BRO KEN MUFUKA ADVISES THE OPPOSITION!

Change the way you do things!

Ken Mufuka

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IN December of 2006, I came to the conclusion that the opposition forces in Zimbabwe were working under a serious misunderstanding of the facts before them.

Chinjai maitiro enyu! Unless the opposition forces and the civic organisations change their mentality, I see no way forward under the present circumstances.
I also indicated that the South African-brokered talks between the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and the Zimbabwean government was a waste of time. South African President Thabo Mbeki, as indeed the other Southern African Development Community (SADC) leaders, worship President Robert Mugabe and the ground on which he walks. The most important fact, however, is a not-so secret protocol reached among SADC countries in 2002 to support Zimbabwe against the imperialist onslaught. Then Namibian President Sam Nujoma came close to revealing the protocol when he said: "We have a man here, Mr Blair, who is causing all the problems in Zimbabwe."
If the opposition does not appreciate that understanding of historical circumstances, it will go nowhere. The issue, from the Afrocentric point of view, is that imperialists hunt with the dogs and run with the hares. At that meeting in South Africa, the SADC leaders took the view that despite the fact that Anglo-Americans had supported the apartheid regime in South Africa throughout their history, they are now reaping the rewards for South Africa's reconciliation policy. The SADC leaders believe that as long as white interests are protected, the ruler is hailed in the west as a hero. In their opinion, President Mugabe is a villain, not because of the oppression of blacks, but because of the destruction of the interests of the 11 000 white farmers.
I have just received a letter from Chief Elder Ekabala, Presiding Elder of the Supreme Council of Nubia (a black American organisation). The letter deals at length with President Mugabe and places him in the Pan African tradition of W.E.B. Du Bois and William Chancellor. "Why do you not support your brother?" The letter scolds me.
The second issue is that if President Mugabe loses power, like Charles Taylor, he will face the World Court at The Hague. This is a sore issue with Pan Africanists. White scoundrels like P.W. Botha and Ian Smith were allowed to roam the world as they chose after losing power. African leaders of similar background, at the behest of white judges and white opinion, face the noose. This is the firm mind-set of the SADC leaders. I have found that Professor Arthur Mutambara understands this equation. One cannot get through the thick skins of the SADC leaders, as long as one is branded an imperialist tool. The opposition needs to rebrand itself.
The opposition movement needs a Crisis Council. I was in Zimbabwe when the government destroyed urban accommodation for 700 000 people. The exercise took almost a month. The opposition should have, through its Crisis Council, raised some support and demonstration groups in solidarity with those who lost their livelihood. The next bridge to pass is: "We will get killed."
The opposition movement made a classical mistake. The opposition cannot decide what type of opposition it is prepared to consider, non-violent or violent. The government decides that. Any opposition in an African situation is suicidal. Any politician who enters the fray against a ZANU PF government, and hopes to kiss his wife every morning as he goes to his opposition head office, and maybe, take her for lunch, is a lunatic. In South Korea and in Indonesia, opposition to government is led by student demonstrators. These students have refused to allow government troops to kill and maim their colleagues at will, despite the fact that government has heavy machinery.
There is no reason at the moment for government to consider talks with the opposition movement. Governments do not negotiate with inferiors. They only negotiate when opposition forces become powerful enough to overthrow them. What they will be negotiating then, is a way out, and some safety for gains acquired during their governance. Mr Smith achieved a measure of security for colonial gains by negotiating with ZANU PF. The South African whites achieved a similar measure of security for their investments. No government or politician gives up power. It is a law of nature. They are forced out.
There is a fallacy, which is endemic among the opposition members that "surely, they will be reasonable." There is also another fallacy that certain actions are unreasonable because they ruin the economy. If thus they ruin the economy, they are therefore unreasonable. The governmental leaders one deals with in Africa have very little practical experience of a world economy. These people do not invest their money on the New York Stock Exchange or on the Chicago Commodity Mercantile Exchange. They deal with raw money, either gold or cash, which they siphon from the treasuries of their countries, lawfully or unlawfully.
Our new businessmen "grabbed stuff" — either working farms and houses, harvested the crops therefrom and became rich. We must give them credit that in their former lives, before they learned this "grabbing stuff" they did understand the veldt, harvested mushrooms and wild grasses. A judicious mixture with peanut butter made nutritious meals; they were healthier then, spiritually and physically than they are today, after learning to "grab stuff." The point here is that we are not dealing with reasonable men, nor econmic beings, and such men do not negotiate unless they are forced to.
The first step is to realise is that these brothers do not follow any rules whatsoever. The economic systems of Adam Smith are only curse words to them. Politics in an African situation is always a suicidal business. Always expect the worst, as in the case of Archbishop Pius Ncube. SADC countries admire Mukuru. It took me a couple of years to swallow that. Facts are facts. We can learn a lot from WOZA. In an ever changing scenario, the Crisis Group must also be ever changing its strategies. Nothing stays the same for a moment.