Is MDC the New ZAPU?

Is Robert Mugabe a man to be trusted? Prime Minister Tsvangirai will soon find out.

Most Zimbabweans are aware of how Robert Mugabe operates, since the independance of Zimbabwe in 1980 we have seen how he deals with the opposition. This man dreamt of a One Party State that he had control over, he would rule this country until his death more like a Life President and nothing would come between him and his rulership.

With his One Party State in mind we have seen how he has dealt with his opponents, recently we have seen ZANU PF merge with Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement of Democratic Change. Before the merge MDC supporters and ordinary Zimbabweans suffered at the hands of ZANU PF zealots, the situation within Zimbabwe was now beyond repair with the whole system collapsing from Health, the Economy, Education and the Political chaos carried on, for a moment it looked like no one could salvage the situation, Mugabe had lost control. With sanctions imposed and  mounting pressures from both African and the International community Mugabe was backed into a corner and succumbed to “joining” forces with the enemy after vowing on numerous occassions that he will never work with those he believed to be agents of the West and were hard at work to sell-off the country. His position was weakened and he decided to re-establish himself as the country’s premier this time aided by the MDC, he could not take anymore shots and as the MDC was closing in seeing himself and his party out of the picture was a no-no.

To hold onto power Mugabe employed tactics he had used earlier on in his rulership (If you cant beat them join them or get them to join you) only this time without the the 5th Brigade and the Gukurahundi atrocities(Or maybe with). In the 1980s the Zimbabwe African Peoples Union (PF ZAPU) led by Joshua Nkomo (who once fled to Britain fearing for his life) was  Zimbabwe’s major opposition political party they proved to be a force to be wreckoned with and were upsetting Mugabe ‘s One Party State dream. The atrocities and the violence could not carry on and in December of 1987 ZANU swallowed up PF ZAPU in the Unity Accord Agreement “uniting” the two parties with Joshua Nkomo as one of the two Vice Presidents and Mugabe as the First Secretary and President of ZANU PF bringing Zimbabwe under one Political Party, the opposition was gone over night.

With the recent union we see history repeating itself again Mugabe has welcomed MDC just like he did PF ZAPU appointing their leaders as Ministers and giving some power and some of the highest seats in office.

When PF ZAPU was swallowed up by ZANU did we see any of their policies come through, does anyone know what Joshua Nkomo wanted for his people and supporters and did they get it? Will MDC go down the same route or will they be the dominant force in this union, will their influence shine through or are they only there to help Bob clean up the mess he has caused in recent years?

Late last year we saw the revival of the PF ZAPU, most of the senior leaders who in the late 1980s joined Mugabe have now abandoned him and ZANU callinign for the withdrawal of the 1987 Unity Accord and disolving the Alliance. Former Home Affairs Minister Dumiso Dabengwa was elected interim leader and he chairs the Interim National Executive Committee, with branches across the country PF ZAPU is back with party structures operating  under the authority of the Constitution of ZAPU. 

The PF ZAPU break-away claimed, among other reasons, Mugabe was an unrepentant dictator, who had frustrated all efforts by party reformists to seek leadership renewal within Zanu-PF. Some members have heavily criticised the late Leader Joshua Nkomo of allowing Mugabe to crush them by incorporating them into ZANU. The WEST obssesed President attacked the break-away faction calling them  ”willing tools of the West”, what else was he going to call them….

Related posts

• Banned: Owen Maseko's Art
• Makawa interviews Mugabe
• Mugabe, Mugabe, Mugabe
• Zimbabwe Relay
• One Man Race
• Zimbabwe Violence Claims
• Geritirc Mugabe vs CNN
• Is Zuma the new Mbeki?
• A Desperate Past and a Hopeful Future......is it?
• Mugabe in Rome