If Dos Santos goes through, he will be staying upwards of 30 years in power. But he is likely to face the same storm as his colleague in Zimbabwe. Watch the space. Can we rely on this hound to deliver democracy?

King Mswati III – Swaziland

This small country which gained independence from Britain 40 years ago is headed by a 40-year old Monarch, who took over from his father King Sobhuza II in 1986, aged only 18. The last absolute Monarch in Africa, he has been in power for 22 years. King Sobhuza II issued a decree in 1973, banning all political parties and taking over all arms of the state – executive, parliamentary and judicial. The ban still holds.

The new Constitution adopted in 2005 (in force since 2006) still prevents political party activity and effectively places the king above the law. The basis of the parliamentary system is referred to as Tinkhundla – members suggested by local councils have to be approved by the King, meaning the MPs effectively serve the king, rather than the ordinary citizens. Can King Mswati III be trusted to chase after democracy?

Yoweri Museveni – Uganda

When Museveni seized power in 1986 through the National Resistance Army, he reasoned that Western-style multi-party democracy was not appropriate and introduced the no-party democracy system. Political parties were effectively stultified leaving the National Resistance Movement to virtually dominate Ugandan politics.

The 1995 Constitution set a two-term limit on the presidency and the first direct presidential elections were held in 1996, which aided by state resources, Museveni won with 75% of the vote. The second election in 2001 was blighted by allegations of cheating, although Museveni’s challenger and former ally and personal physician Kizza Besigye lost his legal appeal.

In 2005, a Constitutional Referendum had led to the lifting of the two-decade limitations on political parties’ activities. Although he had promised that this would be his final term as indeed required by the existing law, constitutional changes were later made to allow Museveni to contest a third term in 2006. Museveni’s main challenger, Besigye was subjected to various forms of harassment, including charges of treason and rape. This caused local and international condemnation and cutbacks in foreign aid.

The former blue-eyed boy of African politics had morphed into the usual character of the Big Men of African politics. The Supreme Court of Uganda passed harsh judgment on the elections, but still upheld the result on 4 - 3 majority. Is Museveni a hound to be trusted with democracy?

Omar Bongo – Gabon

The Gabonese President is, probably, the longest serving political ruler in the world, a title he earned when former Cuban leader Fidel Castro steeped down earlier this year. He became president in 1967, aged just 31. He is a wealthy man but has been accused of siphoning state resources of the small but oil-rich country. Some of his children have been part of his government.

Multiparty elections were held in 1993, ending what was, effectively, one-party rule. The Constitution was amended in 2003 to remove the restrictions on presidential term limits, effectively opening a way for him to rule for life. He allegedly rules with an iron fist. He was one of the few heads of state to publicly endorse the election of Mugabe in the controversial June 27 election. Is this hound to be trusted with democracy?

Yahya Jammeh – The Gambia

Jammeh, who claims to have a cure for AIDS, took power via a coup in 1994 and was subsequently elected in 1996. He was re-elected in 2001 and 2006 amid concerns about the lack of fairness of the election. Press freedom is restricted and he shares Mugabe’s intense hatred for gays, whose heads he has threatened to chop off. Opposition parties are allowed but their chances of gaining any power are severely limited. Along with Omar Bongo, he has publicly endorsed Mugabe’s recent election in Zimbabwe. A trusted hound?

Muammar Gaddafi - Libya

The long-serving Libyan leader has been in power since 1969, when he seized power through a Coup. He has been one of the staunchest supports of President Mugabe, a relationship which dates back to the liberation war days. His previously frosty relationship with the West has thawed in the last eight years and is widely seen as a pro-active Pan-Africanist. But elections are not on his favoured list of priorities and is reported to have said before the March 29 elections in Zimbabwe that leaders like President Mugabe and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, "should stay in power until they have solved all the problems in their countries or die while still in power", effectively advocating life-presidency. Can this hound be relied on?

Omar al Bashir – The Sudan

Omar al Bashir seized power in war-torn Sudan through a military coup in 1989. He has little favour for multi-party politics. When he seized power he said it was to save the country from ‘rotten political parties’. In 1993 Al Bashir was appointed the president and won the 1996 non-party elections.

When the parliament sought to reduce the President’s powers in 1999, Bashir dissolved it and declared a state of emergency. In 2000, he was re-elected. Since 2003, Sudan has been at the centre of world attention in view of the atrocities in the Western Darfur region.

In 2004, Bashir is reported to have stated that he would remain firm and not bow to anyone except God, something that Zimbabweans may have heard recently from their own leader. Bashir shares Mugabe’s frosty relationship with the West, whilst building a cosy alliance with China, which, in turn is enamoured by Sudan’s oil reserves. The two men have the fortune of being favoured by China and Russia, both acting as bulwarks against UN sanctions or tougher measures. They also share the fortune of support from Africa’s most powerful country – South Africa. More recently, Bashir has been the subject of an unprecedented move by the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, who has sought to bring charges genocide and crimes against humanity.

This is just a selection of some of the leaders who form part of the African Union. These are the hounds that Zimbabweans have set forth in the hunt for freedom. There have, lately, been hounds that have become more sympathetic and would be prepared to help in the pursuit of freedom. But the howls of these kinder ones, from Botswana, Zambia, Liberia and a few others are easily drowned out.

There is no doubt that Zimbabwe needs African support to resolve its crisis, but the pro-democracy movement has to be careful not to put all its eggs in one basket or, for that matter, to trust that these counterparts will deliver freedom and democracy.

Perhaps, like Mutsvuku, the man who decided to run with and not simply wait for the hounds, Zimbabweans must keep pace and maintain a watchful eye. Like Mutsvuku, sometimes, you have to take matters into your own hands and rely less on the hounds. Because, you can never trust them, especially when they have their own interests to protect. In their world, little wonder, then, that they probably think Mugabe is being very generous to Tsvangirai!

Alex Magaisa is based at Kent Law School, The University of Kent, UK and can be contacted at wamagaisa@yahoo.co.uk
JOIN THE DEBATE ON THIS ARTICLE ON THE NEWZIMBABWE.COM FORUMS