As I look out the window of this Gauteng taxi weaving its way past a maze of traffic at break-neck speed; I find myself jerking left, right and centre. What a better time to drown myself into my blackberry and see what is happening some thousand kilometres away in my beloved homeland. Facebook is the new meeting point not the former tuckshop, terminus or Fantasy Land; the crisis has thrown us far and wide we resort to social networks to find people who are familiar with our inclination.
As always Jones Musara does not disappoint, you are guaranteed updates every morning, afternoon or evening. He reminds me of Matigari of Ngugi Wa Thiongo, his life seems to be 99% politics with the 1% reserved for Chelsea football club. However on this day there is a slant to his updates, he is the subject of his own focus after some friend voiced concern about his weight or lack thereof, still another chided that he is not the type to be liked by any woman except the woman happen to be politics. Can a man be married to politics? What would be the conjugal boundaries and rights in that setting?
As I ponder this unusual matrimony of human to ideology I find the business of the day, something to awaken me before the taxi zooms past the point where I am supposed to disembark. It reads Simba Makoni calls for a non-political Transitional Structure to replace the current Government of National Unity; I almost fell off my seat but luckily we are packed in this taxi like sardines and I have 2 heavily built women on either side for support. Maybe they are the can and I am the sardine ensconced in between. For a year or so I thought Simba Makoni had retired at the break of Dawn/Mavambo project, the dead surely are risen, I hear Jesus calling Simba not Lazarus.
As I read further I understand this Transitional Structure will have to exclude Morgan Tsvangirai and Robert Mugabe; what criteria Simba? Simba Makoni was probably sitting in the house waiting for the next assignment. My take is Mugabe is already advanced in age so excluding him from a Transitional structure is neither here nor there, save for Chinotimba crying foul and a yell of president for life from women's league. But for Morgan Tsvangirai my eyebrows were raised, what if Simba is onto another project to exclude the guy on whom most if not all opposition politics revolve? How would the Zimbabwe political landscape look without Morgan Tsvangirai? I believe ZANUPF knows Morgan Tsvangirai is gaining ground with every passing day as evident in his surpassing of Mugabe in terms of popularity during the 2008 presidential election. Other means to dissuade people from MDC seem to bear little fruit, if it is true that Simba Makoni's Mavambo Project was a ZANUPF ploy then it follows what we are seeing is another gambit to sell Simba Makoni after eliminating Morgan Tsvangirai.
Whatever happens the GNU must follow the SADC roadmap to free and fair elections. By having a new constitution we can put to rest the ghost of rigging, intimidation and draconian laws that have worked against opening democratic space. Time is running out on the part of ZANUPF and the tactics seem to be drying as well, after a decade of scheming against the masses there are not many options left to retain power through clandestine means. With the advent of mobile internet or GPRS/3G in Zimbabwe, the propaganda machinery is no longer efficient as well, the social network footprint among Zimbabweans has increased significantly and ZANUPF seem to be losing ground; what with many in the diaspora feeding those at home with information that is detriment to ZANUPF. With all this to consider, Simba Makoni might be the last hope of splitting votes as another Dawn/Mavambo breaks but in a free and fair election might be futile. It is imperative that Zimbabweans consider well their options and what they do, no one would want to be donating experimental votes to a another Mavambo. He who has ears, let him see!
