Lewanika was the crisis at the coalition

By Pride Mkono (Crisis in Zimbabwe member)

In a recent story the former National Coordinator of the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition Mcdonald Lewanika alleged that ‘tired activism and donor fatigue’ would serve to perpetuate ZANU PF misrule.

Lewanika’s conclusion is based on the premise that without a vibrant civil society which is well funded, ZANU PF will continue to rundown the affairs of our sorry country. Certain facts need to be set straight in this regard.

Firstly it is common cause that the current comatose state of civic society organisations in particular the Crisis Coalition, which is the lead organisation with regards to human rights advocacy and democratisation, is a result of large scale looting of funds donated for programmes by the secretariat working in cahoots with certain staffers in donor agencies.

Thus it is foolhardy for Lewanika to attempt to blame activists for being tired when it is actually people like him who have destroyed the spirit of activism by looting resources meant to advance the democratisation agenda.

Secondly it is important for Lewanika and his cabal to take notice of the fact that internal democracy is vital for mobilising the masses against the ZANU PF dictatorship.

In order for citizens to be conscious of democracy and for them to demand democracy they must enjoy it in their own civic spaces, hence internal democracy in organisations like the Crisis Coalition is a non negotiable if the organisation is to be a force against the dictatorship. However the opposite is true for Crisis Coalition during the tenure of Lewanika.

Democracy, transparency and accountability were cast through the widow as Lewanika, spurred on by his cabal network, turned himself into a demigod of the organisation.

Corruption and poor corporate governance became the order of the day and the membership of the Coalition were reduced to bystanders as Lewanika and his gang ruthlessly pursued their selfish and private agendas.

Thus it is utter rubbish for Lewanika to now want to claim grace and blame activists and donors for the perpetuating ZANU PF misrule when he is clearly one of the leading culprits in this respect.

Thirdly it is important to note that authoritarian regimes are brought down by conscious and calculated efforts of alternative pro-democracy groups, hence programming is a very key element of change. The Crisis Coalition under Lewanika became, which he admits in the article in question, an elitist grouping that lacked organic roots to link with the ordinary masses.

All the campaigns which Lewanika embarked on were huge failures, talk of the Global Advocacy Campaign (affectionately known as GAKA , a Shona word for a cucumber) which suffered a still birth and the Feya Feya campaign (known as Feja Feja ,a popular game of gambling) which became a looting roller coaster, in the guise of registering 10 000 first time voters per day.

Except for a few desktop papers that were done by some academics and gigantic burgers which were distributed to Lewanika’s friends at the helm of some select civil society organizations, there is nothing to reflect except strife and failure for Lewanika’s entire tenure.

Finally Lewanika dangerously proved that he not only lacked the competency to steer the largest pro-democracy coalition in Zimbabwe but was unconsciously incompetent, meaning he was unaware of his cluelessness. His conduct of affairs was unsatisfactory at the least and complete disaster at the worst.

Lewanika knows he was only able to last as long as he did as Coordinator because he was assisted by a cabal of his friends most of whom were and are still working in influential donor organisations. However the downside of Lewanika’s stay has been the weakening of civic society which led to the July 31 electoral disaster and its subsequent chaos.

In the final analysis it is corruption and poor internal governance in key CSOs like Crisis Coalition which has aided the ZANU PF regime to continue with its misrule and this was the correct observation of the Board of Crisis Coalition when it passed a resolution not to renew his contract on October 10, 2014.

Lewanika and his corrupt gang, through their acts unknowingly or more dangerously so knowingly, sabotaged the people of Zimbabwe by looting resources meant to bolster citizen participation. Indeed history will one day remember the later day Nyathis (sell-outs) of the democratic struggles in Zimbabwe!

Pride Mkono is a Social Justice Activist and writes here on his own capacity. He can be contacted on [email protected]