No machinations can ever kill opposition politics in Zimbabwe

Obituaries
The man-made frictions within the opposition circles are too far from killing the opposition in Zimbabwe. The ructions have been badly misinterpreted to mean demise of the opposition in this country. The haggling parties can still work together in their fight against the Zanu PF regime which we strongly believe has outlived its mandate and […]

The man-made frictions within the opposition circles are too far from killing the opposition in Zimbabwe. The ructions have been badly misinterpreted to mean demise of the opposition in this country.

The haggling parties can still work together in their fight against the Zanu PF regime which we strongly believe has outlived its mandate and should ship out after failing the nation.

The fight is about the unfinished business in the MDC-T, a partner of the MDC Alliance, and I have a strong personal feeling that we need each other more than individuals in this fight to dislodge the regime which is the source of our wailing day and night.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa should know that we want him to go for Zimbabwe to breath a new lease of life which has been evading us through suspected rigging and heavy-handedness of our security forces in their quest to maintain the grip on state power. We are seeing an evil hand in the harassment, torture, arrest and incarceration of some people  opposed to the system or honest non-partisan citizens who are exposing corruption or blocking government departments in their attempt to trample or strangle opposition-controlled local authorities.

I want to be proven wrong here if fellow citizens think otherwise, but in the public eye that is how the Zanu PF government is perceived. People may not say it every day for fear of reprisals by the state agencies.

I want to believe that Zanu PF is conscious to the reality that the MDC Alliance and its leader Nelson Chamisa is a thorn in the flesh as evidenced by the attacks agaist the opposition leader. Zanu PF should stop meddling in the MDC political fights because their entry is  just to muddy the waters .

The recent funeral of Christine Rambanepasi brought together Chamisa and Douglas Mwonzora and that is an exhibition of political maturity on the part of the two leaders and  any attempt to exaggerate their differences  may not help our country and opposition supporters because that is what the enemy wants.

We must not play into the hands of the enemy, we must remain focused and steadfast instead of forgetting our institutional mandates and tasks at hand that requires us to unite and explore strategies of removing the regime from power through political, constitutional and democratic processes.

I always find statements in the media attributed to Job Sikhala to be pregnant with sense and worth digesting. An opposition political party is a government-in-waiting that should use all the ammunition at its disposal to unseat a party in power through “political processes”.

There is power in working together, but it is also important to respect binding constitutions and agreements, if we are to guard against future embarrassments. The enemy will continue to capitalise on misfiring or emerging cracks. It is very important at this juncture to narrow the gap between  Chamisa and Mwonzora because any further rift will not serve the people. It’s not even about using crowds to score goals because at the end of the day, we will all lose focus and prolong Zanu PF’s stay in power. The road to Canaan remains narrow, bumpy and thorny.There is no need for the two political parties, MDC-T and MDC Alliance, to compete against each other. Selfish interests have to be shelved for purposes of fulfilling the change agenda.

The MDC Alliance has adequate ammunition and able leadership within its ranks to defeat Zanu PF in a level playing field and the value of coming together as three major parties has to be seen now. Internal frustrations have to be dealt with if the dream of reaching freeing this country from the grip of Zanu PF is to be realised. Seasoned politicians like Chamisa, Professor Welshman Ncube, Tendai Biti, Thabitah Khumalo, David Coltart, Sikhala and others have the capacity to help us unseat Zanu PF from power for our own sake.

This game of donating people to Zanu PF because they have differed with us is not worth pursuing, but I subscribe to the idea of preaching to the prodigal sons instead of wasting time fighting those not in power. I prefer to outsmart them in terms of an election winning strategy instead of hurling abuse and widening the gap. It is not too late to normalise relations for purposes of progress.

The biggest opposition party in Zimbabwe is the MDC Alliance and stands a chance to win the state presidency in 2023 with or without legislators in Parliament today.

Zimbabwe is still thirsty and hungry for democratic leadership that does not interfere with decisions and operations of key institutions.

Institutions working with or for the regime  to suppress the opposition are damaging the already bruised name of Zimbabwe. Instead of adopting a radical approach to the opposition as a strategy to weaken them, they should adopt an open-door policy regardless of the threats posed. Like America, Zimbabwe must come first and individual interests second.

Kurauone Chihwayi

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