The fall, like dominoes, of Zanu PF provincial chairmen in the on-going intraparty fighting must elicit a sense of indifference in the mind of the ordinary man in the street. NewsDay Editorial
It is very difficult for anyone who has lived through the political crisis of the past 15 years in Zimbabwe to feel any pity for the victims of Zanu PF power dynamics.
The struggle is eating its own children and the chairpersons will not be the first and last victims of the system. This is just the beginning of the cycle.
Which should remind all protagonists and antagonists in the Zanu PF imbroglio of the words of the famous Germany pastor Martin Niemoller (1892—1984).
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me. Niemoller was expressing the regret of those who watched as Adolf Hitler killed all those who stood in the way of his unfettered dictatorship. The mass killing of the Jews, known as the Holocaust, will forever remain a blot on humanity’s collective conscience.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
Zimbabwe too has gone through its dark hours beginning with the “moment of madness” in the 1980s when thousands of people were massacred in south-western Zimbabwe.
In the years following the turn of the century, more people died for their beliefs. Sadly, all these events happened under the watch of the same Zanu PF bigwigs at the receiving end of a system the helped build.
First, the system came for the white farmers, and these Zanu PF chefs did not speak out because they were not white farmers and, in fact, celebrated as they took over the farms.
Then the system came for the opposition, whom it beat up, maimed and killed; the same chairmen did not speak out because the misery of the opposition meant their own enrichment and their acquisition of power and the trappings that went with it.
When they came for the judges, these gentlemen did not speak out because they were not judges and they were benefiting from the demise of the rule of law in the country which enabled them to be a law unto themselves.
Now the same system has come for them, and no one will speak out on their behalf.
But this whole thing is just such a farce. It is clear that those who now hold the reins and are meting out some kind of instant justice on their opponents will also get their comeuppance. Such is the nature of politics.
Many think this tragicomedy was inevitable and is a necessary rite of passage for the Zimbabwean political crisis. They aver this is the denouement which will see our country’s rebirth. In the meantime, the general populace is advised to watch form the periphery as the system implodes.
