Now that it has happened and it is now part of our history,
I can comment without prejudice.
My view on the boycott is that it is CCC’s right if it
collectively chose to stay away from parliament.
But every decision and even right has to be strategic and
it must have an end game instead of just being petulant or emotional.
The great Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu said; “It is
the unemotional, reserved, calm, detached warrior who wins, not the hothead
seeking vengeance.”
Don’t respond to issues out of an emotional reflex, know
your enemy and plan properly.
CCC must calculate its strength and be aware of the things
within its control and grasp, and more importantly it must calculate risk
associated with taking certain actions.
Emmerson Mnangagwa went after Chamisa’s MDCA and destroyed
it using State apparatus because he felt humiliated, he went after them because
he could.
Today he suffered similar humiliation addressing only his
ZANUPF parliamentarians in front of diplomats.
If I were CCC, I would calculate the risk associated with a
backlash, and whether I had the tools to fight back if confronted in this
particular battle of a long term war.
Mnangagwa’s actions are predictable, he will more likely
dock the salaries and allowances of CCC MPs.
He will also move to stop the disbursement of their
Political Parties Act funds.
The risk of CCC MPs losing their allowances is associated
with creating cracks in the party, some who used their money for campaigns will
feel that they need a return and not to continue losing money.
There are CCC MPs who don’t have jobs and some who have
never worked their whole life, parliament is their job and or career.
If they disobey Chamisa, they risk a Recall, but such a
move will tempt Mnangagwa into instructing the speaker of parliament from blocking
such a Recall, once that happens such an MP is lost.
Mnangagwa will immediately pamper them with an eye on his
much needed 2/3 majority as he did with Mwonzora and his MPs.
The second issue is of the Political Parties Act funding,
the risk associated with that is it will be stopped, and this will financially
cripple CCC as a political party.
These two risks associated with boycotting parliament can
be appealed in courts of law, but we all know from history that the courts of
law are on whose side politically.
One would be correct to argue that Mnangagwa has no such
power as with many other things that his regime has done including jailing Job
Sikhala without bail, but Mnangagwa and his team don’t care about what the
world thinks of them when it comes to their self preservation.
The key question is that if this happened, was the boycott
worth it?
Did the boycott contribute towards any new awareness around
what we already know that the election was shambolic.
The third and most fundamental question is whether Chamisa
and CCC have any options available to fight back since we know that courts are
not an option?
So this is how I saw today’s boycott!
If the boycott has an end game, it was worth it.
If it was a leadership collective decision and if the MPs
are prepared to stand with their leader if their livelihood is threatened, then
it was worth it.
If Chamisa has the means to fight back if Mnangagwa moves
in as he did in 2018, then it was worth it again.
But if he doesn’t have those pertinent things, then it was
an empty gesture that might be used to come after him and his party
Lastly, Sun Tzu suggests that knowing your risks is not
enough to ensure your success.
Knowledge of the processes that may create the risks is
also crucial for success.
Considering risks in a vacuum is only half a solution.
He said; “If you know the enemy & know yourself, you
need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory
gained you will also suffer a defeat.
If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” He was writing on X
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