I am not a political analyst but I have got the gut feeling that Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai may have made headlines but at the same time he committed political suicide by his comments on African Union Commission chair Nkosana Dlamini-Zuma.
Tsvangirai said Dlamini-Zuma was lying by saying that all political parties in Zimbabwe were happy with the way the election process was going and no one had complained to her. Tsvangirai did not stop at that but went on to say that it was not a secret that she was a Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front sympathiser.
This may have gone well with the media but it could cost him dearly unless he wallops Robert Mugabe in Wednesday’s elections and wins outright.
In my humble opinion, this was not a case of whether he was right or not. It was a question of judgment- saying the right thing at the wrong moment- and seems to fortify the argument that his leadership qualities are questionable.
Former United States ambassador to Zimbabwe, Christopher Dell, said of Tsvangirai: “Morgan Tsvangirai is a brave, committed man and, by and large, a democrat. He is also the only player on the scene right now with real star quality and the ability to rally the masses. But Tsvangirai is also a flawed figure, not readily open to advice, indecisive and with questionable judgment in selecting those around him.”
Indeed, in this case, it is the people around him that should be to blame for the blunder. They should have advised him not to say what he said, even if it was true. If it had to be said, he should have left it to Douglas Mwonzora, the party spokesman, or the party’s director of elections.
This is the same blunder he committed a decade ago when he was hauled before the courts for treason for allegedly plotting to assassinate Mugabe. Though he was eventually acquitted, as party leader Tsvangirai should never have been involved in the first place and should have left everything to his lieutenants.
Tsvangirai may be competing against Mugabe in the presidential race, but he ought to know that Mugabe can shoot his mouth without similar consequences.
Mugabe is already known to have no respect for the West or anyone who stands in his way, but like it or not, he usually gets his facts right, which means someone will have verified the information for him.
In fact, it would appear that one of the reasons why ZANU-PF has kept Mugabe as candidate is to make sure that he dishes out all the dirty, plays all the dirty tricks and everyone blames him and not the party.
The West seems to have swallowed this by accusing him of being a dictator who wants to die in office when they have clear evidence that when he was beaten by Tsvangirai in 2008, he was ready to step down but was told that he was not going anywhere.
To everyone, Mugabe has overstayed and all he is doing is to insult everyone to stay in office. What excuse does Tsvangirai have for insulting the AU Commission chair when the European Union has openly declared that if the AU says next week’s elections are free and fair it will accept the result?
After all Dlamini-Zuma is not an appointed official. She was elected by a majority of African countries. To make matters worse, she may be divorced from chief mediator South African President Jacob Zuma but they must still be close because he would not have kept her in his cabinet, holding one of the most powerful posts, and then backing her to take up the AU job.
Zuma has just chastised Lindiwe Zulu his advisor who seemed more sympathetic to the MDC cause, and now this?
As I said I am not a political analyst. I may be seeing things wrong.
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