Zim opposition has tradition of throwing people in...

Zim opposition has tradition of throwing people into political wilderness

Pondai B Shozhera

Since its independence from the British in 1980, now close to 44 years ago, Zimbabwe has never had an opposition political party forming a government.

Although the narrative of the ruling Zanu PF since then has been pushing for a one-party system of administration, in line with their Marist-Leninist foundations, the death of opposition politics has been more a consequence of internal systems of those parties than Zanu PF itself.

Several opposition parties have emerged along the way some ad offshoots of Zanu PF while the bulk of them have been results of splinter groups from disintegrating opposition formations.

Admittedly, the biggest and most formidable opposition political party in the country has been the then Morgan Tsvangirai-led Movement for Democratic Change.

However, the same party has had many splinter groups emanating from it. These include the Welshman Ncube-led MDC-N, later to be fronted by Professor Arthur Mutambara in the Unity Government of 2009-13; People’s Democratic Party led by Tendai Biti; MDC-99 fronted by in incarcerated Job Sikhala among many others. MDC-T, Transform Zimbabwe, Citizens Coalition for Change are the other ones with speculation rife on the emergence of yet another outfit - the Democratic Alternative in Zimbabwe.

Before the MDC, the country also saw the formation of the Zimbabwe Unity Movement by late veteran politician Edgar Tekere, former Chief Justice Enock Dumbutshena’s Forum Party of Zimbabwe, National Patriotic Front and People First among others.

The tradition has been the same all through as none of the opposition political parties, save for Tsvangirai’s MDC, ever came close to forming a government in Zimbabwe.

Tsvangirai actually beat the late Robert Mugabe in the March 2008 elections nut unfortunately did not garner enough votes to allow him to form a government.

Tsvangirai has remained the biggest brand in Zimbabwean opposition politics as his labour-based MDC gave Zanu PF a good running for their money in the elections in which they took part.
However, Tekere's loss to Mugabe in 1990 threw him the political wilderness until his death.

The same fate befell his lieutenants who include Patrick Kombayi, the late fiery Gweru-based businessman.

Dumbutshena died a bitter man after failing to leave even the slightest mark in Zimbabwe's politics.

Tsvangirai’s colleague at the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions and later at MDC, Gibson Sibanda’s political light switched off when he left the MDC.

Lovemore Moyo tried the United Movement for Devolution, which fizzled into oblivion, while Paurina Mpariwa, after a few fights with Tendai Biti at PDP, also lost energy.

Not that divisions in opposition parties were the only doomed ones. Former vice president Joice Mujuru, after falling out with Mugabe, formed the Zimbabwe People First, but failed to make it fly. She went on to form the National People’s Party after ZPF leaders turned on each other.

Other Zanu PF stalwarts who had joined Mujuru at ZPF such as Didymus Mutasa and Kudakwashe Bhasikiti among others, found the going tough and retraced their footsteps back to Zanu PF.

Simba Makoni, who at independence most observers though would be groomed to take up the leadership mantle, formed Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn in the run-up to the March 2008 elections. After spoiling the day for Tsvangirai, Makoni soon disappeared from the public glare.

A University of Zimbabwe post-graduate student in the political science department, who declined to be named, blamed individual greed for the failure of most of these political projects. “Zanu PF is too big an institution, which is liquid financially and has the potential to outwit anybody. Opposition parties fail because most of its leaders get destroyed by ambition and ego. You cannot all be leaders. A chain is as strong as the weakest link.

“The success of any group or organisation is built upon the success of each individual member of that group. Now, when a person leaves a political party and then they fight for positions in the new party, they will not get anywhere,” he said, adding that those fights that happen are actually good news for Zanu PF.

“The MDC Alliance has already dumped Elias Mudzuri, while Morgen Komichi is struggling for relevance. Elton Mangoma and hs CODE are waiting to be picked up from the political dustbin,” the political science student added.

TZ leader, Jacob Ngarivhume languished in prison for months before his release recently but there is nothing more to expect from him.