Prof Jonah is only an insignificant part of the bigger problem
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(+4 rating, 3 votes) Loading ...By JIRIHANGA MUGADZAWETA
Published: February 28, 2010
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Prof Jonah is only an insignificant part of the problem
In 1999, the late and lamented Julius Nyerere coined a wise saying that if you are sjambokked and then you take the sjambok from your assailant and they repeat with another sjambok, better disable the source of the sjamboks lest the thrashing will continue unabated. Unfortunately, the revered politician met his karma in the very same year.
Rest in peace Mwalimu! We Zimbabweans have been routinely been subjected to the sjambokking that Nyerere alluded to but at times mistaking the sjambok for the assailant, kupedza nguva tichiuraya nhunzi iro ronda richikura. The latest sjambok is however a miraculous one since when we thought it had been withdrawn and was no longer going to assail us, it did boomerang, sjambok Jonah.
There is the biblical parable of Jonah who was sent by the creator to Nineveh but stubbornly refused. He was then swallowed by a shark and spat on land after he was running away from executing the creator’s orders. Local Jonah seems to have been sent to dislodge our imperial president but he is confused on how to go about it. The man rose to prominence during the infamous Constitution Commission in 2000 having been hired by Mugabe to prop up his waning propaganda machinery consisted of white hairs and tired ideas. This on its own was an unprecedented volte face by a man who less than a decade before was a scathing critic of Rwavhi Mugabe.
In 1994, he had written an article that appeared in then Ibbo Mandaza owned Moto weekly periodical in which he quoted the oft-quoted BAW Russell’s quote that “there cannot be fruitful initiative without government, but unfortunately, there can be government without fruitful initiative” in apparent reference to the Zanu government of the day. After having been used unsuccessfully to impose the constitution, he was deployed as a minister of information where he was used as a potent tool in tramping upon the rights of the citizenry in a manner unseen before. Later on, there were arguments on who originated with AIPPA and POSA but he as the minister then should be held responsible. His departure in 2005 was occasioned by his violation of the standing taboo of the party by attempting to inject some doses of democracy. He might be a professor of politics but little did he know that his boss abhors anything text bookish.
And what prompted this weapon of mass destruction to return to Zanu? Theories and speculation are rife. He himself professes that he has always supported Zanu’s policies so it was obvious that one day he was going to return home. Sure? Which policies: racism, tribalism and sanctioned looting? During the time when he was cooling off his heels, he categorically stated that he does not belief in politics of patronage and that Zanu is a dead duck on the shelf. True Zanu is dead duck, but why go back to it? The truth of the matter is that Jonah lacks introspection. When he was sacked from Zanu, he thought that the MDC was too daft to let him cross the floor without repentance in direct contravention of the Bohr theory. It was not to be. I concretely remember Chamisa saying that they can only associate with him on things democratic but would never assimilate him. In his own words, Jonah haangakwire chitima chichifamba, anokuvara. Basically his resurgence at Zanu was prompted by Zanu’s desperation to have someone to run their propaganda machinery. On his part, he realized that he had written his political obituary by disobeying Mugabe. There you are a desperate man and a desperate lady into a marriage of convenience, no true love. For Jonah it is for the politics of the pocket practiced by Zanu while for Mugabe, to have a convenient sjambok with which to flog recalcitrant followers. He voted with his stomach and the latter is known not to be a good political advisor. He now forms part of Mugabe’s arsenal again, albeit for a fee.
Yes the sjamboks are culpable since they are the ones that leave the imprints on our flesh, how about the assailer who acquires and applies them onto us? Abuses commenced long back, before we even knew of Jonah. There was the Gukurahundi/Entumbane which is synonymous to Perence Shiri excesses, murder. It is squarely heaped on his shoulders and the Fifth Brigade that he headed. Fine, they killed, they committed crimes against humanity, genocide but who had sent them to do so? If they were sent to simply sniff out the rebels, why did their slaughter of innocent women and kids go on uncensored? All the operations were, therefore, well planned from above that is why there is no remorse about the disgusting episode of our post- independence history up to now on the part of Zanu. Next time we discuss Gukurahundi, let’s not talk only about the Fifth Brigade alone. It was a weapon specially acquired for a purpose which it did. It’s all Mugabe’s malign and the moment we finish the talk of Gukurahundi without the mention of his name we are focusing on the sjambok and not its user. We risk withdrawing the former which will be promptly replaced and the onslaught on us continues unabated.
And there is the scourge of tribalism. Who said the Ndebeles are jointly cruel, inferior? Who said all the Shonas are murderers, they hate Ndebeles? All these assertions are a result of Mugabe’s self-succession gambit. Nkomo did not fail to lead Zapu neither are there any reports of his complicit in the deaths of Zapu cadres during or after the liberation struggle. So which Ndebele is cruel, may be Enos Nkala, but still he was a Zanu member and any orders he carried out were Mugabe’s, therefore, very Shona. Of course there were issues of pre-colonial cattle rustling by Lobengula’s subjects that Mugabe and his hoodlums base their hatred of the Ndebeles on. But can cattle rustling be avenged by the decimation of a tribe? And where is the evidence to suggest that Mugabe’s own ancestors were disposed of their beasts? There are murderers amongst the Shona especially those that commit the political atrocities from time to time, not all of us. And the loath of Ndebeles is Zanu policy; it is not a written Shona ethos or a tribal trait. My claim that tribalism is a Zanu credo is not be based on supposition but on facts. Who is Nathaniel Manheru, George Charamba? If ever we claim that there is unity between former Zapu and Zanu, why would he (on behalf of Zanu) write let alone print unprintable vulgar such as “Jonathan transgressed racial and tribal boundaries to come and have land in the heartland of Mashonaland”?(Herald, Saturday 8 July 2006- Professional folly). The next time that there is talking tribal inferiority, criminality bear in mind that it is just a myth, a weapon crafted by Mugabe in order to obtain and retain power at the expense of his opponents, it is not true.
Yet Gukurahundi is at times blamed on the then minister of defence, Enos Nkala but the sixty-four million dollar question remains, whose orders was he carrying out? Anyone who clearly understands Mugabe should know by now that the man does not allow his subordinates any leeway, Enos was following Mugabe’s orders to the letter. After Enos quit cabinet in the face of the Willowgate scandal, the army’s shenanigans did not cease. Soon after in 1990, there was an election in which Tekere’s Zum supporters and cadres were routinely harangued. One of the victims was Patrick Kombayi. Of course Mugabe had just reached for his infinite arsenal and plucked a more vicious weapon in the wake of Nkala’s departure.
Fast forward to the madness of year 2000. Over the years, evil minds had learnt that it pays to pay to wine and dine with Rwavhi, especially without a long spoon up sleeve. Willing weapons of mass destruction were, therefore, available in superabundance. New weapons were thus unleashed to compliment those already in existence. We found ourselves under the torment of Border and Hitler both new sjamboks and an old one named Moven. The masses prayed and fasted others even visited Gaurani with the objective of exorcising the trio. It paid instant dividends than is usually the case. Within a space of two years, the creator recalled all of them bringing much needed relief to the suffering masses. Our reprieve was, however quite temporary. Rwavhi the assailant went on to unleash new weapons to continue from where the departed trio led left. In came an Elliott, Andrew and Sydney respectively. Of interest being Elliott who took over Border’s cabinet portfolio, his provincial chairmanship, his party position and also his wife, kugara nhaka huona dzavamwe wena. With Mugabe still wielding power, it seems the new demons were out to outdo their predecessors. We were again left heaping blame on the goons thereby exonerating their employer, Rwavhi who meanwhile was busy buying more shelf life.
Weapons continued to flow in from different sources. Gono at Mugabe’s purse, Saviour, Joao, Chigwedere, Chivaura, Nhara, Tafataona. Others were even hired from overseas with the sole mandate of exacerbating our national vicissitudes. There was Menashe, Coltrane Chimurenga and Cde Chavez all coming to tell us that Mugabe was indispensable and how fortunate we are as a nation to have him as our leader. We were to spend the whole six years blaming Gono for the worst inflation ever experienced in world history. Yes he is partly to blame for availing himself for use in pressing the national self-destruction button but by whom? Now his boss does not want to dispense with him because he knows quite well that he needs to repeat the cardinal blunder in economics, printing money on bond paper and no one else may be prepared to do it. Missiles Saviour and Joao are performing excellent work of maintaining their uncle in power by hook or by crook. They are used in cabinet and as youth leaders, to recruit power children from the rural to the notorious youth service. Of late, they led a mafia to dismantle the constitutional reform indaba to the chagrin of the MDC. Chigwedere, Chivaura, Nhara and Tafataona are routinely hired to remind us that our sacred culture does not allow us to denigrate let alone call for the departure of our kings. They know that they are sending the wrong message but they are paid for with our money. They feel sacred in their own right that is why Nhara died in diamond deals, he was too conceited.
Rwavhi’s intentions with his weapons are quite explicit: from each according to their work to each according to their promotion. Weapons that did not perform or questioned why their job description included weird clauses found themselves on the job market again. Makoni and Nkosana Moyo brought their brains to cabinet and soon found themselves at odds with Mugabe. Welshman Mabhena could not dance kongonya and lost the Matabeleland governorship to Obert. Emmanuel Chimwanda brought his bible to the police station to read out the “thou shall not kill” commandment to his subordinates, he was fired without the need to follow protocol. Gula-Ndebele could not stay long as the attorney-general for wanting to tame the institution. Now is he up the garden path challenging Mugabe on his dismissal. There you are; the rot is sanctioned by Rwavhi himself. Due to lack candour we are often found blaming the monsters that are sent to torment us not enquiring of and dealing with their master.
There are a lot of other non-living decoys that have been thrown up by Rwavhi to buy precious political space of late. Do you remember the jatropha project and the pomp and fanfare the accompanied its inauguration? And who seriously believes that any diesel can be extracted from the plant to serve both the country’s needs and export? But to some gullible chaps, a sense of hope was aroused, thereby attracting attention away from Mugabe’s misrule and looting. A lot of debating was also done around the domestic violence bill while the nation had more pertinent issues to address. It was Mugabe’s contention that domestic violence had surged to an unprecedented level so had to be drastically curbed via a piece of legislation. But isn’t it given that when economic problems rise, so do social ones? Therefore domestic violence is a subset of inflation. Anyway he used it as a tool to buy time yet he was the cause. Jonah is likewise being used to divert attention away from real issues and hopelessly focusing on his political resurrection.
The turn of the decade had been greeted with much national hope- the GNU, the economy on the mend and the constitutional reforms for the first time in our lifetime. Yet the honeymoon appears to be over with the blandishing of bazooka Jonah by Mugabe. Talk has suddenly shifted from all the good of the prior year to the impending harm to be occasioned by Jonah on his second coming. The man is venomous and foul mouthed and there is need to be wary of his actions but who sanctions such actions after all and writes out a cheque on Jonah’s invoice for work done? At least there is already talking of Tsholostsho II which may hasten his departure from the Zanu formation. All this should not be of much concern to us anyway for with or without him, we have suffered under Mugabe disguised as Zanu. There are still multitudes of wicked-minded Zimbos out there prepared to do anything for money let alone at ministerial level. Focusing on Jonah’s second coming is just scrapping the bottom of a barrel, kupedzera mapfumo kumakunguwo idzo njiva dzichaza. Our national misfortunes cannot in any way be wholly attributed to Jonah; they are of Mugabe’s making.
The trend is becoming more disturbing. MDC’s angel Gabriel has crossed the dreaded Rubicon, from the Mutambara faction to Zanu. Multitudes have described as a non-event, but I would beg to differ. Remember he was once a pivotal member of the original MDC. It is a move that leaves me baffled, he may become a lethal whip to whip us into line on time for the coming election.
Mzee Nyerere still believed like Dante that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those that elect ignore suffering people. I then wonder where those that engineer the suffering itself will end up in. Not to mention those that hire and pay those engineers!!!