For war veterans to look at MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai as a “ better devil” because he is a “defined enemy” is a bit over-stretching things. Here is the same man who has lost a lot in the quest to bring a homegrown solution for the democratisation of Zimbabwe.
By Chana Chavatete,Our Reader
It doesn’t need a rocket scientist or the West for Zimbabweans to realise that enough is enough and that President Robert Mugabe must step down.
Tsvangirai has won many elections and even with the pain of being cheated upon, he never resorted to violence as a stopgap measure. Instead, it is his supporters who were killed or maimed by rogue war vets and youth militia and, to a big extent, supported by the State machinery.
It is the same Tsvangirai who, on two occasions, people showed that he was not a devil as he got the mandate to lead the party after other comrades decided to go separate ways or after rigged elections.
The real challenge that war vets find themselves in, is that of isolation from the elite cabal that they created over the years and has taken over their supply line to resources or has totally shut them out of the loot distribution matrix. War vets secretary-general Victor Matemadanda referring to the Zanu PF elite, whilst speaking to African News Network7, said: “They have taken over the land around towns and they are leaders of land barons. They are heading every corrupt activity that you see.”
He conveniently forgets that it was the same group of war vets who declared war on Tsvangirai and his party, who marched in the streets of Harare in support of the same elites who today have dumped them and are “eating” alone.
Can they honestly say that a man who won an election in 2008 and chose to be subordinate to their losing candidate for the sake of stability and economic recovery, is anywhere near resemblance to a devil? A man, who during his party’s presence in the inclusive government, made and turned the fortunes of Zimbabwe around in record time?
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It is against this background that genuine war vets who for long have lived with the people both as soldiers (fish and water) and as demobilised civilians (vanguard) should get to understand that different generations have different mandates.
You cannot run the way you used to do some 40 years ago, neither can you respond to the changing economic and political dynamics with the same effectiveness.
It is, therefore, unfortunate to label as devils those who have chosen a difficult journey, path and an alternative peaceful option to liberate Zimbabweans from the current leadership crisis.
It is my hope that war vets begin to see Tsvangirai as one of us who deserves embracing, not ridicule.
