Simmering discontent reaching boiling point

Last week’s events have caused a temporary departure from the discussion of the three-pronged forms of governance. Hopefully we will continue with the debate next week.

Last week’s events have caused a temporary departure from the discussion of the three-pronged forms of governance. Hopefully we will continue with the debate next week.

“We have to be careful that factionalism does not lead other people to think about a break away party, it can happen,” Cephas Msipa was quoted as giving this warning by the State media.

In response, Information minister Jonathan Moyo referred to this observation by the elderly statesman as a thoughtless proposition meant to cause unnecessary confusion. Moyo’s arguments are based on the fact that his party resoundingly won an election only a year ago.

He is not reading signals from the swelling surface. Environment minister Saviour Kasukuwere rubbished Msipa’s advice as nonsense.

On the other hand, Patrick Zhuwawo is convinced that the centre remains intact. Moyo says party implosions occur towards elections not after. That aside, where have our manners — ubuntu/hunhu — that extolled our elders, disappeared to?

Mind you, Msipa is former Zapu secretary-general, besides he is an experienced and seasoned politician.

His free words of wisdom should be taken with the seriousness they deserve. All the old man is saying boils down to the need to put closure to the succession project which has caused untold anxiety and uncertainty, both to the party and the nation.

Zapu leader Dumiso Dabengwa in the Southern Eye of October 17, bemoaned Zimbabwe’s history in its current state.

“Our official history offers no space for those viewed as not contributing to the skewed history,” he said. It is a mythical narrative about leaders.

The same history shies away from inconvenient truths. It does not recognise the role played by Zipra in the liberation war. Dabengwa went on to castigate the same history for failing to appreciate heroic roles played by the likes of Lookout Masuku, Thenjiwe Lesabe and Comrade Dzino.

He alleged that Zimbabwe’s history, as it stands now, is not intended to be the country’s credible history owing to its obsession with perpetrating myths that project certain individuals by falsely giving them centre stage.

“The truth has long legs and in the end, it will overtake the short-legged lies and win the race,” he quipped.

Hard on the heels of Black Russia (Dabengwa), came Jabulani Sibanda with blazing guns. He accused his comrades of a “bedroom and boardroom coup”. Earlier in the year, he had accused the ruling party of nepotism.

On October 29 (Southern Eye), he referred to the meteoritic rise of the First Lady as a fraud. He charged the perpetrators of this fraud with abusing the president and the first family.

He vented his anger at people who blocked him from seeing the president, which he likened to the time when the same people disallowed the late Joshua Nkomo from having an audience with the president at the height of the Gukurahundi era.

A reading of articles on Sibanda reflects a dejected cadre who feels betrayed after giving all to the party he loves so much.

As if applying salt to an already putrefying wound, a group of youths in Bulawayo demanded the publication of Zipra’s liberation account. They queried the fairness of publicising Mbuya Nehanda and Zanla exploits, at the expense of Zapu and its military wing Zipra.

To this demand, Marshal Mpofu of Zipra Trust informed the youths that it was difficult to produce an accurate record of Zipra war credentials, owing to the fact that Zipra war records were confiscated by “our black government” during the Gukurahundi era.

Mpofu said once Zipra’s true history was made available some people would be put to shame.

“In my party, people want positions, they want to push senior people out,” Mugabe recently said.

This is an admission by the first secretary of the party. One is baffled to understand what Moyo was driving at when he said Msipa’s honest assessment of the situation was a thoughtless proposition.

What causes consternation and suspicion in this whole circus is the realisation that the denigrated people in the said article are mainly former Zapu.

It would appear, the content of one’s submission is not important, but the presenter — is he/she really a Zanu PF. The executive mayor of Ekurhuleni, South Africa, made an interesting observation about the former ANC president Oliver Reginald Tambo, when he said “the credibility of the message depends on the integrity of the messenger”.

The ongoing name-calling and denigration of stalwarts of Msipa’s stature points to a system that won’t listen to reason. It shoots the messenger instead of the message.

The most disturbing scenario is the unveiled venting of discontent by Sibanda.

Those who care to analyse events will agree that of late Sibanda has been outright in his assessment of his party’s goings in and out. He is a revolutionary one can disregard at his own peril.

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