Political Thought on Sunday:

There is an earthquake brewing in Southern Africa; this is not just a spasm thought. It is a political reality. In the Western world, far-right political parties are gaining momentum and, in some circumstances, have taken over, such as Austria, Hungary, and Germany, based on one major political issue, “Immigration.” In Southern Africa, it is the castration of the liberation movements in power for decades. They have been clinging to power based on long-term memory of fear of a long-forgotten war to which propaganda keeps rekindling it. Yet they have long abandoned the values of the liberation struggle and instead embarked on hyper-corruption overdrive, oppression, patronage, and institutional capture.  

From South Africa to Botswana, from Botswana to Zambia, and from Zambia to Mozambique, there is a rude awakening that the new generation wants a new Southern Africa order that epitomizes job creation, investment opportunities, and equal opportunities and, above all, leadership accountability.  What is happening to the West and Southern Africa is linked; a generation of despair is a generation of migrants searching for greener pastures, and with it comes social disorientation, to state it mildly. In its extreme, it brings unrest and uncomfortable rapid escalation of civil war, yet our leaders don’t learn. The young generation has realized that they are under attack if they migrate to the West, therefore, it is best to fight at home and shape their own Afro-totemic narrative. Yet the wicked leadership is failing to understand this simple rule of thumb that “the future is for the young, not the old”. Quite rightly so the young have the right to defend their present as much as their future.

To those still bewildered with loss after loss through rigging and macho suppression of freedoms, Kinnock reminds us that “Elections are won and lost in years, not in weeks.” One mistake that many oppositions make is thinking that political parties are formed to occupy the State House, which is far from it. Political parties, just like you don’t form a company for Christmas, must be formed to offer an alternative voice and prepare a journey of succession built on the contestation of ideas, relevant policies, and political ideology. In that realm, occupancy of the highest throne of the land is not a right but a privilege bestowed upon by the majority votes. This can be a protracted struggle, decades or sometimes centuries of sweat and tears.

 

Turning to ZANU (PF), this party, among others, which started with commendable morals of fighting for the majority rule, has lost every shred of legitimacy to rule.  44 years in power has blindfolded them into immortal thugs who have the right to rule with or without the people’s consent. The recent interference in elections of neighbouring countries, export vote rigging, voter suppression, and anarchy exemplifies desperation to share political risks as it catches up with fast poli-atomic decay. It will not work and shall not work, as no one can stop a change whose time has come; worse still when the power is derived from the people.