Tinashe Sambiri|Mr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s attempt to glorify Dr Joshua Nkomo is a mere reflection of the Zanu PF leader’s hypocrisy.
This was said by the MDC Alliance Namibia in a statement on Friday.
On Thursday, Mr Mnangagwa issued a statement indicating he would strive to preserve Dr Nkomo’s legacy by calling for unity among Zimbabweans.
Mr Mnangagwa personally persecuted Dr Nkomo during the Gukurahundi era.
See the MDC Alliance Namibia statement below:
Mr Mnangagwa’s futile attempt to glorify the late Father Zimbabwe, Dr Joshua Nkomo is insincere!, Mdc Alliance Namibia submits.
02 July 2021
Mdc Alliance Namibia is totally astounded by the utterances from Mr Mnangagwa when he said, “Dr Joshua Nkomo is a hero of the liberation struggle, a man of the people , and a visionary who built a better Zimbabwe. Everyday we strive to continue your legacy of unity , love and peace”. This hypocritical stance reflects the unwillingness to reform from a desperate regime that has dismally failed to revamp the socio-economic lives of the citizenry since independence in 1980. Mr Mnangagwa and his predecessor the late Robert Mugabe did not honour the Unity Accord of 1987. The duo resisted the late Dr Joshua Nkomo’s advice to abandon the deployment of mascular methods of contesting political power including the employment of state-sponsored violence, intimidation and harassment of opposition members and activists.
Regardless of over 20 000 innocent citizens who were butchered in cold blood, Dr Joshua Nkomo demonstrated his quest for peace and reconciliation in the country. Zapu signed the never negotiated unity accord document and agreed to be swallowed to give birth to a united party called Zanupf. What followed were years of unsuccessful efforts to reform Zanupf government as well as prescribing Zapu’s socio-economic and developmental component into the resultant government’s policy. Dr Joshua Nkomo’s component in the Zanupf government also advocated for the governors to respect , protect and promote the fundamental basic human freedoms, but the democratic advocacy fell on deaf ears.
Moreover, Zapu acting president Isaac Mabuka once regretted the former opposition and revolutionary party then now led by the late Joshua Nkomo signed the 1987 Unity Accord with Zanupf also then led by the late Robert Mugabe to form a new government and disband Zapu.
The unity accord saw an end to the Zanupf-sponsored Gukurahundi massacres in the Matebeleland region and parts of Midlands province. Mr Mnangagwa must stop his pathological lies that he strives to continue Dr Joshua Nkomo’s legacy of love and unity since the social trust continues to be eroded leaving communities divided,while society has become dysfunctional, torture , illegal convictions, arbitrary arrests and long pre-trial detentions against social democrats have become familiar weapons of choice deployed by Zanupf to quell dissent, opposition and human rights defenders.
Furthermore, it is foolhardy to be convinced that Mr Mnangagwa cherishes love and peace because he has successfully made Zimbabwe a chronically violent state before colonialism, during colonialism and in the Post-Independence era. On August 1 2018, more than 7 people were shot in Harare , Zimbabwe for protesting against poll rigging and in January 2019, more than 17 innocent citizens were shot during fuel hike protests. Zimbabwe today remains a fractured and broken society. In antithesis with the revolutionary trajectory of a democratic transition to state power offered by Zapu , Zanupf continues to foster undemocratic measures to ensure that it retains power at all costs. Zapu is of the conviction that social costs always outweighs the political gains hence the need to respect the will of the people.
Mr Mnangagwa’s insincerity is unravelled in his attitude towards the compulsory need to heal the wounds of the victims of Gukurahundi. Under his reign , The National Healing , Reconciliation and Integration (ONHRI) – the NPRC’s prospects of achieving sustainable peace and stability in Zimbabwe remain an elusive challenge.
This harsh and unreformed background eventually compelled Dr Joshua Nkomo’s party to sever the unity accord in 2009 with Cde Dumiso Dabengwa as it’s President. Zapu went on to revive its structures and became independent from Zanupf because it has been a tumultuous journey , the party operating in the most hostile environments with close to zero budgets but the loyal members and committed leaders. The party successfully saw through its 2016 Congress. It is high time Mr Mnangagwa should stop pretending if he desires to see a peaceful and united state.
In a nutshell, Mdc Alliance Namibia urges Mr Mnangagwa and Zanupf to stop being hypocritical, it is imperative for his leadership to embrace constitutional democracy than to continue pursuing a violent problem-solving which has often been utilised and privileged as a method of addressing political and social differences in the Motherland. Zapu is absolutely opposed to Zanupf Satanists’ authoritarianism, commandism and the suppression of dissent since they prefer dialogue and national consensus.
Mr Mnangagwa should halt his effort to hoodwink the unsuspecting masses by trying to be an admirer of love , peace and unity in the country. He failed to pay heed to Dr Joshua Nkomo’s clarion call for a democratic dispensation in Zimbabwe until he died in 1999. May his soul rest in power. As a district, we salute you ‘Father Zimbabwe’ You shall continue to inspire many social democrats across the globe.
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Mdc Alliance Namibia
Rundu Branch Spokesperson
Robson Ruhanya
