University of Zimbabwe law lecturer and Mt Pleasant constituency
independent candidate, Fadzai Mahere has attracted mixed reactions since
her announcement that she would stand in next year’s general elections.
Mahere has been labelled as a Zanu PF mole and in her role
in the social movement #ThisFlag clashed with Higher Education minister
Jonathan Moyo.
NewsDay senior reporter Richard Chidza (ND) caught up with
Mahere (FM) on the sidelines of the MDC Alliance rally in Highfield, Harare on
Saturday to talk about these and other issues. Below are excerpts of the
interview:
ND: How do you take the reaction to your plunge into
national politics?
FM: The reaction has been good, a lot of people have
welcomed me, offered support and just some introduction into the political
terrain which has been extremely useful and we will be tapping into that in the
campaign. We are working on voter registration and participation in elections
because the greatest enemy we want to fight in 2018 is voter apathy and
defeating Zanu PF.
ND: But will you agree with me that there has also been
negative reaction, including being labelled a Zanu PF mole. What do you think?
FM: That has to be expected because once you join politics
people are bound to begin to ask the tough questions. I take this not in the
negative sense, but part of society’s role to interrogate their political
leader and know more about them rather than patronising, and we encourage such
engagement. I have provided answers and in short I am not Zanu PF. I am
standing as an independent in Mt Pleasant constituency.
ND: Do you come from a family with Zanu PF roots?
FM: I do not come from a political family. Neither of my
parents has ever been in any of Zanu PF’s organs or taken part in politics. But
my father was a civil servant working his way from being a teacher to being
permanent secretary in the Education ministry before he retired in 2013.
ND: You think that explains the labelling?
FM: I think it’s a picture some are trying to paint, but we
have to be faithful and true to the fact. My father was a top civil servant and
not a Zanu PF activist in any way, shape or form. I think that difference is
important to make.
ND: As a young woman trying to carve a career in a vicious
political terrain how has it been this far?
FM: It has been a satisfying process, character-building. I
have had a chance to visit people in homes, engage at different level, and look
inside myself and within the people to see how we can fight for hope,
accountability and rebuild Mt Pleasant. It is a patriarchal society, but it has
been good to work towards rebuilding the community spirit and I really look
forward to the future.
ND: You came into the public domain on the back of
#ThisFlag and Evan Mawarire’s popularity, is there still a connection?
FM: I will always remain true to the ideals of #ThisFlag,
the responsibility that every citizen has to step out, speak against poverty,
injustices, corruption and to always make sure that the politics focuses on the
issues. That is an ideal that I can never run away from. Mawarire remains my
friend, but #ThisFlag and the citizens’ movement should retain its purity. Its
responsibility is to check, balance political parties and to hold politicians
to account. We always said at the time that #ThisFlag would not become
political because that results in a conflation of the roles. We remain
accountable to #ThisFlag and to the citizens as a political outfit, to ensure
that our politicians remain engaged to fight for people’s issues.
ND: Is there some sort of coordination between yourself and
other young people who want to join politics next year like Linda Masarira?
FM: I think the main connection is that we are all young
people trying to claim political space in this tough environment. That
connection is a strong one and that demographic of young people is quite
important. It is a demographic that requires focus and there is a need for us
to step out in a very strong way because we have to fight for our future
because we have a vested interest in it. I am running the Yellow Campaign as an
independent, but I fully support every young person who might want to go into
politics under whatever political outfit.
ND: Is there a possibility of you joining mainstream
political parties or movements given you have clearly defined yourself colours
and all?
FM: I will continue to run as an independent candidate, but
I want to emphasise that I fully support the coalition because what is
important at the end of the day is the unity of purpose. The responsibility
that every opposition politician including myself has to make sure we do not
fight sideways, but target a common enemy. However, the Yellow Manifesto is
fully underway and will continue. We will form synergies and alliances where
possible for a common purpose.
ND: You had a public altercation with Higher Education
minister Jonathan Moyo when you had him slated to appear on one of #ThisFlag’s
platforms. What happened?
FM: We had invited Moyo in line with our drive to hold all
politicians from all political parties accountable. He had agreed to come to
our programme known as Speak Freedom.
However, he had difficulties with the way our posters had
been designed. He argued they had been made in bad faith; he changed his mind
at the last minute and decided not to come.
But I think it is important for us to continue to hold all
public officials to account and especially the Higher Education ministry, the
needs of students that we must make sure they remain mainstreamed. We must
continue to ask the tough questions, around poverty, corruption and the lack of
jobs.
ND: Do you buy the excuse that he was annoyed by the
posters or he just chickened out?
FM: I am more inclined to believe that he chickened out
because if it was a question of the posters, as the publicly available emails
show we were ready to make good on the posters, to change them to suit whatever
he was comfortable with. We were ready to make a public statement to the effect
that the platform was not his, but ours, so the conclusion that he chickened
out becomes irresistible?
ND: He has indicated that he will not attend your lectures
at the University of Zimbabwe where you teach in the Faculty of Law and he is a
student. Does he attend your lectures?
FM: He is not yet a third-year or fourth-year student which
I teach, so I am not yet his lecturer. I wish him all the best in his studies.
There is a need obviously that we all remain professional at the end of the
day.
ND: Your dream for Mt Pleasant?
FM: It is to restore hope and community spirit and to
ensure that all public officials remain accountable. We want to build a
constituency with a strong technology focus. We want to restore all our public
facilities. The issues around students’ accommodation and bring in the business
community to help with skills development, especially the low income earners so
that they become self-sufficient.
We want to make sure there is a maternity clinic in the
constituency to ensure that women who want to give birth do not have to travel
long distances. We also want to ensure that our constituents are more engaged
on all issues.
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