by Brian Dlamini
The planned countrywide demonstrations by the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC-Alliance) would yield nothing positive for the general populace other than more violence, looting, loss of lives, destruction of property and boost egos of the leadership of the beleaguered movement.
Following a relatively peaceful 30 July 2018 plebiscite, that party engaged in all forms of post-election violence in order to destabilise peace and stability enjoyed by the nation.
On 1 August 2018, violent protests broke out in Harare after the MDC-Alliance supporters engaged in running battles with the police, demanding the release of the presidential results which they claimed they were being ‘rigged’ in favour of ZANU PF.
Since then, MDC top officials have been itching for more violence as they rally their supporters to engage in mass protests.
The whole of 2019 was punctuated by the MDC planned terror which saw the party supporters being confrontational with the police. In August 2019, MDC protesters gathered in Harare city centre for the Free Zimbabwe peace march organised by the party in defiance of a police prohibition order. The supporters overran the police and went marching through CBD singing and chanting slogans denouncing the government.
Subsequent demonstrations were then slated for all the country’s major cities that include Bulawayo, Masvingo, Gweru and Masvingo. This prompted police to issue more prohibition orders against the intended protests citing fears of violence and destruction to property.
Since the beginning of this year, the MDC has continued to issue the same threat of planned mass demonstrations, with the latest threat coming from their party leader, Nelson Chamisa.
Addressing a media conference in Harare, last week, Wednesday, Chamisa rallied his supporters to participate in planned mass protests and urged them to engage in a ‘revolution.’
“Protests are coming…. The people are ready and all we need to do is to give the oxygen for the action. A revolution is a decision. Anger is growing across the whole country, and anger is going to be the catalyst and fertiliser to a revolution,” said Chamisa.
Earlier, last week, another party top official, MDC deputy national chairperson, Job Sikhala who presents himself as a ‘warlord’ promised more fresh mass demonstrations against the government as he claimed that he was now in a ‘dangerous mood.’
Not to be left out – MDC youths led by their national leader Obey Sithole have also been itching for mass demonstrations. Soon after Chamisa’s media conference in Harare, last week Wednesday, the MDC youths staged an illegal demonstration around the Copacabana area in central Harare disrupting smooth flow of traffic and people during the peak hour.
So far, these mass demonstrations have yielded nothing meaningful except massive acts of violence, loss of lives, looting and destruction to property.
The same old rhetoric is being adopted by the MDC, that is, to engage in all sorts of demonstrations until the next elections in 2023.
Over the years they have been adopting the same strategy of mass demonstrations and this has never brought anything meaningful to their quest for power. The mass demonstrations have failed dismally to dislodge the ZANU PF led Government from power.
Going forward, Chamisa must sober up, leave the demonstrations route and find other amicable ways to engage the government. He should consider engaging President Mnangagwa through the Political Actors Dialogue (Polad) – a dialogue platform solely created for all 2018 Presidential candidates to proffer solutions to the challenges that confront us as a nation, through peaceful, open and transparent discourse.
