'He is a rare talent, where has he been?'

'He is a rare talent, where has he been?'

• Coltart on violence of the fist, tongue and heart

• Mutambara says exiles must vote

• MDC leaders in international diplomatic offensive

• INTERVIEW: Coltart speaks on MDC split

• Tsvangirai vows to confront Mugabe

• Coltart: Tsvangirai failed to deal with violence

By Mduduzi Mathuthu

AFTER years working as a rocket scientist with NASA, it is understandable for one to think that the political beast in Arthur Mutambara had either been tamed, or killed.

On a sunny afternoon, last Sunday, 400 cheering supporters filed into a small community hall near Manchester, England, to listen to the man who entered the political fray in February promising to end Robert Mugabe's 26-year reign.

Many in the hall have never met Mutambara, but most would have heard about the massive student uprisings he led at the University of Zimbabwe in 1989, or as he calls it, jambanja.

For a man of his education and academic status, the new leader of the fractious Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) who turns 40 on May 24 looks rather simple and ordinary.

He sits quietly, at times scribbling on a piece of paper as his political ally, MDC secretary general Welshman Ncube, addresses the crowd -- a random mix of academics, students and workers.

Then the speaker introduces 'Our President AGO Mutambara'. The crowd is voluntarily whipped into frenzied clapping and whistling. There is the odd inquisitive stare by one or two people as the tall, balding frame of the man who swapped rocket science for politics springs to the rostrum.

"Thank you all for coming," he says.

His voice, course and raw, is a weapon so expertly mobilised and deployed to battle in the early days of the struggle against Robert Mugabe's totalitarian project.

With the haste of Charles Mabika's Sunday football commentary, only measured, Mutambara begins to skillfully dissect Zimbabwe's problems and outline his vision.

For the next 45 minutes, he holds his audience in attentive silence -- only interrupted by brief bouts of cheering, and laughter. He has a sly sense of humour.

He drops a subject, then neatly picks through it and goes about suggesting solutions.

THE MDC has an image problem and needs to "throw away the jacket of puppetry", he says.

THE "MDC of the past", his words, was "undemocratic".

THE MDC was distrusted by regional leaders because of Morgan Tsvangirai's "naivety and lack of gravitas".

THE MDC must "embrace the liberation war legacy".

THE "new MDC", his words, "should be based on delivery (of) high quality health care and education".

ZIMBABWE'S economy has suffered because "we consume what we don't produce and produce what we don't consume".

ROBERT Mugabe's 'Look East' policy is going to fail because "he is looking for the wrong things. How can he look East when the East is looking West? We must look everywhere, it's only despots who look in one direction because they have no other options. When we look East, we should look for the right things, like getting China to kick-start a computer-manufacturing industry in Zimbabwe."

THE IMF is a "gate keeper and if we cross paths with them, there will be no foreign investment in Zimbabwe."

THE MDC "supports any democratic means of removing Robert Mugabe from power but Tsvangirai is setting himself up for failure by promising a short and sharp action of mass protests. What if it's not short, what if it's not sharp? We accept that Mugabe stole the elections, but that says more about his opponent. If you have elections stolen from you three times, then you are a failure. All our programmes of action not only have Plan B, but also C, D and E."

LAND and property rights should be respected. "Our people should be given security of tenure so that they can vote for whoever they want," he said.

THERE is a culture of corruption and general decadence in the civic society movement. "Even churches have taken absolutist views on the MDC split and other issues. The civic society movement has lost its discipline and we have little Mugabes who refuse to leave office when their terms of office expire. If we behave like little Mugabe's, we lose the moral authority to criticise him."

THERE is too much hatred exhibited by Zimbabweans towards each other because of political beliefs. "Hatred is a very destructive emotion. President Nixon once said that the enemy never succeeded until we started hating him. If you allow yourself to be partisan, then you self-destruct."

Mutambara painted a picture of Robert Mugabe as a figure in deep decline. His likely successor, Joice Mujuru and the other MDC faction leader, Tsvangirai, would be "destroyed" if they ever entered a Presidential race with him. "It's not arrogance, it's democracy."

Just as he started, Mutambara's unremitting endeavor and bounteous energy carried him to a 30-minute question and answer segment, or at least that's what it was meant to be. Instead, most of the questions turned out to be comments of adulation.

Former ZINASU student leader Nkululeko Sibanda said Mutambara reminded him of Frantz Fanon, the French anti-colonial revolutionary thinker and author of several books, including The Wretched of the Earth. Mutambara just laughed.

Now Mutambara was a portrait of triumph, declaring that Tsvangirai had "spurned our hand of reconciliation and should now be prepared to face me in a Presidential election because we will survive as a party, whatever happens in the short term. This is a marathon, not a sprint."

One woman wanted to know if the defections from his camp to Tsvangirai's group had affected his commitment to leading the party. "No", he bellowed, his voice rising. "The defections don't bother us. This is a marathon, so why would anyone want to walk out just after 15 meters? The only damage done by the defections is symbolical, but in terms of gravitas and substance of the party, it's inconsequential. We are not mourning, we have already replaced those who left with other soldiers."

The meeting should have ended at 1600hrs, but it's almost 1700hrs now. He has been singing the "one last question" chorus, only to have more questions flood in. But it looks like enough has been said as Ncube nonchalantly taps his back to announce the time is up.

In ear shot, a middle-aged man who later identifies himself simply as Simon, turns to his friend, and with a rueful look, asks: "He is a rare talent. Where has he been?"

Watching Mutambara in full flow, it is clear that he remains a boiling reservoir of resistance -- and he will confront any hurdle thrown in his path on his mission to State House, doubtlessly a lesser challenge than the space missions for which he has dedicated almost half his life.

Arthur Mutambara is currently visiting several European countries and will address a second rally in London on TUESDAY MAY 9 at The Dominion Centre, 9 The Broadway, Wood Green, London, N22 6DS. The venue is two minutes from Wood Green Tube Station, Parking is available at the Wood Green Shopping Complex, Registration begins at 1730, with the actual meeting starting at 1800 hrs. For Directions 02088290080
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