Mapositori anger symbolic of national mood
By Itai Dzamara
Nobody would have put a single dollar on a bet to predict that members of the mapositori sect would bash anti-riot police and send them fleeing.
Not in Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe.
That is why news of the incident on Friday in Harare’s Budiriro suburb, both went viral and sent Zimbabweans into a frenzy of excitement and sarcasm.
Of course, the Budiriro incident coming just a day after Police Commissioner General Augustine Chihuri collapsed at a pass out parade – before proffering farcical explanations – simply capped a very eventful week.
To the glee of folks from Harvest House, real and juicy news items engulfed the news and national discourse to replace contrived headlines about Morgan Tsvangirai’s supposed movie-style hospital saga. But at the end of it all, the Budiriro movie-style battle between police and the worshipers, is pregnant with meaning.
First, it is crucial to remind ourselves of the hypocrisy of the Mugabe regime, which has the tendency of abusing mapositori sects as and when it chooses. The regime has the habit of commandeering huge numbers of the mapositori members to attend Zanu PF and national functions in order to present a facade of popularity.
For that reason, the regime has been tacitly giving the licence for the random mushrooming of such assemblies, in open spaces, behind beerhalls, at places set for recreational facilities as well as even along burst sewer pipes. Mugabe himself has developed the art of visiting some vapositori shrines during election campaigns and ignored matters of the wanton violation of local governance regulations by the sects.
Therefore, the Mugabe regime, as always, tried to have its cake and eat it too, by trying to kick out the Budiriro sect. That kind of attitude is consistent with the Mugabe regime’s record of behaviour in general terms. The regime has become used to just waking up and destroying people’s homes, for example, or cracking down on vendors.
Not that l am defending illegal practices or settlements, but am sure there is need for the authorities to treat people with some respect, caution and empathy. The police went with force to Budiriro and got it in return. I am sure more engaging approaches could have been used.
Lastly, the mapositoris’ unprecedented outwitting of police is emblematic of the pervasive frustration and agitation creating a groundswell across the country. Zimbabweans, whether vending on the streets, at college or worshiping, have had enough of Mugabe and Zanu PF’s cocktail of tyranny and failure.
Only if there were people with hearts and empathy in the corridors of power, they would be taking this incident to rethink and seek practical ways out of the national crisis. For all we know, the Budiriro vapositoris could wake up drenched in a bloodbath after retributive crackdown by the regime, which may even deploy the army.
That is because there is a tyrant called Robert Mugabe, who wants everyone to be his tools, to be discarded when he chooses.
Itai Dzamara is Editor-In-Chief of Trinity Media (Pvt) LTD , (Publishers of The News Leader and The News Leader on Sunday)
