By Trevor Makonyonga
It always starts with the women ululating uncontrollably, the men whistling hysterically, the children giving poems of praise and the artists singing songs of praise to the leader. That leader is said to be loved and always promises to bring a better position for the majority yet in turn all they want is the power. Watching the proceedings at the recent MDC-T rally which was held at the Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield, Harare, it is clear to see how Morgan Tsvangirai’s road is mapped straight to realm of dictatorship in the same way most African leaders have been.
Saturday March 8, the Zimbabwe grounds were hit by a Save storm and it seemed everyone who took to the podium was sunk in some Save water of praise. Save, being the totem of MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai, seemed to dominate the proceedings of the day. Everyone who came to the podium pledged allegiance to Tsvangirai and not to the supposed struggle. The MDC have allowed Tsvangirai to be the face of their supposed struggle that without him the struggle is viewed meaningless. His dim light is so shining in the exact way as that of some morons like Idi Amin and Mobutu Seseseko who loved to be praised as they rose to ultimate power.
On most of his rallies, Tsvangirai never addresses the petinent political solutions to the harsh economic situations that the people of Zimbabwe have been subjected to during the 35 year reign of Robert Mugabe’s ZANU PF. He however uses the same failed methods of hate speech, name calling and he says things his party has no capacity of doing.
This past Saturday he said, “The only option that Baba Chatunga (President Mugabe) has to consider is that I am grown. Let me die a hero. The only to die a hero is to do the right thing for the people of Zimbabwe. Isn’t it we used to call him (Mugabe) a liberation hero, now you a villain who has destroyed the people’s expectations and hopes on the basis of political expediances and refusing to get out of power.”
Tsvangirai is directly poised to maintain power for a longer period if ever elected to power given the amount of hype is faithfuls attach to him. MDC is like his personal entity and this could be the reason why there have been so many splits within the party. His lack of political judgement has always given his critics news to feed on. The way exposes himself to the media and to public opinion is not besuiting of a leader, like that time he responded to the allegations of cheating his said girlfriend, Lorcadia Karimatsenga, via a letter published in the MDC Newsletter. His bleeps and blunders are apparently covered up the way people view him as a better political optionn than the current regime.
The stage of his career where he is at can either build or destroy the MDC forever, of which at the pace and roadmap the party is following, they are breeding aa dictator among them. There is a posibility however that the MDC is giving dictatorial powers to a weak leader with activist tendencies. Activists are usually brave at confronting social challenges but fail in a position of power.
For the MDC to thrive they must drop the ZANU PF tendencies of centralising power to one person, singing unnecessary praises to the party leader and hate speaking at every given opportunity. The battle should be on policies and not personal. The MDC-T now refer to Tsvangirai as “our father” in the same way ZANU PF does do Mugabe.
MDC-T Vice President said, “I as your Vice President, will continue to walk behind President Tsvangirai as we are headed to the new Zimbabwe. As such, I expect you to be behind me pushing to upwards as I push our father (Tsvangirai) forward towards the new Zimbabwe till we arrive. As the MDC family, lets be united, walking together with our one President, one vice president and one Zimbabwe.”
The MDC is also proposing a “peaceful” march to send a message to President Mugabe according to returnee Job Sikhala.
Sikhala said, “Let us go into the streets in a peaceful manner, quietly like Martin Luther King and Gandhi telling Mugabe that we are done with the suffering and he must go.”
But then after the march who will be have courage of supporting a leader who is given so much praise that his ego could outflow the Zambezi river. After being president of the MDC since its birth in 1999 to date, what guarantee does the nation have that Tsvangirai will not be another Mugabe case?