MDC primaries – time for inclusivity and healing

By Moses Chamboko

Initiated by Caiaphas and other high priests, the betrayal was executed by none other than an insider. For only thirty pieces of silver, Judas Iscariot put his hand up and sacrificed the son of man.

There are conflicting views as to the fate of the betrayal prize. Whatever happened to the blood coins, one thing is certain; Judas did not live to enjoy the benefit of his insidious undertaking.

Seemingly Sunday school talk, this story might have some relevance to the MDC at this crucial juncture. With the election season gaining momentum, we are reminded of the temptation that consumed a trusted disciple as well as the famous story of the prodigal son or the forgiving father.

Back to the secular world, only a few days ago, Julia Gillard, Australia’s first female prime minister, was ejected from office in the same manner she landed on the prime ministership; boardroom coup.

In retrospect, it can be argued that had Gillard waited patiently for her turn, the painful and embarrassing fate wouldn’t have befallen her. Clearly, she was a victim of premature ambition. Put differently, impatience was her greatest undoing.

While primaries and nominations for the imminent election are now behind us, curious events of the past couple of days deserve some reflection. The primaries produced interesting results with some constituencies still stuck with double submissions from the same party, on both sides of politics.

Manicaland, the hub of our liberation struggle, produced the most spectacular drama. As usual, the party that wins this province and Masvingo will be in a very strong position to form the next government. On the other end of the land mass, Matabeleland has almost been diluted to a neutral ground.

Fragmentation of the vote seems imminent given voting patterns in that region. Nevertheless, MDC-T remains the favourite horse to put one’s bet on. But I digress.

The reported automatic dismissal of “rebels” who opted to enter the race as independents is somehow unfortunate. Those people are adults, most of them with the ability to make sound judgement. Admittedly, some might be victims of kneejerk reaction or self-interest while others may have seriously considered implications of their actions based on grounded principle and ideology.

Nowhere in the world has anybody managed to solve a single problem by disowning it. Instead of summary dismissal, affording the aggrieved parties a fair platform to freely air their views and concerns would go a long way towards healing the wounds and establishing a lasting remedy. Premature ambition, destructive malice as well as politics of opportunism and patronage must not stand in the way of progress and unity.

For many years, President Mugabe was virtually ring-fenced by cunning opportunists and marauding vultures to the extent that he could only hear filtered information and see through the lenses of his gatekeepers.

In the process, he was severely alienated from developments on the ground only to realise too late that the disconnect between him and the people had become almost irreparable. In 2008 when all indications were that he would dismally lose the election, his closest advisors kept on assuring him that he was still as popular as ever. There is no political betrayal worse than this!

It would be sad if anything similar happened to any of our future leaders. Erecting parapets of steel around a leader while waiting for an opportune moment to pounce is retrogressive, to say the least.

Whilst there is no tangible evidence of insurmountable fissures within the MDC-T, dynamics of the primaries and nominations might be a microcosm. Downplaying these developments without serious introspection is acting like the proverbial ostrich.

Certain things could have been done much better. Reflecting on lessons learnt and making an effort to right the wrongs is a must for future success.

It would appear some were/are already positioning themselves for Congress 2016. While there is nothing sinister with ambition, if it comes prematurely, it can be disastrous. Julia Gillard’s recent experience provides useful lessons.

The immediate and most imperative task at hand is to heal the movement and win election 2013. In this battle, there is only one battalion and one commander. Every soldier is equally important no matter where they fire from. The time for inclusivity and healing is now.

Moses Chamboko writes in his personal capacity. He can be contacted at [email protected]