Ranga Mataire
Writing Back
If personal emotional disposition lingering on the vile side could miraculously turn into reality, then the world must stand ready for an implosion that will usher in the Nelson Chamisa-led opposition party as the new government of Zimbabwe.
Unfortunately, nowhere in the world has emotional inclination been turned overnight into reality unless one is a socially awkward kindergarten avid follower of Harry Potter, where reality is blurred by phantasmagorical episodes.
Let’s objectively review events of the past week in which three MDC officials reportedly went “missing” only to resurface a day later in Shamva at Muchapondwa Business Centre, looking dishevelled.
Let’s also review this disappearance within the context of a certain businessman-cum preacher giving an ominous warning on social media of something revolutionary about to happen and implored youths to rise up.
Let’s also contextualise the fact that the “disappearance” happened at a time when the opposition MDC faction led by Chamisa is in disarray following the Supreme Court ruling which declared him illegitimate.
In trying to connect the dots of the three aforementioned issues, I will appropriate Stembile Mpofu’s observations posted on her Facebook page on May 16, 2020.
It is not so long ago that a certain pastor went on social media, expressing his frustrations over a myriad of issues. He spoke about what he called an “occult” and “strongholds” that needed to be dismantled and ended the “sermon” by imploring the youth to rise up.
Without drawing any conclusions, is it not too much of a coincidence that a few days after the sermon, we witness a “flash” MDC youth demonstration in Warren Park high-density suburb, where after the trio of Joana Mamombe (Member of Parliament for Harare West), Cecilia Chimbiri (deputy youth assembly chair) and Netsai Marova (deputy organising secretary) apparently disappeared?
In her humble observations, Mpofu gives a historical perspective: “It has been about 9 months since the (Dr Peter) Magombeyi saga and we are faced with another abduction episode. And I’m sitting here with the same sense of disquiet. Again something is not adding up for me. It’s a strong sense that we have been presented with an open and shut case that has the usual characters being assigned their usual roles and the ending having us reach the same conclusion we have always reached.”
Stembile Mpofu
Mpofu further itemises her concerns very systematically with pertinent questions.
First, she questions the whole essence of organising a demonstration in flagrant disobedience of Covid-19 regulations put in place by the Government as per WHO regulations.
What sudden shift of even had taken place to prompt this sudden demonstration against hunger in the midst of a lockdown?
What was so special about having the demonstration in Warren Park and who sanctioned it since the MP for the area Shakespeare Hamauswa and other youth leaders like Obey Sithole were absent?
Is there a reason why only female leaders were sent out without any of the male substantive position holders accompanying them?
The second question or rather questions raised by Mpofu are: Why is it that out of a crowd of 50 plus youths, only three women disappeared?
And within hours of the women’s “disappearance”, social media was awash with news of the “abduction”. The United States and the European Union embassies went into overdrive on Twitter, appealing for the women’s safe return less than 24 hours after their “disappearance”.
Is Zimbabwe that important that senior US Congressmen had to focus on the three MDC officials in the midst of a global pandemic that has so far claimed thousands of lives?
Who is the greatest beneficiary of the alleged abduction? The Government doesn’t stand to benefit from this and save for simply breaking the law, I don’t see any threat posed by the three women as the demonstration just fizzled into a non-event.
Mpofu argues that it is no secret that the MDC led by Chamisa is in political dire straits and given that scenario, could it be that the three women could have been sent on harm’s way as a way to shore-up the opposition party’s waning fortunes by spotlighting Zimbabwe internationally?
So many unanswered questions that we hope police will unravel.
As of now, the tired mantra of always blaming the Government when some citizens are unaccounted, does not stick.
All we do for now is connect the dots. We have a week that began with a sermon predicting the rise of the youth and the spectacular fall of an occult government; then a flash demonstration in the midst of a deadly pandemic followed by US and EU embassies frenziedly issuing statements in the absence of any official communication with the Government.
The only conclusion we have is that there is indeed a method to the madness, but the good thing is that we have it on good authority that the Government is on top of the situation and soon everything will be unravelled.
And as for the businessman-cum preacher, we see it through how so-called sermons are being contrived to achieve certain ends.
Conferment of martyrdom won’t happen.
Just dream on!
– HERALD
