The ManicaPost
John Sigauke Post Correspondent
SOCCER fans may remember vividly a soccer match played between Zimbabwe’s Warriors and the Super Eagles of Nigeria some time back at the National Sports Stadium. In that particular match, one Zimbabwean player, as he later confided in his friends, faked injury so that he could also get an opportunity to watch from the terraces the Nigerian boys in action.
That player can be forgiven, for nobody could afford to miss the dexterity of the likes of Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha, Nwankwo Kanu and Julius Aghahowa among others. Even the renowned soccer commentator, Charles Mabika, was fired from ZBC by the then Minister of Information, Professor Jonathan Moyo, for showering praises on Okocha in his commentary during that particular match.
There is a striking resemblance with the political game being played in Zimbabwe. Team Zanu-PF is playing its game in a superb manner that its rivals are left with envy. The protagonists of other opposition parties have joined the rush to join Zanu-PF, the party of the moment. Some have actually dumped their flock to join Zanu-PF. We wish them the best.
Former Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs Mr Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, who was fired in 2014 for aligning with former Vice-President Dr Joice Mujuru’s cabal was the first to express his intention to rejoin Zanu-PF following the resignation of former President Robert Mugabe. Mr Bhasikiti has been jumping from one party to another, starting from Zanu-PF, Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) led by Dr Mujuru, ZPF co-led by Mr Didymus Mutasa and Mr Rugare Gumbo and then ZPF led by Mr Agrippa Mutambara.
Mr Bhasikiti holds the powerful post of secretary-general in his party. Nevertheless, he wants to forgo that commanding post to become an ordinary card-carrying member of the party of the moment. Mr Bhasikiti’s long-time ally, Mr Claudius Makova, has also gone to Zanu-PF, begging on his bended knees for re-admission into the regenerated revolutionary party. Mr Makova, a former Bikita West legislator, has already written to Zanu-PF deputy secretary for administration Cde July Moyo begging for his re-admission.
The re-admission of the two belligerent members will spell the demise of ZPF. The two buddies have been attending Zanu-PF meetings in Masvingo. Who knows, their availability on these meetings may pay dividends as it did to the likes of Cde Webster Shamu. The new dispensation may choose to forgive these lost and found members and subsequently accommodate them. However, that must be done with utmost diligence.
History is replete with people who were re-admitted into the party and went on to cause antagonism within the same. Prof Moyo immediately comes to mind, so do Mr Rugare Gumbo and Mr Dzikamai Mavhaire. These prime examples have already parted ways with the revolutionary party, but not before they triggered chaos. In most cases, they come back with a vengeance.
Mr Makova
Prof Moyo is on record as saying he would never forgive President Emmerson Mnangagwa for not fighting from his corner while he was facing the chop over the Tsholotsho declaration. Nevertheless, the two playmates cannot be judged basing on other people’s commission and omission. There is no harm in Zanu-PF to let bygones be bygones. After all, President Mnangagwa has already urged Zimbabweans to disregard past offences and direct their energies towards rebuilding the economy.
The rush to join the team of the moment has also been witnessed in big opposition parties like the MDC-T. Mr Tsvangirai himself also wanted to be in the echelons of the ruling Government. He had to scupper the chances of young promising politicians such as Advocate Nelson Chamisa just because President Mnangagwa, as reported by his Special Advisor, Cde Chris Mutsvangwa, refused to accept his untenable conditions that include, among others, his inclusion in Government.
We are also told that Mr Tsvangirai himself wanted to nominate the MDC-T officials who were to join Government. It sounded like a Dynamos coach demanding to field players for Highlanders. It is stranger than fiction really. Perhaps Mr Tsvangirai wanted to sabotage the new Government through seconding his deadwood to President Mnangagwa’s administration which is focused on economic growth.
The youthful and promising politicians in the opposition must be wary of leaders who want to drag them into political oblivion. Some of these leaders are now in their political sunset and have nothing to lose if they eternally remain in the opposition. The youths in the opposition must learn from the land reform era during which their leaders discouraged them from benefiting yet they nicodemously got vast tracts of farming land.
