(OPINION)Zanu PF shot itself in the foot by ill-treating Edward Chindori Chininga
A loud familiar voice is heard screaming from a known location in Mashonaland Central’s Guruve surronding thickets: ”They thought they killed me, but a spirit cannot die, hohohoho, mweya waMwari haufi.”
Nearby, both tree and leaves suddenly begin to shake of their own rendition where there are yet no winds. What in the world is happening?
The issue started when Edward Chindori Chininga (ECC) was killed in a phony accident whose elements could not add up from an objective consideration. Airbag intact. Windscreen intact. Rammed tree intact. The Zanu PF Herald had sped up to report on the death as if it had been waiting for long to break news but went into catacomb silence the whole weekend and after. Unlike other heroes whose obituaries are run in tandem, ECC’s obituary was treated as a nonevent. Even the vocal Caesar Zvayi had no decent words for such a gallant son of Zimbabwe except to off-handedly dismiss the fake accident issue with words, “No one is immortal”
Then came the issue about the application letter from the Mashonaland Central leaders of ZANU PF on the need to make ECC a national hero. “Busy” Didymus Mutasa took days to receive the letter. And this is 2013, with rampant technology, mobile phones and all! Previously, the Politiburo has taken minutes to declare someone a hero. Within a five day span, there were no deliberations. On the very fifth day, Mutasa emerged with the shocking words, “He did not qualify for the nation.”
ECC could not qualify, but Border Gezi could!. ECC fought in the liberation struggle, represented Zimbabwe abroad, returned home and served in the Mines and Environment ministries. He was a vibrant constituency member who was killed in the middle of an endless fight for the rights of his people. From the village to the nation at large, he kept coming. He was a true example of the “charity begins at home” mantra. He was loved by all across the board. And he died for exposing diamond revenue discrepancies including access to the mines, trading partners, revenue submissions and accountability. For that last move and that of the malicious COPAC allegations, the killers within his own party thought he had to be eliminated for his big mouth. And so he went without any remorse or shame by the evil doers.
As such a true liberation fighter gets buried in his rural village today, power hungry Border Gezi who joined Zanu PF after independence with his insincere kongonya dances lies at the Heroes Acre. Chenjerai Hunzvi the fraudster for the war veterans fund who claimed 100% injuries expected for one to remain bedridden or on life support, lies on the Heroes Acre. Sabina Mugabe used her maternal last name to get there. Many other nameless and undeserving crooks and gangsters are now the Heroes. Even those who crossed the floor from the Special Branch, Grey Selous Scouts, Rhodesia Front and Auxiliary forces, sellouts and good friends of Ian Smith lie at the Heroes Acre as the true Heroes of Zimbabwe under Mugabe. Some of those people were on their way to Chimoio or Nyadzonya when cease fire was declared and returned without firing a single bullet but today they are National Heroes. The true heroes remain unsung and are buried on the village ant hill without even a deserving gun salute. And with such abuse the people of Guruve should remain loyal to Zanu PF. And Zimbabwe should take this short change as deserving. And this is a special hour when a certain notorious breed of power hungry and ambitious young thugs within Zanu PF continue to develop vices that are destroying the party image. And these shall be the heroes. People who joined the party way after Independence are the ones being sent to the Heroes Acre and those who fought in the struggle are sent to the village to be buried there.
So what does this mean for Zanu PF? It is no longer a principled party with a mission and values. The engine of Zanu PF right now is populist and convenient for the needs of the hour. It has lost touch with the feelings and concerns of the nation. It does not care or worry about how people feel, think or get affected. Some poisonous minds have now infiltrated our revolutionary party and there is no finesse or ethics in the way we now run things. The criteria for the Zanu PF heroes is a sham and comprises of social dross, gangsters and crooks that have been known to serve the party on last minute basis. Some opportunists have been raked from all corners of life and as hired mercenaries, are just doing what serves them best. Truly when anyone brags of killing someone because he is in our party, where are we heading? And what is the cause for us to eliminate each other like flies? The Heroes Acre is no longer a place that it was meant to be. No right thinking person will ever want to be buried there anymore because it is a condemned place of butchers, killers, gangsters and cunning crooks hand picked on tribal lines. It is the looming wall of shame in Zimbabwe. Some of the people who lie there are not true. Just a few remain true. Actually the first few were true. Some added ons and retrofits became conveniently planted there to establish a defined presence.
Zanu PF, regardless of how much it shows in not caring about people’s feelings, will soon start caring. The support base has been seriously dented by the ECC saga. People have brains and are talking. They know what is happening. The killing of true cadres is getting way out of hand and must be controlled. The choice of so called heroes is now seriously biased and confused. True heroes are being sidelined by the day. Mass disgruntlement is looming. People have lost more faith in our revolutionary party.
And there is one notorious family of killers from Mashonaland Central that has taken charge of the whole issue of eliminating party cadres KGB style. That family now wants to be a dynasty. Everyone is power hungry in that family. The only problem is that the power hunger is quickly offsetting the true values of our party. Many are taking these things for granted. But they are happening.
While Mugabe and his tired associates may think the elimination of some people helps his party, it is actually destroying it from within. This is not the Zanu PF that we used to know. The old party had a face, ethics, values and respect for the masses. We don’t see that anymore. The leaders are tongue lashing and crude. They do not care anymore. Could these be the signs of doom from Shake-Shake building? I wouldn’t be surprised. In conclusion I will still remind the Zanu PF politiburo that the delay in announcing ECC’s hero status, the tampering with the emotions of the nation at large and the retaliation on ECC over the exposed diamond issues have taken the party into the abyss. People are watching us but the support base is fast waning away. People are tired of these killers taking away souls of hard working patriotic people. While he is not at your Heroes Acre or rather National Wall of Shame, in our hearts and souls, Edward Chindori Chininga (ECC) remains a hero for all time. At the end of the day it is not where you lie, but what you did and will be remembered for in Zimbabwe.
By Wilkins Mugofora
Tweet