Opposition violence: A leopard never changes its spots
THE adage that the leopard does not change its spots is becoming meaningful in the 21st century.
A reflection on the goings on in the opposition outfit in Zimbabwe is inevitable and it is critical to put that reflection in black and white.
The chronicles of opposition violent tactics and tradition under the guidance of our dear pastor cum- politician, Nelson Chamisa, also christened Wamba or Cobra, are so eye-catching.
He has a penchant for using the back door for his political ascendancy.
The opposition leader also has a grave phobia of criticism. It has become apparent that criticising him paves one’s way into a political wilderness.
Let us start from here: On July 16, 2016, Chamisa was appointed as co-vice president of the MDC-T by Morgan Tsvangirai to serve alongside Elias Mudzuri and Thokozani Khupe.
When the then-party leader, Tsvangirai began battling colon cancer, power struggles ensued in the party, pitting the trio of lieutenants.
Those were the days Wamba warmed up to violent antics in politics.
He rode on the softness and maturity of Mudzuri who would not be dragged into violent politics. Cobra succeeded in elbowing out Mudzuri and continued with his tactic against
Khupe, taking advantage of his relationship with the vanguard, a group of the opposition security section known for violent attacks under the stewardship of Chamisa.
His stewardship of the militant group earned him the moniker “Wamba”.
After Tsvangirai died, opposition factions in the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) descended into violence as they struggled for control.
The violence erupted in Bulawayo, leaving scores injured and properties damaged.
This incident followed other outbursts of violence within that party, including at the February 20 burial of Tsvangirai in Buhera, Manicaland province.
There, scores of MDC-T party youth threw stones at and roughed up party leaders, deputy president Thokozani Khupe, and secretary-general Douglas Mwonzora, trying to prevent them from attending the funeral.
Chamisa and Khupe went their separate ways following the death of Mr Tsvangirai in February 2018 with Khupe insisting that she was the bona fide MDC-T leader because she was the only elected party vice president at Congress. At some point, Chamisa and his vanguard bashed Mwonzora’s supporters at the Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House and damaged properties.
The clashes were occasioned by the power-hunger that existed in that political outfit. Chamisa is relentless in his vicious attacks on his opponents and also has despotic tendencies.
Fast forward to 2018, Chamisa sponsored violence on August 1, in defence of the vote which they claimed had been stolen by Zanu PF. The irony of it is that, Chamisa uses his supporters in violence and abandons them when the long arm of the law catches up with them.
After the August violence, Chamisa went on to insult the supporters, calling them stupid. Their only crime was to fight in his corner.
“It was very stupid even for people who demonstrated, to demonstrate for the results to be released. It was stupid because they then opened themselves to attacks and manipulation,” Chamisa yelled.
Indeed, it was stupid as much as it was politically stupid for Chamisa to utter those insults.
It is too soon for readers to forget these arrogant remarks. But as the German philosopher, Georg Hegel famously noted, “The only thing that we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.”
Indeed, the hoodlums in the opposition do not learn from history. It is only Job Sikhala who, after being abandoned in jail by his leader, decided enough is enough.
The recent violence that was witnessed at the burial of Moreblessing Ali at Zororo Cemetery, found its trace back to Chamisa.
At that gathering, pro-Chamisa supporters disrupted the proceedings while barring Sikhala from presenting. Chamisa’s hand was visible, hence he is the father of the opposition violence in the country.
Imagine if such a character takes over power with the State security apparatus under his control. The people will perish for just criticising him. Everybody is not lost to the fact that the likes of Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, and others were denied the tickets to represent the CCC in the 2023 harmonised general elections because they had some reservations about his ambiguous strategy.
The irony of it is that the opposition’s benefactors choose to be mum as their puppies butcher each other.
It needs no intelligence to guess what would have happened if the recent violence had been perpetrated by Zanu PF.
The opposition mouthpieces would have been awash with damning headlines of Western embassies condemning the violence. That is selective condemnation that exposes the double standard of the West.