'Zanu-PF a cult'

Published: 18 March 2018

The ruling Zanu-PF party is a cult where one is safe as long as he/she remains part of the group and vilified the moment they jump ship, analysts have said.

Several former Zanu-PF officials have been disparaged by the party the moment they left, contrary to how they were glorified whilst within the ruling party.

The irony around some of the criticism is so glaring, with a perfect example being that of former president Robert Mugabe, whom the Zanu-PF supporters were deifying.

Mugabe had been declared a life president, as many touted him as a God-given leader whom they wanted to stand as the party's presidential candidate for the elections expected in July this year at the age of 94.

But all this disappeared like morning dew, the moment Mugabe resigned in November last year, following an intervention by the army, which elevated Emmerson Mnangagwa to the presidency.

Mugabe, all these years had remained a saint, and criticising him called for a jail term on the perpetrator.

However, after his resignation, Mugabe has associated himself with a new political outfit, the National Patriotic Front (NPF) led by Ambrose Mutinhiri.

This move has incensed the Mnangagwa administration, which is now dishing out dirt on Mugabe at every turn in a bid to discredit him and his efforts.

Speaking at a party rally held in Gokwe last weekend, the secretary-general of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association and Zanu-PF politburo member Victor Matemadanda disparaged Mugabe, mocking the role he played during the war of liberation.

"Mugabe should just rest because he is now tormenting his soul by coming back. He must be reminded that he has never been a war veteran and he cannot be a member of the Patriotic Front because he never participated in any war," Matemadanda said.

Recently, Zanu-PF members also openly denounced Mugabe while propping up his successor, Mnangagwa.

"Pamberi mberi na Mnangagwa, pasi pasi naRobert Gabriel Mugabe (Forward with Mnangagwa and down with Mugabe)," the Zanu-PF officials chanted at a party's youth meeting.

These attacks have not been restricted to Mugabe alone, as Zanu-PF also went at length to criticise Mutinhiri after he resigned from the party.

The narrative that was canvassed through the State media portrayed the NPF leader as a traitor and someone who never played a meaningful role during the war of liberation, despite his well-documented participation and relevance.

This also happened with former vice president and National People's Party leader Joice Mujuru, when she left the ruling party.

Before she left the party, Mujuru was described as one of the brave women that downed a helicopter, which narrative was dismissed as false the moment she left.

The ruling party is not even ashamed going to greater heights denouncing its former members, in a way that appears as though they are re-writing history and using the State media as its attack dogs.

Several other officials have been vilified by a party which thrives on mudslinging anyone who "crosses the line".

The party's victims include Dzinashe Machingura, Ndabaningi Sithole, Dumiso Dabengwa, Edgar Tekere, Simba Makoni, Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo.

Ironically, even the current president tasted that bitter medicine when he was fired from the party late last year for plotting against Mugabe.

When Mnangagwa was sacked from the party and government there were allegations that the State was already preparing dockets against him and this all vanished the moment he bounced back.

Upon return through a soft military coup, Mnangagwa became a hero once more.

Political analyst, Shakespeare Hamauswa, attributed this to the Machiavellian politics perfected by Mugabe, where everyone's dirty files are kept in tightly locked closets to keep lieutenants loyal to their principal or commander.

Interestingly, while Mugabe created this system, it eventually contributed to his downfall.

"So, they will divulge all the dirty things about those who decide to go against the party, for they have been responsible for concealing such information from public domain. Zanu-PF is like a Nyau (a secret society of the Chewa people) community, where one is only safe when they remain part of the system," Hamauswa said.

Among some of the information that is now being produced by the State against Mugabe is that he owns at least 21 farms, although this had remained a closely-guarded secret during his tenure in office, despite some land audits that were carried out.

Another political analyst Maxwell Saungweme made averments to the effect that Zanu-PF is a group of people that hero-worships its leaders.

"The ruling party is an elite cult, knitted around the personality of their incumbent leader. So everything, all systems are re-written, reinvented to suit the cult leader's narrative. If the leader changes, the narrative changes. It's purely politics, not history. So the Zanu-PF fabric is built on sand and deceit and not genuine history," Saungweme said.

Commenting on Zanu-PF's bid to bastardise history, Saungweme said; "The truth is there on who played what role in the liberation struggle but they (Zanu-PF) adulterate it to suit their present political machinations.

"They are very short-sighted. They don't know Zimbabwe belongs to future generations, who should know the truth about what our history is about. Distorting the history for political expediency and to fight petty political factional battles is disgraceful and Zanu-PF is doing just that".
- dailynews

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