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How much more patience does the MDC have and why?
The once deposed Lovemore Moyo from Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC party was re-elected back into the Parliamentary Speaker’s chair on Wednesday and that, to some, is cause for jubilation.
Political commentator, Effie Dlela Ncube, told a US radio station that Lovemore Moyo's victory was “good for democracy since he had been removed under dubious circumstances”.
"This is democracy at work,” Ncube said. “Moyo's victory confounds all those who plotted his ouster."
What a simplistic view of issues our nation is being subjected to.
I mention this because it is a dangerous interpretation of issues in our country.
Democracy at work? What democracy?
I really would have preferred that the nation, including Parliamentary Speaker Lovemore Moyo, had been protected by the same democracy that re-instated him.
We are being asked to rejoice and I see no democracy in everything happening in and outside parliament.
Even by the longest stretch of imagination, the re-election of Lovemore Moyo can never be used as a yardstick of “democracy at work”.
There is no democracy in Zimbabwe and we should never forget that.
Mugabe throws at us those meaningless tidbits so we can say “that is democracy at work” and we let our guard down.
There are some who are also reading too much into votes that came from Welshman Ncube’s faction.
The fact that Ncube’s faction had no choice but support Lovemore Moyo’s candidacy is being hyped as a precursor to a possible reunification of the two parties.
We must be careful to dig pitfalls for ourselves by desperately trying to read wrong messages from such situations.
At the center of it all are the three Moyos: Lovemore, Jonathan and Simon.
Jonathan Moyo was peeved that Lovemore Moyo had been elected Speaker and, instead, wanted Simon Khaya Moyo in the seat.
He went to court and the court, which ceased to be independent ages ago, questionably kicked Lovemore Moyo from the Speaker’s chair.
So once again, the battle lines were drawn and a showdown loomed.
With Tsvangirai having refused to intervene and assist Welshman Ncube to become Deputy Prime Minister, Ncube decided that it was time to flex his party’s muscles and immediately declared his Members of Parliament would abstain during the vote to elect Speaker of Parliament.
But we did not hear from the concerned MPs themselves, whether or not they would sacrifice parliamentary and constituency obligations to fight a small meaningless war for Ncube.
Meanwhile, as calculators were set on tables to figure out how many votes Tsvangirai and Mugabe’s parties would cast for their candidates, it became clear that Tsvangirai’s man would win so Mugabe, fresh from denying Ncube the deputy prime ministership, started arresting Tsvangirai’s MPs in an effort to reduce their number during the crucial voting for the Speaker.
Suddenly, those who had declared that they would abstain during the parliamentary vote as a way of punishing both Tsvangirai and Mugabe for not supporting his elevation to Prime minister made a u-turn and announced that they would support Tsvangirai’s man, Lovemore Moyo.
This did not look good to Jonathan Moyo who, along with the tainted judges, were humiliated by “democracy at work”.
It is reported that Jonathan Moyo then allegedly offered bribes to some MDC parliamentarians who turned the US $25 000 to their party’s bosses.
Now this is treason and if we had any democracy at work, Jonathan Moyo should be in some inner cell somewhere at Chikurubi Maximum.
How long is the nation going to continue tolerating this kind of nonsense from this man?
Parliament is the highest decision making body in the country. These people are responsible for the nation and its laws and we have a rabid professor running around trying to corrupt the functions of a parliament that is responsible for the nation.
So where are Augustine Chihuri, Wayne Bvudzijena and Johannes Tomana?
Of course, they are comrades in crime but our time will come and none of these men, including their senile president, is going to escape justice.
Look at the number of MDC MPs who are being dragged before the courts on trumped up charges.
Jonathan Moyo has offered the Zimbabwe Republic Police a perfect opportunity to redeem their shattered image by immediately arresting him for corruption and bribery.
While at it, we might also be interested to know where that US $25 000 came from.
And, like a spoiled child, instead of explaining things to clear his name, Jonathan Moyo threatens to sue any newspaper that carries the story.
This is pathetic indeed. The man believes that if it is not discussed in the paper, it will go away.
If he wants the story to die down, he should boldly face the media and explain himself to clear his name.
But, since the Zimbabwean judges are ZANU-PF stooges, Moyo might want to use them, once again, to circumvent justice.
But rather than the re-election of Lovemore Moyo having anything to do with democracy, it was a reminder that if people want, they can achieve much more than what they are achieving now.
Tendai Biti said it better when he said that evil will never triumph over truth.
“Evil will never triumph over good and today the forces of good triumphed over evil.”
I hope the likes of Jonathan Moyo hears that.
SO, as I was saying, Ncube has nowhere to run because ZANU-PF is already taken by Arthur Mutambara.
Whether his MPs voted for Moyo on their own or in obedience to Ncube’s instructions does not help him much.
It is time for him to find a niche because the much-talked about forth-coming elections pose a danger to render him and his little group extinct.
It is amazing that we find ourselves in a situation where unelected people like Welshman Ncube hold the balance of power in parliament.
Who are they and who do they represent and why are they in parliament and in government?
The presence of the likes of Ncube in parliament and government is an indication that things are far from well in our country and the MDC must take serious note of this.
MDC MPs continue to be arrested on frivolous charges; people continue to be abused; MDC cabinet ministers are being arrested and humiliated in leg irons.
No one is safe, including Tsvangirai himself who had to slip across the border into South Africa to ask Jacob Zuma for protection from Mugabe.
This can’t be right in a unity government.
The heart of the matter is that, with all the things that have happened to date, the MDC should quit this government and re-strategise.
They have been patient enough now their patience borders on cowardice or lack of ideas.
They have spent the better part of two years involved in power struggles with Mugabe while the country was on auto pilot.
Enough is enough.
We salute them for their patience and respect their efforts to give the unity government a chance but this is ridiculous.
It is time to move on because by simply being part of this government, the MDC is protecting Mugabe.
What do you say?
Send me your views on tano@swradioafrica.com.
While we celebrate the re-election of Lovemore Moyo, we should not forget that it was nothing more than renewing what the people had decided as far back as two years ago.
Sweet as it is, the victory is nothing new but is an indicator that people know what they want despite bribery attempts, arrests and rigging.
The people have shown enough patience and I do believe that the MDC must also acknowledge that and move quickly to change tact for the sake of the people who have stood by them so far.
ZANU-PF has done everything possible to show their lack of interest to save our country and they should be left alone so that, for tomorrow’s sake, we know who has done what to our country.
Our courts are going to be very busy one of these days; that is a promise, not a threat.
I am Tanonoka Joseph Whande and that, my compatriots, is the way it is today, Thursday March 31, 2011.
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