Chamisa must act on the vanguard

The chaos and violence which were witnessed in the MDC’s primary elections, just like what happened in the Zanu PF internal voting, highlight a very worrying culture of failing to disagree in a manner that shows civility.

It is quite disconcerting that despite the country’s leadership and indeed MDC Alliance presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa, exhorting Zimbabweans to embrace and preach peace, their own political parties continue to behave otherwise.

Zimbabweans need to live peacefully and tolerate divergent views whether it is in politics, football or in a beer hall.

As a country we have gone through very trying times including having to lose men and women who waged a bitter war of independence in the 1970s.

Apart from that, thousands of lives were lost in the Gukurahundi atrocities as well as the fight against Renamo bandits along the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border line.

All these incidents, should at least, make us a people who value peace and happiness — because what the country has gone through before and after independence — demands just we do that.

It is sad that political parties and indeed government have failed to end the culture of violence among opponents despite having the instruments to do so.

Talk is cheap and we have heard a lot of it without being supported by concrete action. In the case of the MDC primary elections, a lot has been said about Chamisa’s failure to disband the party’s militia, the Vanguard which was accused of causing the cancellation of primary elections in Kuwadzana East at the weekend.

The Vanguard has in the past been accused of assaulting several MDC supporters who include figures such as the party’s former vice president Thokozani Khupe whom it subjected to unimaginable abuse at the funeral of the late founding president, Morgan Tsvangirai, early this year.

Chamisa has the instruments to dismantle this group but for some reason, he has not really pronounced himself on these thugs leaving both his rivals and allies alike, believing that he has a soft spot for them.

It becomes difficult to go against such thoughts as the widespread violence over the weekend confirmed that failure to act on the Vanguard has encouraged others to use this tool to make a political statement.

Both who were for the idea of keeping the Vanguard and those against this dangerous group of henchmen, now realise that they are a law unto themselves. Chamisa must act on this dangerous group to stop anarchy in the MDC. Daily News