“TO distinguish truth from error is difficult not only in sciences but also in the everyday affairs men engage in and discuss …..who chooses well has a sound mind, who chooses ill a defective one.
Capacity for discerning the truth is the most important measure of minds.” Antoine Arnaud (1612-1694).In all my 26 years in Zimbabwe, I never experienced a sense of being free or experienced the benefits of living in a society in which my labours were rewarded in a measure that is equitable to my contribution towards the well being of the society. I have known the deterioration in the function of all institutions directly and indirectly linked to the political administration and I have seen rot set in from the top going down to the roots. I have observed workers erect rusted scaffolding to prop up the diminishing structure and aid workers watering the withered roots in the hope of a miraculous resurrection.
My observations then were probably flawed by my own poverty and sense of helplessness, which I believe was endemic in Zimbabwe at that time and its levels probably have increased. I have always been angry with Zanu PF and with Robert Mugabe in particular. The main reason of my anger has always been the sheer hypocrisy of the man and the fact that his party always chose the wrong answer, justified it until it was taken to be the truth and then tried to add a new erroneous chapter to whatever subject it was in order to enrich themselves and stay in power.
With the so-called “deal” now in place, I am beginning to sense that the helplessness is creeping back in again. Probably it is because Mugabe “is still at the top”. At least when Morgan Tsvangirai was putting his foot down and standing by what he believed in, I was happy with Mugabe being an illegitimate president and there was hope that the shackles of Zanu PF on the country and the people were going to be loosed one day.
I also tried to fantasise about Zimbabwe being a state in which sober-minded Zanu PF politicians would realise the error of their ways and the cultic quality of their constitution. A Zimbabwe in which politics and violence are miles apart with no need for our people to dwell in pole and dagga huts, with clean water and decent education for everyone, and the people’s choice being put ahead of the political agenda.
The comfort of that fantasy is now gone, Tsvangirai has managed to make Robert Mugabe the legitimate ruler of Zimbabwe, all for the prize of a title. I have tried to understand the “deal” but I just cannot tell who is responsible for the wellbeing of the country from that document. Responsibility and accountability lie in whose hands? Can a woman have two husbands and give them both a child at the same time? Can one claim the pregnancy is his when indeed they are sharing her?
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I do not know whether I can distinguish the truth from the error here. My fellow countrymen are denied the right to choose a sober-minded leader to entrust the country to in these difficult times. Mugabe failed the test years ago and Tsvangirai has endorsed that failure. The people’s suffering has truly been in vain. At least you tried Tsvangirai. After all if you cannot beat them, join them.
Lysanda [email protected]
