By Leornard Koni | The Zimbabwean harmonised elections are around the corner. The date to hold the election has been announced and every serious political party is now gearing for this do or die election where a battle and contestation of ideas is now at full throttle.
By Leonard Koni
Interestingly the story of the entrance of Zanu PF’s prodigal son Mr Saviour Kasukuwere into the political ring to wrestle power from Emmerson Mnangagwa seems to be gathering momentum.
Kasukuwere nicknamed Tyson by his staunch followers in the political circles, used to command a higher post in the former Mugabe’s regime dubbed the first republic. He was actually leading a Zanu PF group of young turks which was preparing to take over from Mugabe. The group which called itself The G40 is still kicking and alive causing sleepless nights to Team Lacoste.
At this juncture the electorate is now caught in between two horns of a dilemma and with some not trusting Kasukuwere because of his Zanu PF’s umbilical cord which he is carrying. Saviour could have repented but still no one trust his political moves and this is likely to dampen the spirit of would be voters who want to see change in the country.
He could be wholly owned Zanu PF subsidiary and Zimbabweans will be much careful whether to take him seriously. Some sections of voters are likely to reject him hook, line and sinker.
August 23 election must usher in a leader who should take charge of the country and take it to another level. As a presidential aspirant will Saviour Kasukuwere be representing the generality of the population that has no political home especially the disgruntled Zanu PF G40 members who felt outdone by Team Lacoste and those that have but are not happy for one reason or the other?
It is however his democratic right to contest but looks like the room or space for him to campaign freely will be jeorpadised a little bit by ruthless Mnangagwa. He is lilkely to use security apparatus to twart his campaigning trail because he feels Kasukuwere poses a threat to his political career.
Constitutionally as a citizen of Zimbabwe he must be allowed to campaign like every political leader in the country.
I think he must come in and split the Zanu PF votes and this will definitely give Nelson Chamisa of Citizens Coalition for Change an edge ro win resoundingly. Alternatively Nelson Chamisa must not go to sleep but must pile up more pressure in all Zanu PF’s strongholds.
The timing of Saviour Kasukuwere in the ring is well timed. If he is serious, he is likely to grab some of those rural areas like Mt Darwin, Guruve and Nyamapanda.
For a starter I think Kasukuwere should endorse Nelson Chamisa and then work together thereafter to represent the voiceless masses, the downtrodden, the disenfranchised citizens of Zimbabweans.
This is a generational consensus. Zimbabwe needs young people to take charge of their destiny. Its not too late to bury our political differences.
I really go for his hat in the ring despite his political history and the way he harrased most Zimbabweans during Mugabe’s era. It works well to split votes and decimate known political foes
Zimbabwe needs a new political trajectory in order to move forward. Governments run through a coup have never been succesful as they are full of fissures of misgovernance.
In a World Bank regional statistics it shows that when President Emmerson Mnangagwa took over power through a coup, poverty levels were at 29 % and as of July 2022, it was at 49%.
This is so embarrassing for a country that used to command a very good economic growth.
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