EDITORIAL COMMENT: Let’s learn from Zanu-PF plotters’ demise

chronicleZanu-PF’s Central Committee elections were concluded on Tuesday, nine days before the party’s 6th National People’s Congress begins in Harare.

Dozens of so-called heavyweights, most of whom had become intoxicated with power to the extent they worked to undermine President Mugabe’s authority and plotted his ouster, even elimination, lost, while so-called nonentities won.

The Central Committee, whose membership is being increased from 245 to 300, is an important organ of the party. It is its supreme policy-making structure in between congresses. It implements all policies, resolutions, directives, decisions, and programmes enunciated by congress. Its standing committee is the Politburo. The President picks the Politburo from members of the Central Committee and the Politburo implements decisions and directives of the Central Committee.

Following elections over the past few days, the revolutionary party will have a fresh Central Committee and Politburo assuming office at congress.

From then on and barring developments like President Mugabe exercising his constitutional mandate to appoint 10 members to the Central Committee, Cde Joseph Chinotimba who was returned in Buhera would be senior to Vice-President Joice Mujuru. He would be senior to Cde Didymus Mutasa as well and possibly Cde Webster Shamu if the push to oust the national secretary for the commissariat is approved. Cde Joseph Tshuma, a youthful cadre in Bulawayo would be senior to Cde Sikhanyiso Ndlovu too. Cde Tshuma has become Cde Ndlovu’s bogeyman, having thrashed the elder in parliamentary primaries in June last year.

The outcome of the internal elections shows that most of the losers belong to the conspiracy led by VP Mujuru who stands accused of taking herself as an alternative centre of power in the party and government.

Cdes Mutasa, Ndlovu, Dzikamai Mavhaire, Flora Buka, Francis Nhema, Angeline Masuku, Walter Mzembi, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Absalom Sikhosana and Munacho Mutezo among others lost while Cdes Mujuru, Nicholas Goche and Tendai Savanhu were barred from contesting by youths who are angry with their leaders’ rebellion against the President.

Some quarters have described the events in military terms, that the electoral losses of the bigwigs was a “blitzkrieg” or “bloodbath” which resulted in the “annihilation” of the VP Mujuru’s group. We don’t see it that way.

In fact, we view this as the party’s unique ability to self-correct. Anyway, only one member, Jabulani Sibanda who was very junior, was expelled from the party.

Two seniors, former national spokesman Cde Rugare Gumbo and ex-Central Committee member, Cde Enock Porusingazi were suspended for five years. Eight have been constitutionally removed from their posts as provincial chairpersons and a few others from various positions through votes of no confidence. The rest actually lost in elections that have been declared free and fair.

We take many lessons from the elections. We learn that it is wrong to allow one’s ambitions to overtake oneself, we learn that in politics as in sport; it is not over until it is over and that it is important to respect authority.

An overly ambitious VP Mujuru stands accused of mobilising some party and government structures up to Cabinet Ministers around her despite the fact that President Mugabe is there. The past 10 years appear to have convinced her that her rise to the presidency was inevitable therefore was already building scenarios of a post-Mugabe era, with her presiding.

The outcome of the Central Committee elections also asserts the principle that power derives from the grassroots. With the power of the ballot, a villager in Headlands dethroned Cde Mutasa, the country’s first Speaker of Parliament who has been in the Central Committee, Politburo and Cabinet for most, if not all, of the past 34 years.

On another note, the elections showed us that one’s old cases of treachery always return to haunt that individual. Again, the bulk of VP Mujuru’s loyalists constitute the 2008 bhora musango brigade that clandestinely supported defector, Dr Simba Makoni. They thought they had gotten away with it, but the electorate doesn’t forget that easily. Their punishment came after 10 years.

Furthermore, we learn that silence doesn’t mean cowardice always. The scheming faction misinterpreted President Mugabe’s silence and thought that they had grown so powerful that he could not control them.

But using the symbolism of water, Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said what looks powerless is, in fact, extremely strong.

“Water is fluid, soft, and yielding,” Lao said. “But water will wear away rock, which is rigid and cannot yield. As a rule, whatever is fluid, soft, and yielding will overcome whatever is rigid and hard. This is another paradox: what is soft is strong.”

Hopefully, these are some of the lessons that the plotters can learn. They are lessons for the future also.

We look forward to a strong Zanu-PF emerging from the elections, and congress next week with factionalism becoming history.

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