Zimbabweans have a penchant for sugar-rush solutions—“Mnangagwa must go”—even at the cost of retaining the dictatorship yet again.

By Wilbert Mukori | “Zimbabwe is in desperate need of transformative leadership, not the routine recycling of failed politicians,” argued Trevor Ncube. “A change in leadership might offer temporary relief, but Zimbabwe’s issues run deeper, demanding a systemic overhaul.”

Could not agree with you more!

God only knows how many golden opportunities we have had to completely overhaul our failed political system—most notably the 2008 to 2013 GNU and the 2017 military coup—and yet, we have wasted them all. All because of greed, breathtaking incompetence, and, yes, our penchant for temporary relief. We would happily give up our freedoms, rights, and human dignity to appease the dictator on the off chance that he will have mercy on us, even when history tells us he will only demand more and double the abuse again and again.

Zimbabwe is a failed state because the nation has been stuck with this corrupt, incompetent, and tyrannical Zanu PF dictatorship for 45 years and counting. The party has enjoyed absolute power, including the power to rig elections, stay in power, and loot the nation’s wealth.

Robert Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies have bribed, cajoled, and even killed fellow Zanu PF nationalists, war veterans, and the nation at large to enforce the de facto Zanu PF one-party dictatorship. War veterans in the army, police, and other security forces—whether still in active service, retired, or demobilized in 1980—have been brainwashed to believe that only Zanu PF leaders are fit to rule Zimbabwe and can be trusted to safeguard the nation’s independence and sovereignty. As a result, the army, police, and other security institutions have become departments of the party in all but name, serving the singular agenda of retaining absolute power at all costs.

As much as Blessed Geza and his faction of war veterans are right in condemning Mnangagwa as a corrupt and murderous dictator, they cannot deny that they played a part in imposing him through the 2017 military coup and the rigged elections that followed. They have toned down their criticism, hoping to see VP Chiwenga succeed Mnangagwa, but they will never accept that he must face the acid test of free, fair, and credible elections. Never!

How anyone can fail to see that swapping one dictator for another will solve nothing—especially after 45 years of rigged elections and bad governance—beggars belief!

Zanu PF will never reform itself out of power by accepting free and fair elections. The opposition MDC/CCC failed to implement even one token reform during the GNU, despite having a golden opportunity to do so. Mugabe bribed Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC colleagues with the trappings of high office, and in return, they forgot about the reforms.

Since the GNU debacle, MDC/CCC leaders have continued to participate in flawed elections, legitimizing Zanu PF’s victory for the sake of a few gravy-train seats. They have conned their brain-dead followers into participating based on the idiotic claim that the opposition can win rigged elections. The very fact that millions of Zimbabweans have believed these lies time and time again, even after 45 years of rigged elections, explains why we are a failed state.

Yes, we need a complete systemic overhaul of our failed political system.

“The only way forward, according to Ncube, is through a national, inclusive process that involves all stakeholders, including business leaders, civil society, the Church, labor, women, and youth. These groups must work together to rebuild the country,” reported Bulawayo 24.

Some might argue that the writing of the 2013 Constitution was an inclusive process. Yet, no one can deny that it was another wasted opportunity to dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship and replace it with a healthy and functional democracy. A body of 50 or so technocrats could be tasked with drafting the nation’s new democratic constitution. They would only need to use the tried-and-tested constitutions of other nations as a starting point—no need to reinvent the wheel.

It would be deeply disappointing if the momentum built since Mnangagwa took over from Mugabe results in merely replacing one dictator with another. What we want is the end of the dictatorship, not just another fleeting sugar rush from seeing Mnangagwa go—only to be followed by years more of what Trevor Ncube aptly described as “soul-crushing poverty.”