The Nelson Chamisa-led MDC Alliance is indeed between a rock and a hard place in a game of political brinkmanship that has seen the Thokozani Khupe-led MDC-T recalling four legislators from Parliament ostensibly in fulfilment of a Supreme Court ruling that ordered the party’s reconstitution to the 2014 structures.
NewsDay Comment
While the MDC Alliance’s decision to recall all of its legislators looks noble on paper as an act of protest, it is not clear if it will deliver the desired results in the long term.
Quite clearly, Douglas Mwonzora’s actions look highly suspicious as he appears to be fighting from Zanu PF’s corner as the latter seeks to dislodge Nelson Chamisa from an influential position for his refusal to join President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s talk shop dressed as the Political Actors Dialogue, which is basically a group of sore losers that have nothing to offer to the struggling nation.
Mwonzora’s eagerness to seek the support of a police force that has always been known to be pro-Zanu PF is surprising, if not ironic.
When did be become darlings with the police, by the way? The very same police force, alongside other security sector players, that has been used to harass and batter MDC supporters over the years! It even goes further – he is ready to “appoint a small team to liaise with the police officers from time to time”.
The whole game has the markings of a political duel that will determine the future of the opposition in Zimbabwe.
Against this backdrop, Chamisa has no choice, but to rise to the occasion, take his opponents head-on.
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But knowing the brutality of the regime against opposing forces, he is in a dilemma whether to continue on the legal route or take to the streets and confront an armed force that will not think twice about using live ammunition.
If the Zanu PF government, which through its Finance minister Mthuli Ncube has finally admitted the country is in a mess, pushes through for a government of national unity as a ritual to cleanse itself, then Chamisa and his team will have some serious soul-searching to do concerning what to do.
The last thing they want is to be swallowed in such a government while giving Zanu PF a chance to regain strength and its sting before eventually booting out the MDC Alliance again. It is indeed a huge moral test.
Will they act in the best interests of the nation and its future or personal interests of individual politicians and their pockets?
