By Nomusa Garikai- Three years ago at 04.00 hours local time on 15th November 2017 Zimbabwe Defence Force (ZDF) spokesman, Major General Sibusiso Moyo, addressed the nation and the world at large, live on Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation Television.
“Fellow Zimbabweans, following the address we made on 13 November 2017 which we believe our main broadcaster, ZBC and The Herald, were directed not to publicise, the situation in our country has moved to another level,” he announced.
“Firstly, we wish to assure the nation that His Excellency, The President, of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Head of State and Government and Commander in Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, Cde R.G Mugabe and his family are safe and sound and their security is guaranteed. We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice. As soon as we have accomplished our mission we expect that the situation will return to normalcy.
“To both our people and the world beyond our borders: We wish to make it abundantly clear that this is not a military takeover of Government. What the Zimbabwe Defence Forces is doing is to pacify a degenerating political, social and economic situation in our country which if not addressed may result in violent conflict.”
Fast forward to today, three years latter, it is common cause to say the “degenerating political, social and economic situation” has continued and the threat of social unrest or worse is as real now as it was in 2017. A situation that has not gone unnoticed by some of those like former ministers Professor Jonathan Moyo, Saviour Kasukuwere, etc. G40 leaders, the targeted “criminal around Mugabe who are committing crimes”. The G40 leaders are answering back with growing confidence.
“Either we organise or we agonise. If we continue looking at the situation as it is and expect that on its own, it will resolve itself, I think that won’t just happen like that,” argued Kasukuwere in a public discussion dubbed “Operation Restore Legacy, Unpacking the Democratic Transition in Zimbabwe”.
“The situation we find ourselves in as Zimbabwe is not the first time in the world over or in Africa.
“You recall we had such a situation in Nigeria. There was serious persecution of journalists, politicians and this all has to do with the role of the military at any given point when they take on the political platform and basically try to start directing the political affairs of any given country.
“In our situation, in Zimbabwe, we appear like we are in a political cul-de-sac. There is no defined pathway on how to proceed… Let’s take up the battle straight to the administration each and every day they must start to understand that the pain in our society is now unattainable.
“I believe the collective aspiration of the people of Zimbabwe will be much greater a force than any other thing that we have. Whether there are guns, whether they arrest us.
What is lacking in my view is a concerted push to change our situation.”
Three years ago the people of Zimbabwe came out in strong support of the military coup and poured in the streets in their thousands to demonstrate their support. After 37 years of Mugabe rule they wanted “to give Mnangagwa a chance”.
Now, three years latter, the talk is “Mugabe was better than Mnangagwa”! Kasukuwere and company are growing confident of staging a political comeback in the coming elections in 2023.
The truth is the November 2017 military coup was nothing but a musical chairs, Mugabe and a few around him were eliminated but those who remained were just as corrupt, incompetent, tyrannical, etc. All talk of “Second Republic and New Dispensation” was just a marketing gimmick to give the impression Zimbabwe had changed when in reality nothing of substance had changed.
Kasukuwere et al have targeted the military as the root cause of the rot in Zimbabwe just as the November 2017 coup had targeted his and his colleagues, most of whom are now in exile. This is just nonsense because the military has always played a major role in Zimbabwe politics. We have all heard of the Joint Operation Command, a junta, comprising the top brass in the Police, CIO, Army and Prison Services plus a few select individuals from the party head by Mugabe with Mnangagwa as his deputy.
The Police and CIO’s top brass belonged to the Mugabe and G40 faction whilst the Army belonged to the Mnangagwa and Lacoste faction. Former Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuru played no part in the coup and in being hounded because he was in “the wrong basket”, as Mugabe would put it.
Mnangagwa offered musical chairs Zanu PF, Kasukuwere et al are offering revolved door Zanu PF. Those who are now supporting Kasukuwere are as naive and gullible as those who supported Mnangagwa three years go. There is no difference between Mnangagwa and Kasukuwere in so far as that both are corrupt, incompetent, vote rigging and power hungry thugs. There is no difference between a viper and a cobra in being deadly snakes especially to a mouse; to these Zanu PF thugs we are mice!