Friday 11 February 2011

Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his.


Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his.

He knew how Ian Smith met his demise in Zimbabwe,

the mighty Rhodesia fell when he was Egypt's Deputy President

He was there when Julius Nyerere decided to quit in 1985,

He was there when Milton Obote fled Uganda in 1984,

He was there to see Tito Okello, Binasai and Lulle fail

only for the NRM and Museveni to take over.

He was there when Ali Hassan Mwinyi quit in Tanzania,

He was as Kenneth Kaunda humbled himself to the will of Zambians

And left after his defeat in elections and gave way to Fredrick Chiluba

who gave way to Mwanawasa.



Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his,

He was the President of Egypt when Mwanawasa died,

He sent his condolences and welcomed Ruppiah Banda

He saw Chissano take over and leave voluntarily,

He was there when Mandela became the President of South Africa and left in 1998,

And even as Thabo Mbeki replaced him only to leave Mubarak welcoming Zuma.



Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his

Mubarak witnessed the fall of Kamuzu Banda to Bakili Muluzi

And he was even there to welcome Bingu wa Mutharika.

Jerry Rawlings bade farewell to him, so did John Kuffour of Ghana.

Mubarak waved farewell to Ketumile Masire

and welcomed Festus Mogae in Botswana

only to wave farewell to Festus Mogae and welcome Ian Khama

And as Nujoma became the first President of Namibia he was there,

let alone to remain welcoming Pohamba.

He was there when Houmphoet Boigny died

And left Ivory Coast to Conan Bedi, Robert Gwe

and the political circus it has become.



Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his

Wasn't he there when Jimmy Carter was serving his first term?

And when he was defeated by Ronald Reagan?

And when George Bush Senior became President he shook his hands

And he was there with Bill Clinton, George Bush Junior and now Barack Obama.



Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his


He became President 2years into Margaret Thatcher's tenure as British PM,

she left him there as she handed the keys of No10 to John Major

John Major left him there as he handed the keys of No10 to Tony Blair

Mubarak is at fault, he waved his hand to bid farewell to Tony Blair

and it was in his eyes as Gordon Brown took over.

And as Gordon Brown left the keys to David Cameron

he officially welcomed him on behalf of the Egyptian people.



Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his


Didn't he see Babangida and Abacha depart in Nigeria?

Didn't he see Olusegun Obassanjo come and go?

He was there during the days of Shehu Shagari and

He was there during the days of Slobodan Milosevic.

Let the sky above him explode, for why must it implode?

Hosni Mubarak is at fault and

the lungs and ribs of the world laugh at him louder

The ticklish laughs at the sight of his political epitaph,

The undertaker laughs at the sight of his political coffin.



Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his

Nothing can be as shaming for a man who could not read the end of his time.

Yet Mubarak also laughs at those he has left behind

How they cannot even read his own mistakes,

How they remain clinging to power

Even as they see the ribs and lungs of the world laugh at him

Even as they see even political vultures avoiding his political carcass

Even as their intellect avoid reading the bold writing on his epitaph

Mubarak laughs in his heart,

At the ignorants who forget that they can close everything else

but not the people's anger

He too laughs at their failure to see their shameful demise!



Julius Sai MUTYAMBIZI-DEWA




Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his



Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his.










He knew how Ian Smith met his demise in Zimbabwe,










the mighty Rhodesia fell when he was Egypt's Deputy President










He was there when Julius Nyerere decided to quit in 1985,










He was there when Milton Obote fled Uganda in 1984,










He was there to see Tito Okello, Binasai and Lulle fail










only for the NRM and Museveni to take over.










He was there when Ali Hassan Mwinyi quit in Tanzania,










He was as Kenneth Kaunda humbled himself to the will of Zambians










And left after his defeat in elections and gave way to Fredrick Chiluba










who gave way to Mwanawasa.






















Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his,










He was the President of Egypt when Mwanawasa died,










He sent his condolences and welcomed Ruppiah Banda










He saw Chissano take over and leave voluntarily,










He was there when Mandela became the President of South Africa and left in 1998,










And even as Thabo Mbeki replaced him only to leave Mubarak welcoming Zuma.






















Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his










Mubarak witnessed the fall of Kamuzu Banda to Bakili Muluzi










And he was even there to welcome Bingu wa Mutharika.










Jerry Rawlings bade farewell to him, so did John Kuffour of Ghana.










Mubarak waved farewell to Ketumile Masire










and welcomed Festus Mogae in Botswana










only to wave farewell to Festus Mogae and welcome Ian Khama










And as Nujoma became the first President of Namibia he was there,










let alone to remain welcoming Pohamba.










He was there when Houmphoet Boigny died










And left Ivory Coast to Conan Bedi, Robert Gwe










and the political circus it has become.






















Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his










Wasn't he there when Jimmy Carter was serving his first term?










And when he was defeated by Ronald Reagan?










And when George Bush Senior became President he shook his hands










And he was there with Bill Clinton, George Bush Junior and now Barack Obama.






















Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his










He became President 2years into Margaret Thatcher's tenure as British PM,










she left him there as she handed the keys of No10 to John Major










John Major left him there as he handed the keys of No10 to Tony Blair










Mubarak is at fault, he waved his hand to bid farewell to Tony Blair










and it was in his eyes as Gordon Brown took over.










And as Gordon Brown left the keys to David Cameron










he officially welcomed him on behalf of the Egyptian people.






















Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his










Didn't he see Babangida and Abacha depart in Nigeria?










Didn't he see Olusegun Obassanjo come and go?










He was there during the days of Shehu Shagari and










He was there during the days of Slobodan Milosevic.










Let the sky above him explode, for why must it implode?










Hosni Mubarak is at fault and










the lungs and ribs of the world laugh at him louder










The ticklish laughs at the sight of his political epitaph,










The undertaker laughs at the sight of his political coffin.






















Una n'landu Mubarak, yes the fault is his










Nothing can be as shaming for a man who could not read the end of his time.










Yet Mubarak also laughs at those he has left behind










How they cannot even read his own mistakes,










How they remain clinging to power










Even as they see the ribs and lungs of the world laugh at him










Even as they see even political vultures avoiding his political carcass










Even as their intellect avoid reading the bold writing on his epitaph










Mubarak laughs in his heart,










At the ignorants who forget that they can close everything else










but not the people's anger










He too laughs at their failure to see their shameful demise!






















Julius Sai MUTYAMBIZI-DEWA



Friday 4 February 2011

THE WEST: JUST A COINCIDENTAL ALLY OF ZIMBABWE’S OPPOSITION



The West is just a coincidental ally of Zimbabwe's opposition. They are its admirers just as the East is also becoming admirers. In politics you only turn away your admirers at your own peril. Their admiration of Zimbabwe's opposition is consistent with the overwhelming admiration of the same opposition by Zimbabweans in Zimbabwe who in 2008 gave the two MDCs and an Independent candidate a convincing overall majority. The opposition in Zimbabwe has nothing do with western double standards as shown in Egypt.



It is a myth that opposition politics in Zimbabwe are a creation of the West. In fact it is an insult on the intelligence of Zimbabweans as being capable of chatting their own way forward. What the ZANU PF government did in Zimbabwe affected Zimbabweans who despite the "land reform" and "indigenisation" which both have been passed as success stories and the majority as the benefactor voted overwhelmingly against the party of their liberation and the party of their "empowerment", ZANU PF. It is against this political reality that ZANU PF must seriously question its performance and review its policies because it seems they have promoted a falsehood that has failed to see that they, not the West, have become the liability in Zimbabwe.



The friend I will never Forget



Like everyone else I have friends. But there is this outstanding friend that I will never forget even though we don’t always agree on matters. Sometimes I even feel my friend messes me up big time but surprisingly I am always prepared to reconcile with my friend because of the solidness of what we went through in our past. There was a true symbiosis and it was my good friend who during times of need stood up with me, walked with me and made sure I was fed and attended to me in my hospital bed. Such are the people who touch our lives in a big way and if I simply cannot forget the acts of camaraderie that I received at such a localised scale, I am not forgetting someone because we were together what I don't understand is how the people of Zimbabwe can so easily forget about a ZANU PF that sacrificed their time in the bush with some of them dying for the liberation of their compatriots.



Put in perspective those who went to war together with their leaders were complicit to the commission of treason against their own country and they did so with very inferior weapons and basic military training. They completely stood no real chance against a well-equipped and well-trained Rhodesia National Army. In a way participation in the liberation struggle was sentencing oneself to death; a real non-believer's journey where it made better sense to think you would not survive than you would come back alive. And then the same ZANU PF "gave us land" and "indigenisation", such a good friend, why then do Zimbabweans frown at them and are prepared to slam the door even and leave them in the rain. I have tussled with fellow countrymen who won't care a thing if there is an Iraq-style military invasion in our country. Reason, they are fed up with ZANU PF. Why have Zimbabweans become so "ungrateful"? Why can't we remember our "Saints"?



Oh back to my friend it is interesting to note that not even a single day has my friend ever reminded me that at some point we were together. I remember on my own and deep down my heart I remain conscionable and reflecting on the unforgettable sacrifices. Why then is it in the case of ZANU PF, they have to remind Zimbabweans that they stood by them and even though, people still frown at them and are prepared to slam the door? Are Zimbabweans that mean?





Gentle Persuasion



I have heard a story of how a couple came to be. There is this man who was really fierce; he was a bully even. He developed an eye for a very beautiful girl, but his main problem was that he was known as a ruffian and thus he really doubted it if he could be able to convince his potential suitor and ask for her hand in marriage. But slowly he started the process, without telling her that he loved her, he would stand up for her against the bullies in the neighbourhood, and whenever he could he could buy her one or two goodies just as a gesture to show he loved her. All the while he did not attempt to ask her for her hand in marriage, he silently studied her reaction and planned the correct strategy.



And when the time came he did not seek to subjugate her. Slowly, one day, he said the good words to her, in soft verbatim, word by word with a flow; he told her how beautiful she was and how he could mistaken her for an angel. Going through the persuasive paces he then said he loved her and at that point the girl told her she didn't love him. The man did not tell her that he had stood with her against bullies or that he had bought her goodies, no. He continued again, asking her why she thought he was not the right man for her and this time he asked her not to tell him the answer but gave her the time to think through his proposition.



When they met again he avoided reminding her of the good things that he had done for her. He bought romantic flowers and handed them to her. He didn't even say he loved her, just the flowers and they talked about other completely unrelated stories as he walked her to her flat. And then one day he received first a card from her that talked about how he could be blessed if he was to marry a Christian wife and then, there was the phone call, the voice of his prized woman asking him how he was and why he had not been phoning her lately. Like the street-wise ghetto bred man he was he told her how he was confused particularly on that day, and how she had been his angel possibly by premonition, that he was stranded because he had lost his keys and he had nowhere to go. He told her that at that moment both his physical body and his love needed accommodation and that nowhere else could he get that except from her. He asked if he could join her at her flat that night and she agreed. The next day he asked to leave but she too found out that she could no longer let go and the rest was history.



Like love politics is about gentle persuasion. ZANU and ZAPU as parties had the least to do. The votes were theirs to take and the fact that they are threatened by MDC, just a small child born yesterday shows how dysfunctional they have become. I will be kinder to ZAPU because it is yet to be tested in its new form and unlike ZANU PF it does not have to its hold, the advantages of incumbency. I can say I grew up a formidable street fighter in my own right [well when I was very young but I think I still am a fighter though], but I don’t remember any day that I ever used muscles or force to earn friendship, that sounds very unique. How ZANU PF thinks that they can beat up people, including beating up innocent and defenceless women and old people and then still manage to get their love is something that needs examination.



Hhamba inonyila wakaisenga [ a tortoise that messes the one carrying it]

ZANU PF has itself to blame. A tortoise is very slow and if someone decides to be merciful and carry it, it will have no one to blame if it messes the person carrying it and ends up being dropped abruptly. The glasnost ZANU PF has done; their land reform and empowerment will remain in vain as their benefactors abandon them at their hour of need. In 2008 they were abandoned by the same people they had taken all the bashing for, those they had given farms just as they have been abandoned by the people they sacrificed to liberate and the white farmers in whose name they committed atrocities during Gukurahundi in Matabeleland. The same white farmers they said they were protecting abandoned them and it now seems a very familiar story given that they arrested Phillip Chiyangwa, yes the same man who has benefitted from Affirmative Action, for espionage against ZANU PF. The question is why does this happen to ZANU PF? What contribution do they make to their own downfall?

And it took being shunned for ZANU during the liberation struggle to remember that the West would not be help them in any practical way in the removal of UDI. Against all pointers it was to the West that they first went, that they were in a way fighting Britain’s war to reign in the rogue Ian Smith only for Kambarage Mwalimu Julius Nyerere to tell them that if they thought the British would help them they were dreaming. And it is ZANU that quickly dropped its Eastern bloc and Scandinavian liberation war allies for the West soon after independence only to remember after being dropped that their friends were not exactly like my treasured friend: tjokukumbula kanyi ngoswunugwa: you remember your roots only when trouble knocks on your door!



European Union, the Commonwealth and continuing ZANU PF hypocrisy



And right now a new wave of terror is going on, led by Jabulani Sibanda and rooted in hypocrisy. Why is ZANU-PF collecting 2 million signatures to petition the European Union if they are not puppets? Why should we petition the European Union and not SADC or the African Union? Are we now not saying that the EU is in fact our master, our principals and where exactly does such a completely confused cadre derive his liberation credentials from? They are assaulting innocent civilians to collect 2 million signatures, for what? To petition the European Union? Who is the EU to Zimbabwe, it is just a trading bloc that would come rushing if Zimbabwe were to manufacture or produce quality products at competitive prices. The EU buys from Russia even though they are not exactly good friends.

It took them ZANU PF 23 years to leave the Commonwealth [and they reluctantly left], the same organisation that reminds them that they were a colony at a time when they were clamouring that Zimbabwe would never be a colony again. One thing is true, our country is being led by people who cannot think strategically, they lack any vision to be able to take us into the future at best they offer tactical thinking that in their case is also fraught by wrong tactics. At any given time they don’t know who their friend or enemy is and then those they wrongly think are their allies are abnormally rewarded by overtures that then backfire leaving their own support base dwindling.



In 1980 Ken Flower and Peter Walls were their allies. They advised them that ZIPRA had weapons and was planning to overrun them. They arrested Dabengwa and Lookout Masuku and wanted to assassinate Joshua Nkomo. They deployed Gukurahundi into Matabeleland where it committed genocide. But the same Ken Flower would sabotage their air defence capability. And even as we speak their perceived enemy are the people of Zimbabwe whose main crimes are their demand for freedom, jobs, health, education and dignity. They are not worried about the real enemies which are the former RENAMO in Mozambique, the former UNITA in Angola, Rwanda, Ethiopia [for our part in accommodating Mengistu], the DRC and Uganda who we have fought in the past and who may in the future have a real reason for blow-back on Zimbabwe.



The legacy of opposition

Opposition to ZANU PF have their roots in founding fathers of Zimbabwe such as Joshua Nkomo, Rev Ndabaningi Sithole, George Nyandoro, Edgar Tekere, James Chikerema, Welshman Mabhena, Enock Dumbutshena etc and founding mothers such as Ruth Chinamano, Jane Ngwenya etc. Yes western double standards are there for everyone to see but opposition parties in Zimbabwe have never said they are the standard bearers of their philosophies. The West is just friends by coincidence. When you quarrel with your spouse in public and if someone you think is a love rival exclaims to your waywardness, it will be folly to think that the “love rival” is the reason why you quarrel. Get your house in order and quarrel in your bedroom and you will discover that even your children will never know that there is something terrible going on between you. ZANU PF’s assault on citizens is in the public domain and it is very difficult for other people not to see. They end up saying the same things as the opposition but that does not make them the reason why there is disorder in Zimbabwe.

Be Judge!



Julius Sai MUTYAMBIZI-DEWA is the Chairman of Communities Point, he writes in his own capacity.



Contact: mutyambizidewa@yahoo.co.uk or 07529705413 or 07401182271