Zimbabwe: the hour has come

Zimbabwe: the hour has come

Makoni: Often our suffering is not because God did not answer, but because we failed to recognise the answer

• Moyo savages Makoni's 'bizarre' presidential bid

• Makoni abandons meeting after bomb scare

• Foreign firms deny funding Makoni

• Dabengwa: Makoni on rescue mission

• Dabengwa dumps Zanu PF, joins Makoni

• Makoni to launch presidential campaign

• Makoni rules out alliance

• Makoni attacks Mugabe's 'cultist' birthday bash

• 'Zip it old man' - Makoni camp hits back at Mugabe

• Mugabe says Makoni 'worse than a prostitute'

• Rangarirai Mberi: Umm, Morgan? Morgan who?

• Makoni says Zimbabwe needs national healing

• Trudy Stevenson: A nation locked in victim mode

• Kagoro: Judge Makoni on substance

• 'I am nobody's tool,' says Makoni

• Courage Shumba: If you want change, Makoni is your man

• Makoni has expelled himself - Mnangagwa

• War veterans to 'deal harshly' with Makoni

• Zimbabwe's state media attacks Makoni

• Cometh the hour, cometh the Mak

• Major Mbudzi warns CIO against dirty tricks

• Makoni guns for Mugabe's job

• Makoni humiliated as Zanu PF rejects bid for MP

• Makoni's bid for MP riles ministers

• Makoni files papers to stand for MP

• Zanu PF politburo meets over looming split

• Mugabe's fury as Nkomo, Sibanda clash at congress

By Wicky Moffat

EVENTS of the last month have presented Zimbabwe with the best opportunity to become a true democracy. The entrance of Simba Makoni into the presidential race has given a fresh breadth of life to a nearly dead and predictable presidential race.

Obviously, Makoni’s entrance is unusual because he does not have a political party. But then desperate situations like ours require unusual means to untangle. Some have pointed out the disadvantages of his entry and I would like to analyse these, one by one.

His main disadvantage as many will point out, is that he has no political party. Questions have been asked about how he will form a government without his own party.

While this is true, it also presents Zimbabweans with our best chance of becoming a true democracy. An independent president cannot impose decisions or force things down our throat as we have seen in the past. He will have no choice but to consult with all parties and take a course that is acceptable to the majority. In other words, this will be as close to true democracy as you can ever get. To help us understand this, I will define democracy.

The word democracy comes from the Greek word “demokratia”, which means “the common people rule”. Democracy is a form of government where the population of a society controls the government. This simple concept has been interpreted and applied in various ways throughout history. Various mechanisms have been developed through which the people are supposed to control the government and these vary from direct democracy to representative democracy and liberal democracy.

Unfortunately, a vast majority of countries that call themselves democracies are not true democracies according to the above definition. Most of them are actually just elected dictatorships. The only country that is quite close to the definition of democracy is Switzerland.

So while the absence of a political party may appear to be a disadvantage for Makoni, it is actually an advantage for Zimbabwe. The most endangered constituent of things large is the individual. The freedom of the individual is constrained and crushed by all things big: big political party, big government, big business, and even big religion.

The two greatest enemies of freedom are those who insist “you must serve me!” and those who insist “you must be like me”. Makoni, as an independent candidate, will have to balance these two great enemies of freedom against each other and, therefore, the freedom of the individual will be increased and preserved.

The consensus government produced here will, therefore, nurture the personal responsibility and good citizenship of each individual. As such, it will be up to the people of our country to decide how they want to be ruled, and how they want to control their government.

I therefore, believe Makoni when he promises “re-engagement” and a “people driven” constitution. These things will happen because having an independent candidate is our best chance at true democracy; parliament will be able to play its true role and run the country as dictated by the people. What may appear to be a weakness in Makoni’s candidacy is actually a strength for Zimbabwean democracy!

The second question that many have raised is around the secrecy surrounding his backers. Well, Mugabe is not an ordinary enemy and he cannot be dislodged by ordinary means. The Makoni strategy has been that of shock and surprise – this is the typical guerrilla strategy that was employed during the liberation struggle, or more recently, the “sock and awe” concept used in Iraq by America.

Most of Makoni’s key backers were key military people during the war and they know this strategy so well. Remember Makoni had a meeting with Mugabe and he sold him a dummy by submitting his CV for a constituency; but a week later he came out fighting.

On Thursday last week, the main head line in the Chronicle was: “Dabengwa denies links to Makoni”. Two days later, the main headline in the same paper was “Dabengwa joins Makoni”. It seems the strategy is to take the enemy unaware, when he least expects it.

There will be more of these headlines like; “Zvinavashe raps Makoni” and “Mujuru dissociates himself from Makoni”. But we cannot read much into the headlines in the propaganda media, they are just what they are: propaganda.

Dabengwa’s declaration last Saturday shed some light on the behind the scenes manoeuvres that have been taking place. The Standard newspaper quoted Dabengwa saying: “One such discussion was in Cape Town, where I met Patrick Chinamasa and Makoni and we agreed that it had become urgent to replace the aging leadership.”

This tells us that Chinamasa is either one of Makoni’s backers or at least he was involved during the conception stages of the project. This puts Chinamasa in a tight situation because the old man will never trust him again. He will have to come open soon and support Makoni. Otherwise, how can he be forgiven again? Remember he was also implicated in the Tsholotsho plot and he had to beg for forgiveness. Surely, he has used up all his “nine” lives now.

The Makoni strategy seems to be that of giving the enemy as little time to hit back as possible. This is why Solomon Mujuru and others will only declare their support closer to March 29. Vice President Joice Mujuru might not need to say anything at all. The assumption will be that if her husband Solomon Mujuru is with Makoni, so is Joice, unless they are divorced!

It has taken Makoni years of planning in order to give Mugabe only a month to hit back. It’s called a “short and sharp programme of action” which involves ambushes and systematically phased shock endorsements.

In short, I agree with those that are questioning Makoni’s strategy and lack of clarity, but for now, I believe things will become clearer in stages as we get closer to the election-day, when the enemy will get the real shock.

The third question that many have asked is: “Where was he all along”. Well, the answer to that is very simple: he was in the politburo plotting Mugabe’s downfall. We all know that Makoni fell out with Mugabe a long time ago. Dabengwa has also told us that they were not just seating on their laurels, they were plotting.

Jonathan Moyo said many years ago that Zanu PF can only be destroyed from within. He will also tell you that such a job cannot be done overnight. You have to be patient and cunning; you have to plan and prepare; you need a strategy. The best we can do as povo is to join in, widen the cracks and dislodge the old man once and for all.

Often, Mugabe refers to Tsvangirai as Sekaurema because he did not fight the liberation struggle. This is exactly the same argument that we are now using when we ask Makoni “where was he?” What then can you say to our army commanders when they say that they cannot allow anyone who did not go to war to be President in our country? We have no moral ground to oppose them. They are simply applying the “war credential politics” that we are using to judge Makoni.

In fact, if we want to talk about people who have fought against Mugabe, we can never go past Dabengwa. This man has fought for the freedom of his people all his life. Remember he spent five years of his “prime life” in Mugabe’s jail without trial – far more than any of today’s activists have suffered. This makes the “where was he” question minute and irrelevant. He fought Mugabe with one strategy before, now he is trying another avenue.

Margaret Dongo is a fighter who invented the “Mugabe’s wives” vocabulary; Nkosana Moyo resigned after failing to agree with Mugabe's rogue politics. These people are all part of Makoni’s bandwagon, but we still ask “where were they?” Let’s get real! Let’s judge Makoni and Dabengwa by what they are bringing on the table.

The forth question that I want to tackle is the conspiracy theory which says Makoni is a Zanu PF agent. Mugabe can never unleash an agent that could potentially threaten himself. Honestly, there is a real possibility that Makoni could win this election. If Mugabe wanted to fly a kite, he would use a real weakling, someone with no chance of winning at all, just to give face to his perceived democracy (Like Towungana).

Mugabe could never unleash Dabengwa to be an agent. In fact the police and CIO have put their thrust and energy on Makoni, giving the MDC some room to manoeuvre. Makoni’s campaign is genuine, serious and whole hearted. It is a chance for us to return to a servant-hood type of leadership rather than risk the possibility of yet another dictator.

We have prayed and waited for so many years for an answer to our problems. Let us stop and think before we dismiss what could be the final answer based on conspiracy theories. If we find ourselves oppressed after March 29, will it be because God did not answer our prayers, or because we failed to recognise the answer when it came?

The prophet Elijah, fleeing Israel to escape Jezebel's wrath, doesn't stop running until he reaches Beer-sheba. Exhausted and dispirited, he then heads out into the mountain to pray for death. A great and strong wind rents the mountains, and brakes the rocks into pieces; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake came; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire “a still small voice”.

We have gone with the wind before, but it got us nowhere; some of us ran with the fire, while others ran with the earthquake, but it did not give us deliverance. Now it’s time for the ‘small still voice’, and therein lies the answer! Often our suffering is not because God did not answer, but because we failed to recognise the answer.

Finally there are those who feel guilty about leaving Morgan Tsvangirai, having come this far in the struggle. Tsvangirai has been a soldier for us, a brave one for that matter, he is a national hero. He has stood against one of the most systematic and autocratic dictatorships on this planet. We love him and respect him for that. He will always be dear to our hearts. But we are sorry we cannot ignore what is unfolding before us.

When I was young, I used an ox-drawn cart because that was the only means of transport available. But now chitima cherusununguko chauya; we have to get on board. Why should I use an ox-drawn cart when the world’s fastest train is available?

Some of us are liberal democrats, true Zimbabwean patriots who just want to see the country prosper. We do not hang on to personalities, but we pursue opportunities and principles. In fact an ideal or win-win situation would allow the MDC to dominate parliament while Makoni becomes president. This means Makoni would have to consult Tsvangirai on every decision before it can be passed in parliament.

The end result will be “Simba kuvanhu”; true democracy comes to Zimbabwe. This is our best chance to achieve what they call “separation of powers”. One leader would control the executive, while the other controls the legislative branch of government. This protects democracy and forestalls tyranny. Maybe our hour has finally come.

Wicky Moffat is a Zimbabwean based in New Zealand
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