Farai Maguwu | ‘Operation Restore Legacy’ nearly became Operation Restore Legitimacy when the masses were ‘allowed’ to march through Harare and demand that Mugabe steps down. Whilst some of us were very clear that Zim was cascading down to hell, to many Zimbabweans the 18th November march was the greatest moment there ever was in the fight for democracy in the country. But those who thought this was the dawn of a new era ignored many questions they should have answered.
‘Operation Restore Legacy’: Whose Legacy and whats in that legacy?
Whilst the military was very clear in their objective, more than 99% of the people who took to the street or supported the coup from their homes, including the excitable opposition establishment, never asked whose legacy the military sought to restore. Even more worryingly, none dared to question whats in that legacy.
The military said it wanted to restore the legacy of revolutionary elements within ZANU PF. These revolutionaries, claimed the army, were being unfairly kicked out of ZANU PF by G40. The military was also concerned by what it termed instability in ZANU PF. Thus it sought to restore the legacy of war veterans and senior ZANU PF and military officials that was under threat from the Grace Mugabe led G40.
At the heart of the Zimbabwe crisis is the question of legitimacy. ZANU PF has claimed its legitimacy to rule from the 1970s liberation struggle. When Mugabe was soundly defeated by Morgan Tsvangirai in 2008 he declared the pen can’t defeat the gun – a double reference to the liberation war and the current partisan military establishment that silently staged a war against the MDCT supporters till Tsvangirai capitulated and accepted to serve Mugabe under the Inclusive Government. By reversing the MDCT victory in 2008 the Zimbabwe National Army restored ZANU PF legacy.
The fight to ‘restore legacy’ was also witnessed in 2002, on the eve of the 2002 presidential election when the Generals, led by Vitalis Gava Zvinavashe declared that they would not salute a leader with no liberation war credentials.
This legacy is littered with so many graves of innocent Zimbabweans whose only crime was to belong to the opposition. Its the same legacy that led to the Gukurahundi atrocities of the early 80s. No one must feel sorry for Mugabe. He also committed so many atrocities in the name of preserving ZANU PF legacy – their claim to be anointed by a certain macabre god of violence and corruption to destroy our beautiful country till they drop dead. It is this legacy which majority of people ignorantly marched to preserve.
Dawn of New Error!
Now the full fledged militarization of the State, never mind the cosmetic war on corruption which will yield nothing, will perpetuate the ZANU PF ruinous rule for a few more years. The expected elevation of the unelected General Chiwenga to the position of Vice president will complete the subversion of the will of the people or the raping of the nation. There will be more corruption under the military rule than ever before – ask the Nigerians! By allowing the military to subvert the constitution, Zimbabweans committed themselves to a very uncertain future.
The accelerated demise of ZANU PF
The militarization of ZANU PF and the state is the last stand of ZANU PF against the Zimbabwean people. The not so new government will continue to cut out corrupt deals that only benefit themselves and their foreign benefactors. Already reports from Marange say the Chinese are being seen loitering in the community. If the Chinese are back to extract diamonds in Marange, who did President Mnangagwa consult before making that decision? Were the people of Marange, let alone Manicaland, consulted?
Until the military coup, ZANU PF had died due to its failure to transform itself from a liberation movement to a democratic political party. It lacks both internal democracy and the commitment to compete for power with other political parties. This sense of entitlement emboldened the party to plunder the nation’s resources as their fat check for liberating the country from British colonial rule. Hence Zimbabweans were united against the party by the squalid economic conditions created by the ruinous policies and corruption by party officials.
Now with Generals masquerading as cabinet officials, the biggest weakness of Mnangagwa’s government is capacity. The Generals will continue to see everything through the military lenses. Failure is certain. Violence shall be used to suppress dissent but violence has a threshold and this limit will be reached soon.
Thus the military coup is only but a painkiller that will momentarily suppress the ZANU PF illness without taking it out. The demise of ZANU PF is imminent as the party has no capacity or desire to reform. ZANU PF has failed even to learn from fellow liberation movements such as ANC which has cultivated a rich culture of internal democracy. Only yesterday Cyril Ramaphosa won a hotly contested ANC election whilst ZANU PF spent millions of dollars to ENDORSE Emmerson Mnangagwa as party first secretary and President whom they mandated to APPOINT his Politburo. In ANC the top 6 was elected by the Congress but in ZANU PF they are appointed by an individual. This is the hallmark of an outdated and dying political institution.
ZANU PF will fall from power within the next 5 – 10 years and thereafter the party will be in the same category with the Nazi party of Germany.
27 Replies to “Why Chiwenga And Crew Will Not Last For Long | OPINION”
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seems uri moron
But it is you who brought the USA into this debate when you talke dof Powell and now we tell you that Powell had to wait for 7 years after retiring from military service before joining govt and you say Zim is not ruled by US laws. hey wena
Would you know a good reputation of it struck your repugnant face?.
Hello there !! Iam the sheriff of moronsville.I only come to take back my citzens,and i know my morons quite well.
I have no time to debate or test intelligence with you ,you showed your level of intelligence from the beginning…does a warden at a mental hospital have time to ask or ” test” the saneness of his patients?….no ,so why should i?.
Yes ZANU will rule but only by the gun ,not by choice of the people, especially now that it has the army as its commissariat
Right which Zimbabweans were consulted in the process? If you think the American system which has balances and checks and give 7 years for retired service men to join civilian duties before appointing such to our system where a general was in uniform today ,then announced in the middle of the night to be a cabinet minister ,which you will find tomorrow morning ,then we are of very different worlds.We don’t copy any country for the sack of coping but we also check and encapsulate systems that can also work for the good of our country.Otherwise there are so many ways our constitution is different from the American one!
Spot on !And the way this issue has been flavored to suit what’s happening here is amazing! What everyone is not saying is that in the USA for example ,service men entering politics is not an overnight event.They have to undergo a congressional hearing which then approves or dissaproves the entrance of the individual intending to join the political jungle.Do we have any such in Zim?Is anyone consulted in such a process whether as individuals or civic society? You only wake in the morning and here Lt …….. is now a cabinet minister. So don’t hoodwink the general populace by lying by omission ,by not telling the people the whole process as it is done elsewhere!
If ZANU pf knows it will win why bother itself with putting no reforms, it will be also an advantage to them if they hold credible elections. The way they don’t want to entertain electoral reforms tells a different story
Thank you !
What you claim to see is simply your own construction. My point is that Zimbabwe is not guided by American law which is fact. Now if you then burst and start calling me names I get confused. These platforms help us to share ideas and test our intellect.
Then if you can’t see I’m not debating with you ,but ,telling you ,them you are more of a moron than I thought
If this is your idea of debate then you are a disgrace to the civilised community
moron
What you seem to lack or misunderstand is ,the USA has democratic institutions in place that act as checks and balances to prevent rogue behavior ,which institutions we dont have because the same military personnel you refer to have stopped the processes dead.
Prenece Shiri must be investigated for gukurahundi atrocities ,Chiwenga too ,Moyo there are reports of abuse of power in DRC ,which i can neither confirm as they are rumors .
so you trying to compare the USA and backward Zimbabwe ,where the politicians openly state that Zanu will use the military to win in 2018 ,is pathetic.
Crawl back to the hole you came from.
you are too much fixated with MDC T.Why dont you try to implement reforms yourself and lets see how far you would go.
You and This guy Patrick someone ,have this ANNOYING habit of parceling out blame on an individual or party.
So it is MDC T which must liberate Zimbabwe,its MDC T which must do the ground work …what are you doing yourself ?
What did you do when the reforms were not implemented ?
ITs a collective effort ,not individual.The biggest disappointment has been the cowardly Zimbabwean people ,who just follow and then start to parcel blame ,yet they were sitting on their laurels.
But we are not subjected to US laws. We are sovereign buddy. Lets no get confused by small things. Ian Khama is an army general and so is his representative to Zimbabwe and one time his deputy. What is unique about Zimbabwe. Why do you think Americans are the world’s torch bearers. Wikipedia has lists of army personnel who have joined civilian governments just google and enjoy yourself
you cannot force anything. if they do it they want to because its them with the more than two thirds majority. you have no cards to play. and after those reforms you will still lose and cry foul.
freedom of choice brought by the army
so why are you reading nhai moron
These are the same individuals who have imposed the Zanu PF dictatorship on the nation by rigging elections. No one who object to anyone getting into power as long as they have done so through free, fair and credible elections!
You are spot on there. What makes our case such a tragic tale is we had a golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms which would have ended Zanu PF’s reign of terror and MDC wasted it. They had five years to implement the reforms and failed to get even one reform implemented.
If we play our cards rights, we can still force this Zanu PF dictatorship to revisit the reforms if we can show next year’s elections are a sham. With the opposition contest the flawed elections and giving the process some credibility, this may not be easy to achieve!
According to USA laws a soldier must spent at least 7 years after retirement from the army for them to join politics. Farai is very correct
Prenec Shiri – Masters Degree
Sibusiso Moyo – Doctorate
Chiwenga – Doctorate
Very experienced leaders in their own right but Farai seems to think that they must be confined to the barracks. However its okay for Farai when General Powell was made Secretary of state (Foreign Affairs) of one of the USA goernment
This article is abit short of common sense. And a clear under estimation of Zanu which is why opposition will remain opposition chitimaa che Zanu chichingotonga
After 37yrs of pain and catastrophic governance, we still have people who trust these thugs to put things right, just wondering why Zimbabweans are considered brainy and articulate ! Don’t know how much proof is needed to convince even the most idle of minds !
Who said politicians should last long. That’s sic analysis. politicians will always come and go. thats what history will tell you. Who is this reporter who wants ED to stay longer than necessary. The truth/reality is that for now, ED is the man, full stop. ok!
If this had been an article by a reputable person and another newspaper, people might take notice. It is form notorious zimeye of lies and and Munangagwa hatred. the opposite is most likely the position. Zimeye wants to lie to us that once a soldier you die a soldier and never can return to civilian life.Does Zimeye expect anybody to ever want to join the army if that is the case?kkkkkkkk of fools!