Marching on empty

Marching on empty

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By Courage Shumba

ROBERT Mugabe, in his entire political career has been exceedingly consistent in his manipulation of issues, abuse of trust and abuse of power to advance his own political survival in the 27 years he has ruled Zimbabwe.

The sight of barefoot men and women cheering on Mugabe to another six years of an unrepentant running down of a country got me thinking. I was appalled but not surprised to see how Mugabe has managed to turn what is supposed to a vibrant democracy into an underclass of delusional protectors of an independence that hatches nothing but suffering.

Rather than getting angry with what appeared to be people cheering on their own abusers, I felt genuinely sorry. Sorry because I saw no hope at the thousands of faces gathered at that march. They have had their confidence, self-worth, pride, and hunger for achievement beaten down and trashed by years of ever plummeting standards of living. The people at that very march by their appearance were distraught, poor, broken, hungry, confused and let down.

This wasn’t a march by well dressed confident, employed, wealthy, healthy, prosperous young men and women together with their older generations appreciating the work of a functional society, party or democracy. The assortment of badly dressed youths in tatty clothes made them look hired. The whole march was a shame, disgraceful and dishonest. The idea was to create a swarm of human movement that would be translated into a political language of regained urban support. What we know is that more than three quarters of the people in that rally would benefit from Mugabe and Zanu PF's departure from governance at the earliest opportunity.

The immoral, shameless march, inspired by Mugabe and the ruling party’s own mistrust of the voting population of Zimbabwe reveals more of the insecurity and paranoia within the ruling party than it speaks of solidarity or confidence in the fallen dictator. Are we supposed to believe that there are sections of our country who genuinely believe that even at party level, Zanu PF cannot do better than reproduce and recreate slogans, missions and catchphrases around a geriatric whose time in office was squandered foolishly?

What would happen if the MDC also planned a multi-million march of its own? Would the MDC be allowed to exploit this open confrontation for public display of popular support or is it something only Zanu PF can do? Will Mugabe not wilt at the idea of million men marches in the capital of Harare and around Zimbabwe like for like?

But to show just how hypocritical Mugabe is about reform and fairness, someone must actively shove this medicine into his mouth and test him with the possibility of a million men in Harare marching for democracy and good governance in the name of the MDC. The reality is that Mugabe is the most unpopular politician in Zimbabwe. He destroyed through incompetence, mismanagement, greed and intolerance, a country that had the promise of being the model economy for most of Africa.

Zimbabwe no longer requires the services of tired tyrants. The hope of our country and its future cannot continue to be falsely fashioned and clothed in fake stage-managed displays of affection for a hated dictatorship. The people of Zimbabwe see through these acts of desperation and are unmoved. We call on all the people to remain vigilant in the face of the enemy. Our country needs a genuine focused leadership.

One thing Zimbabwe doesn’t need is Mugabe. Let’s face it. What real good is this old man besides that he fought for us years ago? Can one be leader forever on that basis alone? We need a competent, focused, energetic leadership that has the will to transform our country into productive and useful nation, whose people are not pauperised by the incompetence and indifference of its leadership.

Mugabe must step down, that is the only decent thing to do. His reign has been a barbaric and brutal catastrophe. We need a new generation of politicians who will stand up to a West that is racist, hostile and super-imposing and continue to prosecute the equitable distribution of wealth and empowerment of the local majority through agrarian and many other reforms but without the nepotism and chaos that characterises all of Mugabe's programmes.

Mugabe doesn’t mean good. Even the devil never says "look here is beautiful woman to cheat your wife with courtesy of Lucifer Satan the former Arch-angel”. Dictatorship is not a title – it’s a style of governing that is counter-productive and defensive. What worse do we need to see before we get our lives back from this rogue administration? What does Mugabe stand for anyway?

Look around you! The answer lies in your eyes.

Courage Shumba is a political activist and writes from the United Kingdom
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