By Ndaba Nhuku.
In the last elections several people from Matabeleland campaigned for Zanu and felt closer to ED than folks from Manicaland and Mashonaland. They lacked foresighted and followed emotions than political strategy.
They hated Chamisa yet did not even support let alone vote for Khuphe or Mthwakazi RP’s Moyo. After the coup ED had appointed many former Zipra cadres from Midlands who are Ndebele speaking Karangas like Bae Moyo and his cousins, and naively, some Ndebele individuals believed their own were now in leadership positions.
A short-lived happiness; privately and to get the Chinhu Chedu tenders, most ditched the powerless and useless Ndebele identity and proudly identified themselves as who they are, MaKaranga. And then the Chinhu Chedu incompetence, corruption and blatant murders came forth. Remember all the bullshit govt led good for nothing talks about dealing with Gukurahundi? Some of us, or rather, speaking for Ndaba, l rubbished everything to do with ED leadership because he has always been a cold inept and not even cunning politician who only thrived in tribal kinsmen working for him and fearing him. Let’s be honest, a lot of his own tribesmen saw his incompetence and cowardice as laid bare by Prof. Moyo and Grace Mugabe. However most so called political influential folks whose hatred and emotions cloud their thinking led many to see immediate evil and not the distant devious regime. And thus, several Matabeleland active political fellas folks naively abandoned MDCA and campaigned for Zanu just to make sure Chamusa failed. It worked well.
Of course Chamisa led MDCA with its big brother mentality blundered big time in Matabeleland and overshadowed local politicians. Who made the blunder?? I remember posting several times about Komichi imposing MDCT candidates in Byo. Right now most of the MDCA councillors are Komichi guys and thus are now back to MDCT. But then by abandoning MDCA, Ndebeles left a vacuum that needed filling in which was ok for Komichi hence we ended up with fewer Ndebele councilors than ever before in the history of the City of Kings and Queens. That was ok for political owls to awaken folks. But did they? Noooo. They did not even reflect in their own failings if not stupidity!
They did not even think about why Mqobdisi Moyo and Thoko Khuphe had noone voting for them in the City ! Poor foolish political thinking. How l so miss Sydney Malunga!!! Instead of reflecting and strategizing their politics, they have invested all their emotions and energy on criticising and insulting Chamisa and Shonas. What a pathetic political intervention. The region ayisela madoda, kusele inswelaboya of political activists!! Politicians don’t waste time on useless insults where thinking and strategy are needed. In many Matabeleland political WhatsApp groups l advocated for thinking and planning and strategizing and funding! Damnit, the dimwits see insults and Shonas and CC everywhere.
None of them ever ever mentioned Khuphe as a leader!! Ngifunga ngomama uMaMoyo uMageza intomb’enhlophe njengobise, very very few Ndebeles ever saw Khuphe as a leader as was illustrated by the fact that no-one campaigned or voted for her!!! She was miserably abandoned to her fate. And her own leadership failure was terribly glaringly! She unilaterally appointed Linda Masarira as party Spokesperson. And again, she had a wise real political opportunistic owl called Priscilla Misihairambwi as her Senator. Did she not have her own female cadres from Matabeleland who and stood with her all along? Why not appoint one of them as Senator than take someone who never belonged to her party only to attend some meetings when she left MDC after messing negotiations? Leadership quality ayikho. She doesn’t want to work with her own. She unilaterally joined ED overtures as some female face of the Opposition or regime!! That came with some funding; akusela mali phandle le. Obert Gutu left her and she has since been inseparable from presidential outings. As what asazi. Meanwhile, same Matabeleland folks been cling her a Zanu this and that, which is true anyway. But did she really choose it as her politics or she was forced to it? I think she was forced because she had been abandoned yet needed to survive!! She was not the only one. As a political animal wanting to survive, she had no choice. Some of us, seeing that Ndebele voters always voted for MDCT or Zanu, and ditched DD, Mqondisi Moyo and our own Prof. Welshman Ncube, we literally forced him to join MDCA so that he stays in politics as a relevant political leader. Sadly, the same people who did not vote for him, or other Ndebele led parties, cried; “Mayibabo wasithengisake uWelshman. Liyambona ukuthi bawathanda njani amaShona. Uyahlanya lingamuboteli loChamisa wakhe!” Did they vote for Khuphe? Did they vote for Mqondisi? DD had also endorsed Chamisa for the same reasons! Matabeleland sold its decision making to outsiders!! There is nothing politicians can do as long as the main culprits; activists and voters are bribed with Chinese malfunctioning cheap torches and recycled cooking oil bottles!
Anyway Khuphe had to survive. Her own folks had abandoned her. Pride couldn’t go back to MDCA and indeed the politicians she hates the most, other Ndebeles like Welshman had taken positions in the new party. Just like we forced WN to join the MDCA, she took hers as a sidechick to Zanu. It worked. The Zanu players made sure it works. The state machinery favoured her a the way to the point of providing her newly acquired or reclaimed offices with heavily armed security.
Amazing amazing amazing! Matabeleland has woken up to the heroine Thomozani Khuphe umkhokheli wethu!! Oh what a hypocrisy!!! This is the same Khuphe fighting for survival on her own after her own, you Ndebeles had abandoned her to Zanu out of desperation. Only a few Shonas were visible supporters of Khuphe. The same Khuphe had been approached way before by Zanu and refused to join it thinking her own will vote for her bit they didn’t. Now they celebrate with her. This is Khuphe who was unable and vowed not to work with fellow Ndebele leaders.
She was unable to work with WN, Lovemore Moyo, Gorden Moyo, among others. She was happy to replace Gibson Sibanda in the MDCT in 2005 and call him and fellow Ndebele leaders, tribalists. She was happy to work under Tsvangirai. She is happy to be very close and work with ED. Her mentors and close workmates are from outside her region. That is political muscle anyway. Corruption comes with money and she publicly told us she is politics for money. So that issue, we leave aside. The celebrated victory! Whose victory was it? Zanu is glorious and letting us believe it has destroyed Chamisa. It is not saying Khuphe has destroyed Chamisa. Lovemore Mwonzora is letting us believe be has destroyed Chamisa. He is not letting Matabeleland believe Khuphe has destroyed Chamisa. Mwknzora, Komochi and others want a Congress as soon as possible. Khuphe is saying that won’t happen. She is on her own because she is always unable to work with her own because in her political grandoise she thinks she is the female version of Joshua Nkomo in the region. So now who holds the MDCT by the balls? Your guess is as good as mine. But l think the answer will be in the Congress ballot boxes. Khuphe has lost the party. She must join Zanu and get a position, or become a junior in the MDCT whose name she kept alive. She knows as does everyone, it’s a fact, a woman, let one a Ndebele woman, can never lead a main political party in Zim, let one win any presidential elections. Never mind what my feminists friends will say. They won’t even support her bit in public will utter a lot of crap about supporting women.
Who then is to blame? Political activists and voters from her own home; Matabeleland.
Douglas Mwonzora is the next MDCT leader. He rightly deserves it and fought hard for it. Whether he personally asked for Zanu help or no doesnt matter. Morgan Tsavangirai left a legacy of inept chaotic leadership in the party; a precedent that will continue until the name MDCT itself is dead.
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