By Takunda Chimwaka
“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it”, is a quote from Martin Luther King.
Of late the embattled opposition political party MDC has been bedevilled with violence, an occurrence which undermines our democratic political sphere.
The party has since upon its inception, declared itself a democratic party as the name entails, yet it is dominated by gross physical abuse of others members if ever they challenge their bloodthirsty leadership. One would then wonder if democracy is a misnomer in such a set up.
The pre and post MDC national 5th elective Congress had been rocked with power squabbles and mistrust amongst the party leadership which has created factional fights across provinces.
Little attention has been paid to the development of party structures to meet the resolutions made at the said elective congress, the results of which are being witnessed time and again as the party is being walloped at each by-election.
The continuous victimisation of members of the Mwonzora camp is a clear indication that democracy remains a myth in the party. The party has been on record of labelling Zanu PF a violent party, yet the truth is unveiling itself.
Earlier this week, the two warring factions Mwonzora and Chamisa camps so to speak, engaged in violent fights at the party’s Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House (MRTH) in Harare following the continuous victimisation of Mwonzora by the dominant Chamisa faction.
Mwonzora remains a target of Chamisa following his previous endeavour to challenge him at the Congress despite being stripped of the powerful Secretary General post to a mere deputy Secretary of International Relations.
It makes one wonder whether it is a crime to contest for a post, or is the MDC constitution able to protect the rights of members. Definitely the recent incidences of violence would give an answer as NO.
The behaviour being replicated by the MDC leadership is that of destroyers not builders. A house full of confusion is constituted by violence and it’s a proper sign of incompetence.
It is in the same vein that one would also wonder why MDC hooligans create a lawlessness society by harassing motorists at MRTH and physically attacking police officers in public. These are just signs of incompetent leadership prevailing within this party.
It is such incompetence which triggers the dismal loss of MDC in all the recently held by-elections amid its popular claims that President Mnangagwa’s administration is illegitimate.
Basically competence entails being there for the electorate, a vision which is being portrayed by Zanu PF.
There is nothing tangible being offered by MDC to the rural electorate and even in the urban councils where they dominate as a result of protest vote whilst offering below par service which has resulted in deadly water borne diseases like cholera and typhoid time and again.
What we are witnessing in our mainstream opposition political party is power obsession coupled with lack of political vision which results in such behaviour, a behaviour which will soon erode its competence and relevance in the political sphere.
Uninformed social media users from MDC have gone on rampage verbal attack of the dialogue platform initiated by President Mnangagwa citing that it is waste of time. The question would be what is more meaningful which is coming out of the banditry and barbaric behaviour portrayed by MDC except engaging in “kudira jecha” in all the good being done by the Second Republic.
The so-called vanguard is mistaken that it should be a vanguard for violence instead of being a vanguard of socio economic development.
Violence begets violence, and no leader who uses or relies on it can lead Zimbabwe.
