Is Nkosana Moyo not kicking over beehive when he needs honey?

By The Zimbabwe Independent and The Standard | Jul. 11, 2017 | 4 Min read

The ancient wisdom of Americans states something to the effect that one who desires to get honey must not kick over the beehive. There may be many ways to the honey, but kicking over the beehive is certainly not one of them. Nkosana Moyo was quoted as having hurled a missile at the proposed coalition, indicating that he is not impressed with a bunch of losers, whose sole motivation is to get employment of some form. This, in my view, does not work well for Moyo; it certainly does not endear him with the masses. Intellectually towering he may be, but one sure thing is that triumph in African politics has little to do with academic prowess. One cannot kick over the beehive and expect results. And this, quite unfortunately, may be the route that Moyo has taken. Did he need to embitter and rattle fellow opposition groups? Criticism is dangerous and arouses resentment. Criticism demands justification. Moyo is merely incurring resentment and this won’t aid the Zimbabwean cause.

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Moyo’s announcement on June 29 that he will run in the 2018 presidential election was naturally bound to set tongues wagging. It brings an interesting dimension to the whole presidential race matrix. The spiritually inclined have even dug into some obscure prophecy, given last year, by a local prophet that the next President of Zimbabwe would be someone currently not residing in the country as of last year. Moyo presented his vision on reconstructing Zimbabwe with a view to counter the trail of destructive policies wrought by Zanu PF after the liberation struggle.

From where I stand, anything that seeks to untangle the people of Zimbabwe from the current yoke of poverty is welcome and a friend of progress. In the same vein, Moyo’s vision and his proposed outline on rebuilding Zimbabwe is creditable and longed-for. The default position of the bulk of Zimbabweans, I refer to ordinary people outside the gravy train, is to latch on to anything that would ameliorate the present suffering, which has been wrought by the governing party. Again, it is this default position by the majority outside the parasitic elite that gives impetus to the claim that a divided opposition would split votes. True, talk of votes being split smacks of some arrogance and implies that Zimbabweans must vote for a particular opposition party.

However, like I said, the common Zimbabwean not feeding from the gravy trough is craving for change. And it is precisely the need for change that takes the greater part of Zimbabweans to one side. Hence, anyone, generally speaking, who desires to fight a lone battle appears to sow discord, so to speak.

Now, while Moyo’s stepping forward deserves adulation, it is apparent that the man needs a lesson or two in the ragged terrain of African politics in general and Zimbabwean politics in particular. While his vision and intentions identify with the ordinary man, it is regrettable that the man would kick-start his race by antagonising the very opposition, which represents hope for change for the majority of Zimbabweans. Morgan Tsvangirai and other opposition stalwarts have borne the brunt of the ruthless machinery of the ruling party and, in 2008, did what no other opposition leader has done, which was to single-handedly defeat Zanu PF without a coalition. Many have been maimed and hundreds have died in the struggle for a democratic Zimbabwe. The point, in short, is that the opposition, fragmented as it is, represents the nearest vehicle out of impoverishment for the crisis-weary Zimbabweans. Regardless of his personal shortcomings, Tsvangirai, in particular, is the closest hope for Zimbabweans to supplant Zanu PF hegemony.

It does not, therefore, demarcate wisdom, for Moyo to start by pouring vitriol on his supposed brothers in arms. An attack on the opposition, to many, paints the image that one is a ruling party functionary. Is it any wonder that Moyo is having to fend off the fervent accusations that he is a Zanu PF project? It stems from his misguided attack on fellow comrades within the opposition movement. Imagine if the man, given his intellectual height, had approached fellow opposition stalwarts agreeably and sought counsel on the best course of action towards change as 2018 beckons. Wouldn’t that have been part of the wisdom?

Honestly, I don’t see what has to be achieved by fighting those whom one would do well to fight side by side with. A key thing that has to be highlighted to Moyo is that African politics is still miles away from that position where an individual, using their charisma or intellect, simply steps up to the voter without any structures. There are plenty examples of that, most notably Simba Makoni. Further, people do not vote for the most educated candidate; they vote for the candidate who can essentially transform their situation. And in the Zimbabwean case, it’s a default position: People are tired of joblessness and corruption among other vices, they need change, and the opposition, in its fragmented state, represents that change as of now. An attack on these groups, naturally, defeats the cause of anyone genuinely seeking to transform the lives of Zimbabweans.