Amai Mujuru is being unrealistic in her claim to be candidate for the united front against Mugabe

By Kennedy Kaitano

Given an opportunity, no one would deny the chance to be candidate for the proposed coalition against Mugabe. Anyone, from Biti, Professor Welshman Ncube, Morgan Tsvangirai, Dumiso Dabengwa, Benjamin Paradza, Maxwell Shumba – the list is long – will not turn down the offer if a suggestion is made.

This is because they are all political leaders, and anyone who calls themselves a leader cannot deny an opportunity to lead. Even if someone suggested me to lead, even though I am a political non-entity, I wouldn’t say no, because I think I can lead.

But then there are so many leaders among us, but only one person can be the candidate for a grand coalition against Mugabe if one was to be reached.

My real concern is that there are some of us who, when they think they have the opportunity to lead, start pulling down other contenders. I am still trying to establish the rationale of Dr. Amai Mujuru going on an interview and telling foreigners that Tsvangirai’s strength “resonates with you outsiders”.

What was she really trying to say? Have the outsiders voted for Morgan Tsvangirai in all the years? Did the outsiders vote for Morgan Tsvangirai when he officially defeated Mugabe in 2008?

Mai Mujuru is also reported as having said her liberation war credentials placed her better than Morgan Tsvangirai, a position repeated by her ally Dzikamai Mavahire recently. The truth is that those who participated in the liberation struggle did so to free the people, not necessarily for them to be Presidents.

I am not saying here that people who participated in the liberation war should not be given the opportunity if they have the qualities to lead, but that anyone – whether they participated in the liberation struggle or not should be accorded an equal opportunity to lead. When those who went to the liberation struggle start saying we should be the leaders because we fought the war, then they are turning themselves into another Mugabe, and Zimbabwe doesn’t want another Mugabe at all

This mantra of saying vote us because we fought the war is a Mugabe creation which should never be repeated by anyone who is sane, and as a peace loving Zimbabwean, I will begin to question whoever thinks only political parties linked to the liberation struggle are the ones that need to provide presidential candidates.

The ordinary Zimbabweans accept whoever they want to be their leader, like they did in 2008, like they have always tried to do since 2000, but have always been denied by Zanu PF rigging. After all, taking up arms against the Rhodesia army was not the only way to contribute to the struggle, most people who were born by the time of the liberation struggle participated one way or the other.

Zanu PF does not respect anyone opposed to them, whether or not they fought the liberation struggle. What exactly do those people outside Zanu PF think will be the advantage of fielding a person with a liberation war history as a candidate against Mugabe, who will always say anyone opposed to him is a sell out.

I am sure that label has already been used on Mai Mujuru by Mugabe and those still following him – so what’s the difference. Just a few months ago, Brigadier Agrippa Mutambara was nearly killed by Zanu PF militia to prove my point that the Mugabe system never cares who went to war.

A candidate for the grand coalition must be one who is most liked by the people who will vote, or whose party is party commands the great support of all the parties in the coalition, and I am sure there are ways to measure the support level.

One leader of an opposition party who I will not name as he chose to communicate with me privately, suggested that there was no rush to made a decision on the candidate now as other parties are still establishing, but the focus now should be on electoral reforms, and I would encourage everyone who is fed up with Mugabe to direct their energies towards electoral reforms and weakening Mugabe, and that effort will translate to popular support when it comes to the time of selecting the person to lead the grand coalition.

Let us not use what Mugabe says against each one of us against each other, but let us all counter whatever Mugabe and his people say against any one of us. That is the genuine unity of purpose that is needed at this stage of the struggle. I would want to believe that Tsvangirai’s strength is in Zimbabwe, with the people who voted him to officially bit Mugabe in 2008.