‘UMSHINI WAMI’ (My machine gun) must be the song that Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and his colleagues, South Africa’s Jacob Zuma and Kenyan leader Uhuru Kenyatta must have sung as attempts by opposition parties in their respective countries to steal power took comical twists.
It started with the opposition insanity that Zimbabweans have by now grown accustomed to when Morgan Tsvangirai invited little-known parties to the historic Zimbabwe Grounds to put pen to paper to what they called a ‘grand coalition’.
The so-called ‘opposition coalition’ which was touted as the game changer would collapse, before 24 hours had lapsed, due to chronic lack of direction by the opposition which, for the umpteenth time, revealed its violent nature.
They traded blows against each other, with the beleaguered party’s vice-president Thokozani Khupe reported to have suffered serious damage from Tsvangirai’s goons who launched vicious attacks on the hapless woman and her colleagues.
What could be interesting is how they would accuse ZANU PF of ‘rigging’ elections when they clearly do not have anything to sell to the electorate.
They are shamefully haggling over positions even before the people have voted.
Before they think of power and positions, should they not be telling Zimbabweans what they intend to do for them?
So far what we have seen is a lot of brawling in the so-called coalition, incessant infighting and a chronic failure to articulate their position.
ZANU PF, on the other hand, has demonstrated that its electoral promises are not mere talk.
There is the hugely successful Command Agriculture Programme, the Command Wheat Programme, the Command Fisheries Initiative, the impending Chirundu-Beitbridge Highway construction, to name a few.
These are jobs running into the millions.
More is coming.
Yet the regime change agenda advocates are not resting on their laurels.
They are ferocious in their determination to oust progressive governments from power.
The fresh but foiled attempt to push President Zuma from power is a case in point.
The real reason there is that feverish Zuma ouster push is because of the South African leader’s determination to correct colonial injustices through land reform.
If there is one issue that infuriates whites more, it is the return of land to its rightful owners.
Zimbabwe has been bombarded by illegal sanctions for repossessing the land.
There have been several but failed attempts by the West to obfuscate the success of land reform in Zimbabwe with the idea being to scare other African countries from embarking on the same.
Zimbabwe has been put under illegal economic sanctions, it has been subjected to vitriol through a sustained media onslaught and its opposition parties have been sponsored to cause anarchy and despondency.
But what is interesting about this whole fiasco is that those who have been behind the relentless anti-Zimbabwe smear campaign are the same people who claim to be champions of democracy.
What is the best way to practise democracy other than restoring the dignity of the owners of the country through such programmes as the Land Reform and Resettlement initiatives?
What is undemocratic about empowering locals?
This is what President Zuma faces in South Africa.
His unflinching stance on the upliftment of the majority is now seen by those opposed to development as a curse.
On Tuesday last week, they subjected him to yet another trial through a motion of no-confidence against him in Parliament.
It was not President Zuma on trial.
It was South African ideas and ideals on trial through that nonsensical secret ballot.
That the motion dismally failed to achieve its objective shows that President Zuma’s programmes resonate with the majority.
Then there is the issue of Kenya, where one serial electoral loser like our own Tsvangirai, always seeks to cause confusion every time he is beaten at the polls.
This man is called Raila Odinga and he is close friends with Tsvangirai.
These two men have a lot in common.
Every time they lose, not because of the ruling party’s brilliance but what they call rigging, which claims, time and again, they have failed to prove.
A report last Friday by Al Jazeera provides some useful insights into Odinga’s insanity:
“Kenya’s electoral commission chairman has admitted its database was a target of an unsuccessful hacking attempt, but it has failed to convince the opposition, which continues to dispute the results.
Wafula Chebukati’s remarks came on Thursday following allegations by opposition leader Raila Odinga that hackers infiltrated the database and manipulated results in favour of President Uhuru Kenyatta after Tuesday’s vote.
Chebukati said, ‘Hacking was attempted but did not succeed’, and tallying of final results was continuing.
With results from 99 percent of polling stations counted, Kenyatta held a strong lead.”
Let those with ears listen.