Charles Motsi
Linda Masarira burst onto the scene as a defender of human rights and quickly became popular in opposition circles and a darling of many in the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and civic society organisations even though she was not officially part of any political establishment, she made a name for herself.
Her participation in protests and other forms of mass action made her a worthy candidate for recruitment for those who opposed government and pursuing a regime change agenda. This brought her in contact with most of the top players and gave her an inside look into some of the unsavoury tactics that the opposition and other civic organisation used in their attempt to unseat Zanu PF as a ruling party.
Now, all of a sudden the same people who equipped her with the means to unseat government are crying foul because she has started to divulge some of their dirty little secrets. The principal victim in the Masarira exposé has been MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa, who is finding himself exposed for the hypocrite that he is.
Chamisa has been trying to convince the world that he is this peace loving saint who is always a victim of State brutality and conspiracies. He even misrepresented to the world that he had disbanded the MDC militia known as the Vanguard after they had tried to torch the hut, the then MDC-T vice president, Thokozani Khupe, had sought refuge at the funeral of the late opposition movement leader, Morgan Tsvangirai. The same violent outfit is still in existence and got a thumbs up at their party’s 19th anniversary celebrations.
Since then Masarira has been on a war path with the youthful opposition leader as she gives proof after proof of how the MDC is nothing but a violent grouping led by a leader who will stop at nothing to amass power even if it means using criminal and unconstitutional means to get his way.
The straw that finally broke the camel’s back which led to Masarira outing her former comrades was probably the continued attacks and attempts on her new president’s (Khupe) life, at the funeral and again in Bulawayo. Masarira felt it was her duty to show the world the true face of Chamisa and his violent MDC outfit.
After the August 1 violent demonstrations, which were meant to tarnish the 2018 elections, Masarira came out and outlined how this violent act was pre-planned on the event that Chamisa had lost the election. She gave evidence of how MDC had had youths trained in South Africa and Zambia to carry out coordinated attacks on government and Zanu PF institutions, as was witnessed during the August 1 protests. She went on to maintain this under oath before the Motlanthe Commission.
This week Masarira leaked an audio recording of a telephone conversation she had with Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Director, Rashid Mahiya. In the audio, that has now gone viral, Mahiya can be heard trying to plead with Masarira not to divulge any more secrets of the MDC’s Modus Operandi.
In the audio Masarira confronts Mahiya on how they were all privy to the fact that MDC elements had had training in Zambia and how they resolved to carry out acts of violence to destabilise government in the event that Chamisa had failed in the 2018 elections. These operations, according to the audio, had to be clandestine and would have to leave no trace of the MDC’s hand as the main protagonist. This was hot off the heels of the country being subjected to a week of violence in the guise of peaceful stay-ways.
Masarira’s revelations called into question Chamisa’s claims that the MDC had nothing to do with the week-long forced stay way. The Shonas have a saying which says chinoziva ivhu kuti mwana wembeva anorwa, loosely translated this means that only those in the inside can be sure of the truth of what is going on.
This writer would like to applaud the efforts by Masarira to expose Chamisa and present him and his party for the violent mongers that they are, we should not really be surprised after all they did promise that they would make this country ungovernable if they lost the election.
