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The bullet that missed US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s head, nipping a piece off his right ear, might have hit the tongue of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party.  

This Saturday, something happened in the so-called “Free World” that Zimbabwe’s main opposition would never want to play out in public. Their masters are too civilised for the assassination of opposition leaders, the sort of thing you would only expect in communist, authoritarian, or backward regimes.

Unfortunately, facts are stubborn. While we do not condone assassinations, Saturday’s events expose the United States of America’s much-celebrated democracy for what it truly is – a Hollywood creation. They also expose the hypocrisy of Zimbabwe’s main opposition leaders who have failed to condemn the use of violence in America. 

The shooting of presidential candidate and former president Donald Trump on Saturday has put local opposition politicians in a tight space as they do not want to see any evil in the doings of their masters. 

What they don’t realise is that such attempts on the lives of top politicians are actually more pronounced in America. 

A number of studies single out the Dominican Republic, Spain and the United States as countries with the most assassinations in the world.

The United States of America, since its founding in 1776, has witnessed several instances of political violence targeting US presidents. In addition to these assassinations, there have been multiple instances of attempted assassinations targeting former presidents and major party presidential candidates. 

The most recent is the failed attempt on Donald Trump’s life.

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, was the first president to be assassinated. James Garfield, the 20th president, was assassinated six months after taking office. William McKinley, the 25th president, was shot after giving a speech in Buffalo, New York, on September 6, 1901. And the most famous of them all, John F Kennedy, the 35th president, was assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. 

Where are those vibrant CCC/MDC/Blue Movement news conferences when we need the entertainment? You’d think by now someone would have said something. Maybe some sympathy for Trump?

The truth is, we are not surprised. Their democracy is also a Hollywood creation. They do not stand for the truth; they stand for Washington’s generous donations and “targeted sanctions”.

The assassination of political leaders – anywhere in the world – is an attack on democracy itself. The biggest takeaway from Saturday’s events is that no country is better than others. 

That being said, we still expect a press conference from the opposition. 

They owe us one!