By Jealousy Mawarire
I have observed the way the Daily News has been reporting news on Dr Joice Mujuru since the expulsion of Didymus Mutasa from ZimPF before we rebranded to NPP and I am convinced that there is a grand plan somewhere to portray a false picture that Mujuru’s NPP is weaker because of the expulsion of malcontents who were stalling progress and derailing coalition talks that we are having with fellow opposition parties.
It is very clear that the Daily News is not doing this out of sympathy for Mutasa and his partners but is desperate to paint a picture that only Morgan Tsvangirai is left with the political currency to lead the coalition.
The desperation to have Tsvangirai as the coalition leader is manifest in some contrived and funny endorsements by politically tainted people like Mutasa who, only yesterday, were fighting tooth and nail to stall any progress that we were making to ensure an MoU between our parties was signed.
Equally, headlines that insinuate that “Mujuru dithers on opposition coalition” are being crafted by the Daily News to plant negative perceptions around Mujuru and NPP on matters to do with coalition as if there is a God given instruction that all parties must endorse Tsvangirai as the coalition leader.
That the Daily News wants to criminalise anyone who hasn’t fallen for their Tsvangirai endorsement mantra is quite evident in their latest attack on Mujuru and that such ATTACKS are clearly planned media campaigns bordering on political skulduggery is not difficult to discern.
What is unfortunate is that perceived progressive elements like the Daily News have fallen for this premature coalition leader endorsement started by Robert Mugabe that Mutasa is now singing with relentless profanity.
It should, however, be made abundantly clear that Mujuru and NPP are amenable to a coalition but we are against individuals who are so power drunk to the extent of wanting to be endorsed by questionable characters who have no political party, have a dirty and murderous past and are known now for their desperatie attempts at gettting back to good terms with Mugabe. Surely if you see the devil pretending to be an usher to take you to heaven, that’s a good enough sign that you are approaching hell.
It is imperative that political parties form a coalition but it is politically dangerous to have characters that are so desperate to lead the coalition that they don’t want a democratic process to select the leader of the coalition.
We don’t want leaders who are so power drunk that they would turn a Nera platform into an endorsement pedestal even from people that we know are working with the ruling party to foil any prospects of the opposition going into the next election as a united front.
Our people want opposition parties to form a pre-election coalition but they also want a legitimate, plausible and credible process to choose a presidential candidate who will represent all of us. If that process results in Mujuru being chosen the leader, so be it. If Morgan Tsvangirai is chosen it is welcome.
If Biti or any other leader is chosen that would be fantastic and the duty for all of us will be to rally behind that leader and ensure he/she wins the election in 2018. We however, will not entertain dubious characters who are doing the bidding for Zanu-PF to behave like they represent everyone thereby purport to be endorsing anyone when they represent no one.
