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Mr Robert Mugabe

Stephen Mpofu

POLITICS is often described as “a dirty game”, and the in-fighting in the MDC-Alliance after the party’s losses in both the parliamentary and presidential elections would appear to validate the dirty-game saying.

Add to that the opposition alliance’s blame for its biting the dust on the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and you (yes, you) have politics standing out as an unpalatable vocation.

Mr Douglas Mwonzora

After touting themselves at campaign rallies for what turned out to be a ghost victory in the elections when reality finally dawned on Zimbabwe’s political arena, MDC-Alliance leaders should at best be licking their wounds in silence and strategising for better results in future elections instead of hurling spears at each other for their dismal performance in the harmonised elections while at the same time clinging to the baseless claim that victory was stolen from them by Zanu-PF using Zec as an instrument to inflict the gashing wounds on the opposition alliance’s body politics.

Mr Douglas Mwonzora,  the MDC Alliance’s secretary general, is being carpeted for telling the truth that seeking the hand of former president Mr Robert Mugabe and his National Patriotic Front for help to secure the opposition’s victory over Zanu-PF in the elections, was a costly political blunder.

Surely any person, let alone a leader with political insight, ought to have known that any public association with a leader ousted from power yesterday for flirting with an infamous G-40 cabal could not himself stand out as a guiding star that no longer shone bright to lead this nation into a brave new future.

The short of the story regarding the post-election violence saga is that after God answered the passionate prayers of the Church as well as the desire for peace by the generality of Zimbabweans during the election period, Satan feeling humiliated by the loud stability responded by unleashing his demons to cause the violence in which property was destroyed and six lives were lost.

Right now the devil must be smiling in hopes that political differences will result in large-scale violence to stagnate economic and social development and with Zimbabwe becoming a no-go destination for foreign investors as well as tourists.

It is time, therefore, for the people of this country to bury the hatchet, link arms and march resolutely ahead in making Zimbabwe the pride of the global village, especially considering the country’s mineral endowment from which other countries stand to benefit, not to mention the high literacy rate that should make Zimbabweans a strong driving force economically, socially and politically and, as such the pride of the African continent.

The inauguration of Cde Emmerson D. Mnangagwa as President after the elections, set for tomorrow, should mark a strong point of departure into a new Zimbabwe with some  of the 133 political parties, among them fly by nights, disbanding to join bigger political organisations in order to strengthen democracy in our country.

The maturation of the democratic process should result in the emergence of at least three major political parties, two of them taking turns to govern the country while a third catalyses the political play.

That way, political divisions that at present malign peace, stability and development will become  a mere proverb as our country forges ahead with self-advancement and the betterment of lives all round –  at present a shrill call but one drowned under by equally loud political differences.

Thus, our present crop of leaders has before them right now a litmus test of an unflinching patriotism as well as durable peace and stability to pass so that these values become a legacy for future generations.

This behoves on big the political parties in this country to think big and good rather than waste valuable time needed for the improvement of lives by mudslinging, like jealous women tearing at each other’s breasts over men – in this case over political supremacy that often turns out to be a vanity of vanities.

Political violence is no doubt the best way for any organisation to de-campaign itself with the wider public not wanting to associate with hooligans who have no respect for human lives as well as property.