The ManicaPost
Rufaro Mufundirwa Post Correspondent
While I am not celebrating the arrest of Mahiya and other war veterans, the attention it has attracted cannot escape my attention as well. We have seen some hired professional mourners who are crying more than the bereaved. Others have turned themselves into judges and have already acquitted Mahiya.
I am not a judge, thus I cannot exonerate or condemn Mahiya and his colleagues. However, Zimbabwe has a very competent judiciary system which will decide the fate of the comrades. People must allow the course of justice to take its course. We can sympathise with the cadres, but that does not spell immunity from the rule of law.
The comrades will be cleared if they are clean of the charges being levelled against them. That is the rule of law that the opposition has generously prescribed to Zanu-PF. One thing that some people are missing is that Mahiya and Matemadanda were not arrested at the behest of President Mugabe as the opposition tries to make us believe.
We have separation of powers in Zimbabwe and it is the judiciary arm of Government that is dealing with Mahiya and Matemadanda. The justice system cannot in any way be influenced by the executive and the same goes for the reverse.
We saw the Zimbabwe People First President, Dr Joice Mujuru, attending the bail hearing of Mahiya. Not very long ago, Dr Mujuru was lashing at the same war veteran whom he accused of being abused by President Mugabe. Today, the ‘villain’ has all of a sudden become a nice man being victimised by Zanu-PF. Suddenly a hero is created in Mahiya.
Of late, our courts of law have become an arena where heroes are created. We recently witnessed one Evan Mawarire being created into a hero during his recent arrest for subversive activities. Thousands of people thronged the Rotton Row Magistrates’ Court to witness Mawarire’s trial and his release triggered wild jubilation from his blind followers who erroneously thought a ‘messiah’ had come. Mawarire is currently holed up in South Africa where he is now seeking asylum, much to the disappointment of those who thought they had found a valiant hero. Now he is remotely egging on his gullible followers to revolt while he is enjoying the comfort of South Africa. The only contribution he is making is to cry while being interviewed by the media. A real hero does not cry, let alone a big boy like him.
We have also seen a renowned South African advocate crossing the Limpopo to come and witness the bail application of the little known Mahiya. One wonders what is really in Mahiya that has attracted global attention.
I am not sure if Mahiya himself is pleased with the hordes of sympathisers coming to witness his trial because at times you are better off without any solidarity than getting it from the devil. There is a hidden agenda behind the crocodile tears that are being shed.
Advocate Nelson Chamisa, one of the controversially appointed MDC-T vice-presidents was also there and so were many other officials from his party. Adv Chamisa, of all the people! We all know that the man hates war veterans with a passion. What has changed in Mahiya that all of a sudden he has become the darling of the opposition political parties? The scheme is not so sophisticated to demand an equally sophisticated mind to see through.
The opposition leaders came to the Rotton Row Magistrates’ Court with a brief to win the soul and heart of the ‘persecuted’ war veterans.
Dr Alex Magaisa summed it up in his article where he urged political parties to show solidarity with war veterans. Dr Magaisa cited Chinese war strategist, Sun Tzu’s concept of using “the conquered foe to augment one’s own strength.
“When you are a fisherman, you do not go fishing in your own fish pond and claim that you have caught new fish. You go to the river and try to catch new fish to add to the fishpond,” said Dr Magaisa.
The opposition has taken heed from this learned law lecturer. They went to Rotten Row to trawl new fish for their fish ponds. ZimPF and MDC-T are attempting to provide an alternative political home for the disgruntled comrades but their chances are next to zero.
The opposition parties are not lost to the reality that the war veterans are the vanguard of Zanu-PF. It is a Zanu-PF constituency that is very effective in mobilising the vote. The antagonism between a section of the war veterans and Zanu-PF came as an early Christmas for the opposition.
While these pretenders force tears out, they are nicodemously praying for the continuation of those squabbles for they believe they will profit from them.
One thing they are closing their eyes to is the fact that ZNLWVA is not Mahiya and vice-versa. While they are trying to court the war veterans, they must have shocks for a rude awakening for there is a likelihood of winning only one or two disgruntled war veterans.
The freedom fighters are deeply rooted in the ideology of Zanu-PF and an attempt to remove them from that ideological standing will be a tall order for the opposition.
