By Eddie Cross
When we started the Movement for Democratic Change in 1999,
it was in great hope that we would sweep the board and take power in a matter
of a few years. We nearly did, beating the sitting Government in the referendum
in 2000 and then nearly unseating them in the elections. The man who made it
all possible was the Secretary General of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade
Unions, Morgan Tsvangirai. Dynamic and charismatic he caught the imagination of
the people of this country in a way that we had not seen since the era of
Joshua Nkomo and Ndabaningi Sithole. As we followed him into battle he earned
our respect and loyalty.
I am certain he won the 2002 Presidential election –
beating the incumbent, Robert Mugabe by a wide margin but the regime simply
falsified the results and stopped the voting after two days when it was clear
he was heading for a landslide. Three years later, in another heavily
manipulated election MDC was beaten soundly and found itself facing a regime
with a clear two thirds majority. Then came the near total collapse of the
economy and South Africa stepped into the ring and facilitated a reasonable
election – MDC won most seats and Morgan won the Presidency gaining 54 per cent
of the vote – Mugabe 27 per cent.
Again, he was denied the Presidency by the security
services who simply falsified the results and this led to a Government of
National Unity in 2009. Then 2013 when, MDC was undermined by the failure of
Regional States to keep their side of the 2008/9 bargain, Zanu PF were again
able to crush the Party and retake a two thirds majority. Once again, the
country slid into an economic and political crisis which now threatens the
stability of the State and the welfare of all its citizens.
During all this, Morgan Tsvangirai stuck to his principles,
refusing to allow violence or retribution, when abandoned by his closest
colleagues he carried on, he has suffered constant propaganda attacks and
worse. His wife, the light of his life, was killed in what many of us believe
was a hit in the form of a staged accident caused by a State controlled truck
driven by an army officer. Without financial support he has often gone without
and has been unable to pay his essential staff who have simply gone on working
without pay.
Now, just as we expect a wave of support for our 2018
Chakachia programme, he is suffering from an aggressive form of colon cancer. He
has been struggling with his treatment and the family is concerned that he
might not handle the election and subsequently the responsibility of being
President of a country in a deep crisis. After a life time of principled
struggle, to have it all threatened by a disease in your body. Life can be a
bastard at times.
And if you think that is a tough situation – just think
about Emmerson Mnangagwa who in the past two weeks has just recovered from
being poisoned at a Zanu PF Rally, been lambasted publicly on several occasions
by the so called “First Lady” and now humiliated in public by the President –
someone whom he has loyally supported all his life.
So often in the past 50 years, Emmerson Mnangagwa has taken
the heat for Mr. Mugabe, it was the Vice President as Chairman of the Joint
Operations Command who gave Zanu PF their two thirds majority in 2013 and
returned Mr. Mugabe to State House for another 5-year term. An effective, even
brilliant organizer he has held the State captive for Zanu PF. One of the very
few Zanu PF Ministers whose hands are relatively clean of corruption he has
survived in the Shark Tank – but now is under sustained and coordinated attack.
Many will argue that those who live by the sword will die
in the same way, but still it’s a tough call for a man whose whole life has
been dedicated to his Party and the State President, even though he knows full
well, that the President, more than any other person, is at the very center of
our problems and must go or the country runs the risk of either armed conflict,
a coup or simply becoming a failed State.
And if you think that these two gentlemen have been given a
tough ride by life, just think about the rest of us. We have had our entire
life savings wiped out and it looks like it’s happening again, we have suffered
under a Military Junta of sorts and the ravages of life under a totally corrupt
regime for 37 years and it shows no signs of going unless forced. Where does
that leave us – just depending on God for our survival and for some sense that
the struggle is worth it and that we must carry on. via eddiecross website
My own experience is that despite all that life throws at
us, if we have the right attitude and real faith in God, we will discover the
wonderful truth that the rest does not matter and that God does not owe us a
dime. In the end we are “more than conquerors”.
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