It never rains but it pours for MDC-T

It never rains but it pours for the opposition party MDC-T, the party has suspended its high ranking party leaders including the party president Morgan Tsvangirai.

Tsvangirai and his lieutenants who include Deputy president, Thokozani Khuphe, national organising secretary Nelson Chamisa and party spokesman Douglas Mwonzora among others were suspended on Saturday by senior officials led by Tendai Biti on allegations of breaching the party ‘s constitution and using violence to silence dissenting voices.

MDC-T infighting escalates

The party’s factionalism has taken different strides, with recent developments being the worst and threatening its collapse. To every one’s amazement and confusion the national assembly that suspended the party leaders was not a legit one, there is another assembly with a different  perspective from the one led by Biti.

One really wonders what could have happened if a party with such confusion was voted into power in the previous elections. As Mudzuri said in his facebook page:

“How does one speak of solving the country’s problems when one house is burning? We need to resolve the conflict in our house first and the address the country’s problems. As Zimbabweans, we must indulge in honest, robust and constructive debate about the goings –on in the MDC with a view to assisting the feuding parties who have lost each other to find common ground.”

The party has been rocked with infighting for the past years, with recent factionalism in the party threatening the party’s collapse. What the national assembly decided on Saturday might be democratic in its way, but the party ‘s failure to resolve their issues in a mature manner has exposed how dis-organised the party is. As we await for what the legit national assembly has to say about the actions of the other “National Council” critics have argued that there is no way the party will be able to unite and be stronger as it was in 2008.

In the past years , MDC-T has seen strong leaders such as Welshman Ncube leaving the party and forming other parties. If Biti, Elton Mangoma and Sipepa Nkomo leave the party, Tsvangirai must be guaranteed of facing a tough competition in the 2018 elections. The chances are high that Biti will join forces with Welshman Ncube and Tsvangirai ‘s votes will further be split.

Boko Haram kinaps over 100 students

Boko Haram militants

Boko Haram has intensified its insurgency by abducting more than 200 students in North-eastern, Nigeria.

Of the 230 students abducted by the Islamic militants from the Government Girls Secondary School in the Nigerian town of Chibok about 190 are still missing, reports say.

This is not one of the worst incidences the Islamist militant group has executed, in the early hours of 25 February 2014, the terrorists invaded Federal Government College in Buni Yadi, Yobe State and slaughtered at least 50 school pupils, many of whom were asleep at the time. On the 6^th of July 2013, they attacked another government school at Mamudo, also in Yobe State and killed over 40

Boko Haram kidnaps girl students

pupils. In September 2013, the terrorists also attacked Gujiba College of Agriculture, slaying pupils and teachers in the male dormitory. The Baga massacre of over 200 men, women and children in April 2013 was a major tragedy of the Boko Haram insurgency, but the greatest single tragedy was in Dogo Hawa, Plateu State, where over 500 people were massacred in one cruel go- with a high number of child victims involved.

 Boko Haram — whose name means “Western education is sin” in the local Hausa language — says it wants to impose a stricter enforcement of Sharia law across Africa’s most populous nation.

The group has gone about its misguided mission with such depressing regularity that residents have become somewhat numb. The government has on the other hand failed to stop the militant group.

Boko Haram has caused more harm in Nigeria and the abduction of the school girls is clear that the militant group needs to be stopped. It’s actions has been detrimental to human rights, many children have been killed and some hindered from pursuing their education. Years have gone and the saddest part has been the failure to curb the troublesome group.

President Zuma “Nkandla was Built by my Family and not Government funds

South African President, Jacob Zuma denies that the money that was used to build his Nkandla rural home was government money. In the video Zuma accounts for the money that was used to build his much debated Nkandla homestead.

Welshman Ncube Resurfaces : As opposition parties coalition is proposed

MDC- leader Welshman Ncube resurfaces after catastrophic defeat in the 2013 pesidential elections

Nearly a month after election defeat, MDC leader, Welshman Ncube disappeared from the limelight only to resurface now  dismissing the leadership suitability of MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the proposed coalition of opposition parties to challenge Zanu-PF in the 2018 elections.

Prof Ncube ‘s party won a handful of wards but failed to win any directly elected parliamentary seat, only to scrap through  with four after the mathematics of proportional representation had been done. He got some 90 000 votes in the presidential race.

MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai

Between now and then , Prof Ncube led party has lost atleast 5 senior leaders who publicly left  his party for MDC-T dillusionment caused by the crashing defeat and what they call absence  of direction from the top. There is a possibility that tens and hundreds more in the rank and file have left the party but Prof Ncube has kept his silence regardless.

Surprisingly the talk of a coalition has seen the Prof returning to write off Tsvangirai ‘s capacity to lead the coalition if ever it materialises. The question is if Tsvangirai is not the leader who does he think should be the leader? Tsvangirai has proven over the years that he has mass appeal and Prof Welsh on the other hand, has proved that he has the brains but not the mass appeal. Critics have even argued that Prof tends to drift into abstract academic matters and does not relate with bread and butter aspects needed to win over the majority vote.

Tsvangirai on the other hand, although he has the mass appeal his actions in the past few months has shown that he is a dictator who finds it hard to allow other members to freely express their views. An illustrative example in this respect has been the firing of Elton Mangoma and four others. Given this circumstance if the coalition is to be formed, Tsvangirai will not agree to any president elect expect himself to lead.

While Prof Ncube is back on the limelight and is fighting against Tsvangirai’s leadership the blogger feels it is just a waste of time.  He has failed twice to rally a significant number of  electorates. People know Tsvangirai and are familiar with him and surely the coalition should not risk losing by nominating Welsh as the leader.

Zimbabwe Lacks a viable mechanism to eliminate graft

The Government of Zimbabwe should take stern measures against officials  found engaging in corruption, as failure to do so undermines the country’s socio economic development. The media, in the past few months has been exposing parastatal officials and legislators who have been squandering funds however, for months not even a single exposed  individual has been held accountable. Clearly, a failure by the government to handle or prosecute corruption perpetrators abusing the country’s resources.

We have police, we have laws and we also have Parliament that can sit and create sharper laws that’s if they are no measures available to prosecute corruption perpetrators. The silence against corruption allegations however, goes on to show that some animals are better than others. They are special people above the law.

Hurungwe West Legislator,Temba Mliswa involved in a $165 million scandal, Mutasa, Savanhu and Nyabadza sucked in

Zimbabwe National Liberation War veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda was last week heard in the media saying the country was lacking a viable mechanism to eliminate graft even  after the media had played its part. For that I surely agree with Cde  Sibanda, for the greatest threat in the country is corruption and must be stopped.

Zimbabwe War Veterans Leader, Jabulani Sibanda

“ You found out that a minister is fingered in corruption and is transferred to another ministry and within an hour in that  new ministry he will be carrying on with his corruption activities,” said Jabulani Sibanda

Surely a leopard does not change its spots, It has been the government ‘s routine to transfer people so as to cover up corrupt tendencies of Ministers. In 1983 after Geoffrey Nyarota exposed the Watergate scandal involving government Ministers, the then editor of Chronicle was promoted and moved from his job so as to stop any further corrupt exposes. Yes the government might have done a great job then to cover up the situation but now its 2014 and there is a need to prosecute corrupt government officials.  If stiff penalties were introduced and thieves prosecuted that would send a message to any government official thinking of stealing.

As we celebrate 34 years of Independence we need economic and social change and that can only be done by stopping corrupt tendencies within government senior positions.

Biti faces MDC-T exit

Expelled MDC-T national executive member, Last Mangema has made utterances that MDC-T secretary general Tendai Biti is likely to lose his post  amid calls from the opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai to step down.

MDC-T has already expelled Elton Mangoma, Promise Mkhwanazi, and Jacob Mafume for agitating for the party renewal. While MDC-T has not publicly announced that they would be punishing Tendai Biti, Tsvangirai‘s trend of expelling those who oppose him gives us a reason to suspect Biti could be the next person to be axed out of the party.

MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai likely to expel Tendai Biti

Tendai Biti has in the last few months also expressed dissatisfaction of the party leader Tsvangirai and even appraised Zanu-PF manifesto and said it is the reason why MDC-T lost in the last year‘s elections. These sentiments caused murmurs in the party and Tsvangirai did not take them lightly.

Tendai Biti faces exit for disgruntlement over MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai

While Tsvangirai has went on a spree to dismiss everyone who goes against him, the question crossing my mind is if he is the true democrat he purports to be? People have eyes and are watching come 2018 they definitely won’t vote for a leopard whose spots they now know.

From the look of things Tsvangirai faces a risk of being left out in the all opposition party coalition if he doesn’t spruce up his image. He has a lot of disgruntled members he has fired from the party who are vocal enough to oppose him  from being selected as the leader of the coalition. If he fails to be part of the coalition it seems his votes will further be divided and he will not be winning any election in his life time. Tsvangirai has already lost three elections and last year’s election highlighted that he was quickly losing support from the electorate.

He might have tried to campaign early and ensure he presents a formidable party, however, his intolerance of opposing views has reduced his party to a shell. Tsvangirai has dismissed all resourceful people in his party and continue to do so, leaving many without a doubt that the party will never be the same again.

MDC-T expells Mangoma

Elton Mangoma assaulted and someone holding a placard that says he must go

The deputy treasurer-general of the MDC-T and notorious rebel, Elton Mangoma has been expelled from the party for gross indiscipline.

Mangoma made waves last month when he suggested that MDC-T leader, Morgan Tsvangirai steps down from the presidential seat. He was not the first to pull the bull by its horns, but his sentiments had earlier also been echoed by the party secretary general Roy Bennett.

While, MDC –T‘s spokesperson, Douglas Mwonzora has argued that Mangoma deserved to be expelled from the party for leaking privacy information, some critics have seen the move as putting to rest the renewal team’s push to oust Tsvangirai..

 Journalist and political commentator Itai Dzamara said : “Mangoma’s expulsion and that of the three others effectively puts this whole saga to an end. There will be no split from this…at least it gives them a chance to form their own party if they wish.

Another commentator, Jabulani Dube said by expelling Mangoma, MDC-T layered the rules for any other rebel that would want to challenge Tsvangirai ‘s leadership.

Given the above, MDC-T has set parameters for rebels and has reflected that Tsvangirai is there to stay and no one will remove him from the presidential seat.

Though Mangoma did not only challenge the leadership, but also went on a spree of rallies discrediting Tsvangirai, the least the party could have done was to send him into a disciplinary hearing and give him the chance to defend his actions.

Everyone has the right to express their views and what Mangoma did was justified. Maybe if MDC-T was open enough they could have seen that was expressing his disappointment over the failure of the party leadership for over a decade to defeat the Zanu-PF government.

 While daggers are all out for Mangoma, the hope is that the party made the best decision and they will be no factions bedevilling the party. Welshman left the MDC-T because of Tsvangirai ‘s dictatorial stances, Mangoma has been expelled for challenging him and the lingering question is whose next?

Nkandla Upgrade: Zuma ‘s worst mistake

South Africa’s National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu has set up an ad hoc committe to consider the submissions made by President Jacob Zuma in response to Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s report on upgrades to his Nkandla homestead
Eyewitness News reported that the 12 member hoc committee will be made up of seven ANC members, two DA members, one from IFP and one from Cope. Eight smaller parties will be represented by a final member. The committee would determine its own procedure, frequency and time of its meetings but its report should be no later than 30 April 2014.

South Africa’s National Assembly Speaker, Max Sisulu

Nkandla report

Jacob Zuma and Thuli Madonsela

Among Thuli Madonsela,the public prosecutor ‘s findings were that Zuma unduly benefited from the upgrades to his KwaZulu-Natal homestead, and that he should pay back a portion of the money. The Nkandla upgrade is estimated at R246m.

As much as, it is a good move that will give closure to the electorate as they go to vote , for both Jacob Zuma and the ANC it might sound the death knell of their popularity among the electorate. Zuma in his campaigns has defended himself and said he didn’t know about the upgrade and as such must not be held accountable for it. However, it is too late for him because the parliament needs answers and investigations have been set to probe more until there is transparency on the issue. Zuma ‘s delay tactics on the issue and lies have not helped but have intensified investigations on him to prove he is guilty.
The blogger hopes that Zuma didn’t make a blunder by lying before the parliament and the public, for the results may back fire and be his worst nightmare. Lingering questions are how will he look at the parliament and people? But knowing Zuma, he has something up on his sleeve, for actions are never taken without a plan for their consequences, especially if you are a manipulative leader.
Corrruption has been a cancer in Africa, with most of it emanating from leading government officials, if anything better, what is happening in South Africa should be a yardstick for al African countries. People have suffered and corruption must be stopped for the benefit of the public.
What the hoc committee will discover is still a mystery and we hope it wont be Jacob Zuma ‘s worst nightmare!

 

Julius Malema : A new figure to reckon with in African Politics

“Politics can provide swift theatricals to change events within a split of a second. At the Mandela funeral, when the cameras rolled from an applause (President Obama) to booing (Jacob Zuma) an electro-political rhythm in the South African (SA) heart of politics received quite a strange signal. A wave of the cynicism of the African National Congress dirty laundry has gone viral. Along the way came political debates across SA, and who would dare leave out Comrade Julius Sello Malema in this political theatre. Malema has suddenly been thrown into the limelight to inject some political electrodes to ignite and create a phenomenally new chapter of African politics. How does the real Malema fit in the puzzle of SA politics and to a larger extent, in the titanic of African politics?”,said Tariro Kapurura.

Julius Malema at a rally in Salsoburg
Julius Malema at the EFF rally in Salsoburg

EFF ‘S RALLY

Julius Malema has taken South African politics with storm, from an expelled ANC youth leader to a force of threat to the party that groomed him. No one can deny that Economic Freedom Fighters ‘ Malema ‘s party is a force to reckon with the country’s youths. Malema is very popular with the young generation of SA. His party embraces the Zimbabwean political framework, though implying a different approach to “Mugabe”, as the South Africans seem to call the ZANU PF Michelangelo, Malema has observed that African Patriotism is not a force to be tempered with. Mugabe, by many accounts; from freedom fighting, former affiliations with the ANC activists, propaganda use against the West and the fist-of-Africa bearer, remains popular among the SA people. The Marikana incident crystallised the Malema-Mugabe force making the two appear as logical politicians who still are proud to be on the side of the African`s troubled soul of resilience, even if this comes with a cult of rebellious personality.
The Westernised politicians in SA may not have enough tolerance for a nationalist leader who aspires to an independent neutralist course not to mention a socialist one. However, Malema is poised to prove to be the common yet simple alternative, or rather puzzle, to retain the African machismo and virility that has always been at fight with the external forces.
The Malema political clock has begun to tick faster, following the registration of the EFF in July 2013 as a political party. His rallies have proved to he is a force to reckon with among many South Africans. Zuma`s fall from grace, accusations of corruption, citing the Nkandlagate extravagant home saga and the Guptagate family scandal, lack of education progression to the majority of South Africans and a host of other remarkable shortfalls have been ingredients to pollinate the Malema ideology.
Come 7 May,  the election day we wait to see if the number in the EFF rallies translate to votes!!!!

AS Rwanda celebrates its 20th Genocide Anniversary

Rwandans pay their respect to their lost loved ones, during the 20th genocide anniversary

As Rwanda marks the 20th genocide anniversary, our hope is that Africa ‘s Agenda 2063, aspiration 4 efforts  of achieving a peaceful and secure Africa are realised.  One would think that the Rwandan genocide was the end to homophobia or wars in Africa. However, over two decades Africa still struggles to solve power struggles, religious extremism and homophobia bedeviling the continent. Many people continue to lose their lives, homes and be displaced in the continent. 

In 1994, Hutu extremists in Rwanda targeted minority ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus in a three month killing spree that left an estimated 800 000 people dead. Hutu attackers burned down churches with hundreds or thousands of Tutsis inside. In some cases, wielding machetes, they entered homes and slaughtered children and grandparents.The violence was triggered by the death of President Juvenal Habyarimana, an ethnic Hutu, in a plane crash April 6, 1994. The armed forces of Kagame’s Rwandan Patriotic Front eventually defeated the troops, stopping the wave of bloodletting.

While Rwandans seem to have solved their struggle and found closure, 20 years down the line an
analysis of the African continent shows that everyday in Nigeria hundreds of Christians are massacred or killed by the Boko Haram militant group. A feud that has taken over a decade to end and still seems so far to end.

Democratic Republic of Congo is another country that has been in conflict for the past five years over natural resources. The country has led to the death of over 3 million people in the country. Despite a peace deal and the formation of a transitional government in 2003, people in the east of the country remain in terror of marauding militias and the army. In early 2013 the UN secured a regional agreement to end the M23 rebellion in eastern areas, and the group’s alleged founder Bosco Ntaganda surrendered to the International Criminal Court to face war-crimes charges.Rwanda and Uganda denied UN accusations that they had supported the M23 group, but the region remains volatile
As if that is enough Central African Republic has been a nation engulfed with civil war that has led to the deaths of hundreds and thousands of civilians and young children.
As Rwanda celebrates its 20th genocide anniversary, we hope and pray that African statesman see this as an opportunity to stop the war bedeviling and stalling the continent ‘s growth.