By Patrick Guramatunhu- Divide and rule, it is a tried and tested tactic as old as human history that has worked, particularly in conquering those easily divided!

Talk of easily divided, it really does not take much to divide the MDC. Ever since the party’s formation in 1999, the party has divided, subdivided and merged and divided again and again. Each time the party has divided the members have lashed out at each other with more venomous hatred than they have ever shown to Zanu PF, the opposition’s main political opponent.

When Tendai Biti and 8 other MPs broke away from Morgan Tsvangirai led MDC-T in 2014, Biti said it had been easier to work with Mugabe than with Tsvangirai. Biti was Secretary General of the party and MDC-T Minister of Finance in the 2008 to 2013 GNU. Tsvangirai recalled the 9 MPs out of spite knowing fully well MDC-T was not going contest the by-elections to at least try to win back the seats.

Of course, Robert Mugabe was well aware there was no love lost between the MDC leaders and he was not one to miss the opportunity to exploit this.

In the bloated GNU cabinet, the smaller MDC-N faction led first by Arthur Mutambabra and then later by Welshman Ncube had more ministers and deputy ministers then warranted by the party’s elected MPs. The leaders of the two MDC factions were falling over each other in their zeal to praise Mugabe forgetting that their primary task was to implement the democratic reforms.

Biti called Mugabe “unflappable, fountain of wisdom and father of the nation!” Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga, MDC-N Minister in GNU was so impressed with Mugabe, she was “speechless!”

When SADC leaders pressured the two MDC faction leaders not to participate in the 2013 elections until meaningful reforms were implemented to ensure free and fair elections. Mugabe defied SADC leaders and played his tramp card!

Mugabe was confident that the mistrust between the two MDC factions was so deeply rooted they would not trust each other to boycott the elections although that was the “obvious” thing to do as one MDC leader 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,” admitted David Coltart in his book, The Struggle Continues 50 years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe. Coltart was a MDC-N minister in the GNU.  

“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.”

Mugabe got his wish; the two MDC factions participate in the 2013 elections regardless all the evidence Zanu PF was rigging the elections and thus giving Zanu PF legitimacy. The MDC has since been participating in the flawed and illegal elections giving vote rigging Zanu PF legitimacy.

If there is a lesson Mnangagwa has learned from his old mentor, Robert Mugabe, it is the importance of dividing the opposition to keep them fighting each other instead of fighting Zanu PF.

Mnangagwa created the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) grouping all the losing candidates in the 2018 presidential race. The primary purpose of POLAD was to reward with perks the candidates participating in the elections, doing their bit to give the flawed election process credibility and thus encourage them to participate in future elections. Mnangagwa has used POLAD to pressure Chamisa and a few others to join.

There is no doubt that Nelson Chamisa’s succession following Tsvangirai’s death in 2018 was unconstitutional and a High Court judgement to that effect has led to the breakup the Chamisa MDC A. A number of the party’s elected officials were forced to switch allegiance to the Mwonzora led MDC-T and those who did not were recalled last year, 2021.

We can be certain that Mnangagwa has taken full advantage of Chamisa’s troubles. ZEC has stopped the by-elections to fill the recalled elected official much to the anger of Chamisa and company.

President Mnangagwa has since announced the long-delayed by-elections will finally take place on 26 March 2022. Within hours of making this announcement the social media was buzzing with the news that Douglas Mwonzora had met President Mnangagwa at State House. This is a follow up to MDC-T’s call for interparty dialogue, possibly leading to the formation of a new GNU.

“President Mnangagwa, who was accompanied by Zanu PF Secretary for Finance Mr Patrick Chinamasa and Acting Secretary to the President and Cabinet Mr George Charamba, promised to respond to the MDC-T’s final position as soon as possible after their own internal consultations within the government and their party,” MDC-T spokesperson Witness Dube said in a statement.

There has been talks of Chamisa and his MDC A grouping were considering boycotting the 2023 elections following the party’s recent #PRICECAMPAIGN demanding reforms before elections.

The announcement of the by-elections were going ahead will have forced MDC A to reconsider the boycott. The report of Mwonzora, MDC A’s number one advisory, hobnobbing at State House has left Chamisa and company fuming at the prospect of Mwonzora and company participating in the elections and becoming the country’s main opposition party.

So, President Mnangagwa is going into these by-elections and 2023 national elections confident that the divided opposition will participating giving Zanu PF legitimacy.

Chamisa, Mwonzora and the rest in the opposition camp have to be content sharing the few gravy train seats Zanu PF is giving away as bait. They are betraying the masses for thirty pieces of silver!

The real big losers are the ordinary people who continue to be denied their basic freedoms and rights including the right to a meaningful say in the governance of the country and continue to suffer the ill effects of being stuck with this corrupt and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship. They are conned by the opposition to participate in the flawed elections under the false claim the opposition have “winning in rigged elections strategies”! Until the masses wise up, they will suffer!