Zimbabwe!

The continuing internecine schism in the ranks of the opposition to Mr. Robert Mugabe’s destructive regime in Zimbabwe is to say the least, heart-breaking. At a time when they should close ranks against their common foe, the factions of the main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, MDC have preferred to sustain their self-destructive activities against each other. The more damning is the increasing evidence that the ranks of both facts of the MDC are filled with individuals who prefer to lend their efforts and resources to destructive factional engagements.

It has gotten to the point now that many people in Zimbabwe and abroad are beginning to presume that the opposition, indeed the MDC is part of the problem in Zimbabwe. As erroneous as this presumption is, it is still reasonable to infer that the task of compelling Mr. Robert Mugabe to shift his stance on his conviction that his regime is good for Zimbabwe cannot be realized in this situation of internecine fighting in the MDC. One does not want to resign to the defeatist option of blaming the state of affairs in the ranks of the MDC on the fact that factionalism was also evident amongst actors during the struggle to abolish Minority rule. Even then, it will not be out of place for the one to ask present day actors in the struggle to free Zimbabwe from Mr. Mugabe’s regime if they think that the only elements that they can borrow from the history of resistance against autocracy in their country are those that give respite and joy to their common enemy!


It is not unlikely that the ranks of the opposition have been infiltrated by Mr. Mugabe’s bogeymen. That is to be expected, but that infiltration would not have occurred to the extent that is currently evident if the MDC hadn’t exposed itself to factionalism. The disagreements over power, ideology, and prestige that resolved the MDC into factions were misplaced. Democracy is about compromise, the kind that involves give and take. The expectation is that advocates and activists of democracy must subscribe to the tenets of democracy: the willingness to compromise and live by the give and take that is involved in the practice of democracy. On at least two occasions, the leader of a faction of the MDC, Mr. Morgan Tsvangirai failed that expectation. First when he allowed himself to be caught in a sting by Mr. Mugabe's regime where he was alleged to have discussed what may have amounted to violence against the person of Mr. Mugabe. The second time was when he refused to accept the vote by the majority for the MDC to participate in the November 2005 Senate election.

If both factions of the MDC cannot at this stage find the will to heal themselves and come together to continue the fight to salvage what is left of their country from Mr. Mugabe's misrule, then the most honorable thing for them to do is relinquish their claim on being the opposition. In which case, their leaders must truthfully make it known to the peoples of Zimbabwe, indeed the world that they are incapable of the struggle. Anything other than that amounts to milking the goodwill of their benefactors abroad while throttling the peoples of Zimbabwe who are bearing the brunt of Mr. Mugabe's misrule most. I know that it is hard to talk about honor when it comes to the pattern of public activity in Africa, but the option of disengaging from the struggle is the only honorable thing left for the two factions of the MDC and their leaders to do if internecine squabbles are what they are only capable of. I have no doubt that when that happens the peoples of Zimbabwe will take it upon themselves to mobilize themselves more properly to engage Mr. Mugabe’s regime properly.