Mawere entry poisons MDC rebels

By Itai Dzamara

After an eventful and controversy-ridden five months, the group of MDC rebels has clawed out of its world of delusion and illusionary imaginations – it has become the game of reality, and the main battle is on perception. 

There and there, enter Mutumwa Mawere, joining the MDC rebels, or, according to the euphemism some are trying, ‘forging an alliance’. Quite poignant, illustrative and interesting, yet dealing a fatal blow to the Biti’s group’s battle for, and against, perception. Here is how, and why.

One of the huge elephants very prominent in the Biti group’s living room has been the perception of its secret links with Zanu PF, and, that, juxtaposed and contrasted with the MDC rebels’ real mission or agenda. Some try to sanitise or normalise the existence of such deals in the case of the Biti group, but l have no doubt that, in real political dynamics, that is invariably a kiss of death.

Forget it, the polarised political waters of Zimbabwe are a very long way from migrating away from the general and entrenched perception of two main antagonistic foes, or sides – you are either Zanu PF or the opposition, for which the face is the MDC, period.

The attempt to create a new dispensation that assumes a heterogenous form of entity of party from the two sides is a myth, and will not resonate with the general populace, until the dynamics and perceptions shift – which l don’t see to be anytime soon.

That is how Simba Makoni failed, the same as repeated efforts to form a ‘third force’ by various elements and interests. It is for that reason, that the Biti group, for the past five months largely battled and grappled with attempting to clear the air about who exactly they are – perception.

It has become almost impulsive in the politics of the MDC, that anyone who stands up to challenge Morgan Tsvangirai gets to be suspected for having links with Zanu PF – both out of existing and justifiable circumstances, as well as inherent attitudes born out of the long-standing rivalry.

Indeed, there is a basis for the perception and attitude within MDC circles, because Zanu PF has been, and still shall continue, trying to infiltrate and destroy the MDC by, among other ways, hiring elements from the opposition movement.

The moment the Biti camp stepped up to start its rebellion, it plunged head on into the inferno of that perception, inevitably having to immediately start fighting to prove to be a genuine mission of leadership renewal, totally unlinked to Zanu PF. It has been an unmitigated disaster in that aspect, for the Biti group – what with shockingly numerous boobs that sold out or revealed secret links with Zanu PF.

From the other end, the Zanu PF system also variously, both deliberately and inadvertently, also exposed deep interest and backing for the Biti mission. That is what prounced the death knell for the MDC rebels, because, their battle for the heart and soul of the MDC support was set for a huge flop.

The entrenchment of the perception that the MDC rebels are vicariously fronting a Zanu PF mission, poisoned the Biti group’s chalice. It plunged them into the quagmire. It crash landed their delusional jet of imagined capacity and progress, down to earth of reality, upon which their previously boastful claims of having taken over the MDC or ousted the Tsvangirai leadership, were unmasked and exposed as virtual lies.

The Biti group has been forced to land and live – eventually – the reality of having hit and run themselves into attempting a clumsy rebellion, but then getting expelled from the movement upon which their value and potentially is wholly established.

Now, it is a very critical and delicate situation for the Biti group, as it both searches for a new agenda and scrounges for breathing space. It remains, at the core, a vicious battle of perception. The Biti group is in sixes and sevens, sweating to try and correct a perception and slowly convince the people to cross over and support them.

Clearly, the people targeted by the Biti group are MDC members, supporters and sympathisers. Zanu PF members and supporters are a non factor in the matrix. They have no business with the politics of the Biti group, which only has links to elements in Zanu PF top ranks, for some elite secret deals and agendas.

In that scenario, enter Mawere. All hell breaks loose. A sea of poison is pumped into the Biti group, towards more disaster. It is in three ways. First, besides the vacuuity of Mawere purely bringing nothing worthy politically – no real party, membership or appeal – he brings the embodied poison of Zanu PF.

Mawere doesn’t need introduction as an individual, and it is not at all about a political profile, but a controversial record as having been a Zanu PF created business mogul, who was chucked out by the system under a cloud of conflict and mystery. He attempted forming a party last year but seemed to backtrack, and now, suddenly, Mawere after all emerges to claim to have one – virtually underlining a mysterious circus behind the whole thing.

That is the last thing the Biti group would have wanted to bring the new twist to their rumbling scandal. The people targeted by the Biti group, MDC members and supporters, will at the least laugh it off, but mostly jump to find it as confirmation of the perception that the Biti mission is a Zanu PF project.

That is because, and as the second point, Mawere is a well known protege of Emmerson Mnangagwa. This confirms and unravels a puzzle. The News Leader reported a couple of weeks ago about the secret deal between the Biti group and Mnangagwa faction of Zanu PF. The timing wouldn’t have been worse, to confirm that through Mawere’s entry, for the Biti group.

Lastly, the Mawere development is quite telling and emblematic of the ultimate failure of the Biti group to appeal even to a couple of political entities they had rushed to try and forge an alliance with – such as Zapu, NCA, MKD and MDC Ncube.

The Biti group at some point reached a crescendo of harping about the formation of a ‘united front’ with these entities, meaning, therefore that the very desperate and suicidal resort to Mawere suggests there is no progress with the other parties.

It was always inevitable and l predicted it in May, that the other political formations would become unimpressed by the drama and litany of deceptive tactics by the Biti group. It is laughable now to imagine Biti and company claiming progress or having created a ‘united front’ with Mawere’s non-existent party.

And, it is clearly a knee-jerk move aimed at trying to breath life into the tired and fainting mission of the Biti group, the same as the purely farcical announcement of a new executive when they still claim to be the MDC, which purportedly has a national council, that supposedly met at Mandel Training Centre on 26 April and fired the Tsvangirai leadership.

Such has been the consistent drama of blatant lies, to which the Mawere icing has been added by the Biti group – in the full glare of the people they want support from. I repeat yet again, the Biti group’s circus won’t win them support to grow beyond the nonentity that their capacity is, in reality.