What I find striking about all this is Mugabe’s hypocrisy in accusing others of bullying when he and Zanu PF have brutally suppressed any form of dissent since attaining power. Over the years all those who have ventured to raise an objection to Mubabe’s totalitarian style of leadership have met with beatings, persecution or even death. The Matabeleland atrocities in the early 1980s and the 2008 election orgy of violence are vivid cases in point. I still remember vividly how Joshua Nkomo was hounded out of the country –– only to come back to negotiate a unity deal for the sake of his suffering supporters. I remember how Morgan Tsvangirai was “bashed”, as Mugabe would proudly state, for attending a pro-democracy event. I also remember how Mugabe attempted to overturn the will of the people in the March 29 harmonised elections by creating an atmosphere of fear and trepidation in the populace, culminating in the “landslide” victory in the second round.Even now in the GNU Mugabe and Zanu PF continue with their bullying ways, making unilateral decisions without bothering to consult with the other parties such as in the Gideon Gono and Johannes Tomana appointments and indigenisation regulations issue to name a few. The fact that they have stood in the way of all reform-minded and progressive policies proposed by the other parties in the GNU speaks volumes about the kind of party they are.For me therefore to hear Mugabe talking about being a victim of bullying is mind-boggling. It is like the kettle calling the pot black. It reminds me of Matthew 7 verse 3 in the Bible which says:“Why do you look at the spot of dust in your brother’s eye? But you do not see a big stick in your own eye!”I honestly think he has lost the moral right to accuse others of being bullies.
Munekani,Harare.
