Mujuru - Hero or Villain

Mujuru – Saviour or Villain ?-People First To Be Or Not To Be ? Dumisani O. Nyongolo Nkomo The newspapers have been fraught with the entry of former vice president Joyce Mujuru to the political fray . She has been touted as a strong contender to beat nonagenarian President Robert Mugabe in the face of an increasingly fractured and fragmented opposition . It is important to subject Mujuru to public scrutiny before people rush to carry out mass political baptism and christen her as the country’s savior at the altar of expediency .It must be remembered that after all her party mainly consists of former ZAN P.F stalwarts a considerable number have been part of the ruling kleptocracy for the past 36 years .It is also however also important to note the valuable strategic contribution which she will bring on the democratization table . Is Mujuru Really A Genuine Alternative to Mugabe? It is important to ask ourselves whether Mujuru is a genuine alterative to Mugabe after spending 33 years as part and parcel of the ruling cabal .Would Joyce Mujuru have pursued the democratic agenda as an opposition ion leader if she had not been hounded out of ZANU P.FF allegedly for harbouring presidential ambitions ?Did Mujuru have any problem with Mugabe outside of her own personal succession ambitions and struggles ?Is it fair for democracy activists who have been battling against an unjust system for over thirty three years to hand over the mantle to a person who was part of the system since independence ?It must be remembered that Joyce Mujuru is one of the three or so people alongside Sydney Sekeremai , Emmerson Mnangwagwa and the President himself who have served the government since 1980 at cabinet level . In all the thirty three years she served as both a minister and vice president has she ever been known to be opposed to any of the governments excesses ?.Of course others may argue that government protocol prohibits public pronouncements by government officials against a government they serve . One may then ask if she is such a paragon of justice as she now purports to be what was her role if any during the Gukurahundi massacres between 1983 to 1987 when her husband was the army commander ?Although it is common knowledge that the Fifth Brigade apparently did not fall under the Zimbabwe National Army it would be naïve to assume that neither she nor her late husband [ may his soul rest in peace ] knew nothing about those massacres of over 25 ,000 people . Mujuru has a chance now to condemn the massacres publicly and apologize oon behalf of her colleagues who carried out the massacres . It would be naïve to assume that Joyce Mujuru knew nothing about the organized violence carried out by ZANU P.F militias and youths between the year 2000 and the year 2005 . It would be naïve to assume that she knew nothing about operation Murambatsvina ,the drama of 2008 when hundreds of opposition activists were purged . She also has to explain how as a vice president she tried to official looting including the Chiadzwa Diamond fiasco which saw political mafias raiding the rich mining fields .She may not have been part of any of the corruption or human rights violations carried out at this time but she was part of the government and more critically the party that fuelled the same . If Mujuru is to be part of the solution to the country’s problems she has to clearly answer questions about her involvement in the calamitous ,tumultuous past thirty years . If indeed she can prove that she was a voice of reason and was opposed to what was happening maybe she should be given a chance . However to her credit Mujuru and her party remain as possible credible alternatives for the following reasons : 1.Joyce Mujuru has presented herself as a sober ,church going ,motherly figure who is not prone to mud slinging . 2.She appears to understand the interests of business and appeal to investors . 3.Mujuru apparently also has an appeal to the international community which Mugabe does not have , Mnangwagwa may struggle with and which Morgan Tsvangirai has lost . Biti has the same respect but lacks the grassroots support and traction which Mujuru has . 4. Mujuru has the advantage of having access to the levers of power via the securocracy i.e the police , army etc . She may not have a problem in winning an election and actually getting the army or police to back her . 5.Her experience in ZANU P.F make her a worthy contender who knows how ZANU P.F works and how to un- Nikuv the ruling party come the elections .She knows all their shenanigans , trickery ,treachery ,politics and poly tricks . 6. She is a refreshing alternative to Morgan Tsvangirai and company who seem to be engrossed in eternal internal power struggles . 7.Mujuru has momentum on her side and the state of ZANU P.F and importantly economy give her a very good chance to win the lections . However I believe Mujuru has to exorcise the ghost of the past by explaining her role or lack thereof in the unfolding , tragedy and morass of organized confusion which has turned a bread basket into a basket case .I still believe an electoral pact or broad coalition is critical at this juncture and Mujuru will play a key role in the process of creating a united opposition . After all it is disingenuous to ask the identity and background of people who are helping to put a fire out . What is important is to prevent the fire from completely gutting the house [ Zimbabwe ] instead of asking for the credentials of those helping to put the fire out . I have no doubt that she and her party are part of the solution but not the whole solution . The solution is a broad alliance of democratic forces .If Mujuru is indeed committed to such a process she should be willing to serve under a neutral person who has not been part of the failure of the past thirty years We must not allow the gravity of our problems to force upon us selective amnesia . We must also look to a new breed of leaders to salvage the nation from this economic and political quagmire .We cant expect people who ran the system , dined and wined and lived in the system to all of a sudden to have different values other than those they have had over decades .Personally I think Mujuru and people First are indeed a welcome development and will play a role forging a solution to the country’s problems if they address the concerns I have stated . Its incredible though that in a country of 13 million people we still choose to “anoint a savior from the former oppressor “ . But then who knows maybe she has had a Damascus moment of political conversion and she is about to deliver a “Lazurus Moment “to the nation . Mayibuye ! Dumisani O. Nkomo – is a social entrepreneur .Chief Executive Officer of Habakkuk Trust and Spokesperson the Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition