By Nomusa Garikai – “Ours must always be a story of hope. Of citizens who, knowing how ruthless & repressive this regime is, chose courage over inaction,” wrote Advocate Fadzai Mahere, MDC Alliance spokesperson.

Well those were very moving and courageous words especially in the light of what she had just gone through. 

Fadzai Mahere was arrested and incarcerated last week for ‘publishing or communicating false statements prejudicial to the state’. She had posting a video showing a baby supposedly killed by a policeman’s baton stick while strapped to its mother’s back. 

She was writing about her “seven interminable nights of incarceration”.

“I was thrown into the all familiar lice-infested police cell with a drop toilet. The proverbial puddle of urine from last time and all the times before greeted me,” she narrated.

“Rather, it slapped my face. I was barefoot, having signed my shoes in upon entry as per procedure. There was no sanitizer, no facility to flush the loo, no sink and tap, no toilet paper and no sanitary bin. The blankets smelt of old urine. I shared the cell with 6 other ladies, most of whom were detained for breaching lockdown regulations.”

Zimbabwe’s prison service conditions are one of the worst in the world especially these days with the corona virus pandemic. Being send to prison in Zimbabwe is playing Russian roulette with a fully loaded gun!

What is so desperately annoying about Zimbabwe is our situation is a man-made problem. It is a Zanu PF man-made problem, in the first instance; 40 years and counting of Zanu PF gross mismanagement, rampant corruption and rank lawlessness has left the country in economic ruins and social and political chaos. In the second instance, more significantly for the nation going forward, this is a MDC man-made problem too. 

Zanu PF thugs are ruthless all the other things named above but that is only the half of it; the other half is the regime’s breathtaking incompetence. The regime’s blundering incompetence has created many opportunities to end the party’s rule and the best opportunities, by a long country mile, were during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. And it was none other than the MDC leaders who wasted these chances. 

To be fair to Advocate Mahere, she was not one of the MDC leaders who sold out during the GNU by failing to implement even one democratic reform. 

The MDC leaders have since the GNU debacle continued participating in flawed and illegal elections wasting even more opportunities to force Zanu PF to implement reforms and thus end the curse of rigged elections. And it is not as if the MDC and the rest in the opposition camp did not know that by participating in these flawed elections they gave the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy. They knew that, as David Coltart MDC A Treasurer readily admitted. 

“The worst aspect for me about the failure to agree a coalition was that both MDCs couldn’t now do the obvious – withdraw from the (2013) elections,” wrote Senator Coltart in his book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.

“The electoral process was so flawed, so illegal, that the only logical step was to withdraw, which would compel SADC to hold Zanu PF to account. But such was the distrust between the MDC-T and MDC-N that neither could withdraw for fear that the other would remain in the elections, winning seats and giving the process credibility.”

The main factions of the MDC came together before the July 2018 elections to form the MDC A and the coalition still participated in the elections knowing fully well that Zanu PF was going to rig those elections for exactly the same reason they participated in the 2013 elections – greed. 

Fadzai Mahere participated in the 2018 elections as an independent parliamentary candidate. She too knew Zanu PF was going to rig the elections and still she participated for the same reason as the rest of the opposition – greed. 

Zanu PF learnt during the 2008 to 2013 GNU that MDC leaders are corrupt and breathtakingly incompetent, Zanu PF leaders are incompetent but MDC leaders take the biscuit. Zanu PF bribed MDC leaders to do nothing about implementing the reforms and, going forward, Zanu PF was able to exercise all its vote rigging powers and get away with it by making sure the opposition won a few gravy train seats, the bribe to keep them participating in flawed elections. 

Fadzai Mahere has since joined the MDC A and the party is gearing to participate in the 2023 elections with no reforms in place. And so the nation is being dragged into yet another utterly meaningless election process whose outcome is already a predetermined Zanu PF victory, it is inconceivable for Zanu PF to lose an election it has a licence to rig. By participating Advocate Mahere and her MDC A colleagues will give the vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy. 

“Ours must always be a story of hope. Of citizens who, knowing how ruthless & repressive this regime is, chose courage over inaction!”

We are just going round and round in circles here; how can that be a story of hope! 

In participating in these flawed and illegal elections MDC leaders are not choosing courage over inaction, rubbish, they are once again choosing the few gravy train seats over the implementing the democratic reforms; free, fair and credible elections and everyone getting out of the hell-hole Zanu PF landed us in.  

“I will never stop imagining that Zimbabwe will one day be free!” concluded Fadzai Mahere. 

Yeah, Zimbabweans have heard that one before! All the hardships you are facing in Zimbabwe’s prison dungeons is so that Zimbabwe can be free. Mnangagwa and his cronies have never tired of reminding the nation of the many hardships and sacrifices they made in fight the country’s independence. It was all for the sake of freedom, liberty and justice for all. 

Of course, Zimbabweans are NOT free today! Not everyone fighting for freedoms subscribes to the cause; mercenaries fight for personal gain. 

Long before Zimbabwe attained her independence it was already clear that Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies were fighting for absolute power. They made no secret the wanted independent Zimbabwe to be a one-party state and thus ditching the long cherish “One man! One vote!” rallying call! 

MDC leaders have failed to implement even one meaningful reform after 20 years on the political stage because they too, just like Zanu PF leaders, have taken their eyes off the freedom and liberty for all ball in pursuit of gravy train benefits. 

Instead of implementing the democratic reforms designed to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship MDC A is replicating itself into yet another arrogant party of thugs in Zanu PF’s own image. MDC A is selling out and we, the people, are expected to see this as heroic courage!