Biti waltzed
into opposition politics as a fierce human rights lawyer and became Member of
Parliament in 2000 before he assumed the powerful Secretary General of the
MDC-T in 2005.
He was to be a
vital cog for the MDC-T led by the late former opposition leader, Morgan
Tsvangirai, as the chief negotiator leading the pack to a historic inclusive
government dubbed the Government of National Unity (GNU) in 2008 to 2013 where
he served as the Finance Minister.
Despite holding
a colourful record in the "struggle", the toxicity in the opposition
camp has finally pushed him into quitting.
“It’s
embarrassing,” Biti told a local media outlet. “Particularly for people like me
who have been in the trenches for a long time, who bear the scars of fighting.”
He accused some
in the opposition camp of joining the feeding trough.
“All of us, all
of them are now waiting to receive vehicles, to get a call to go and see
Victor. And that’s not good enough,” Biti said, in apparent reference to a popular but infamous call by businessman
Wicknell Chivayo in his vehicle donation crusade.
For Biti, the
collapse of the MDC — once the country’s strongest opposition force — remains a
deep wound.
“It’s a pity we lost the MDC, because we had a
home there… we destroyed the only home we had,” he lamented.
His frustration
also comes from a life lived in constant political struggle. “Every Saturday,
every Friday I’m having a rally somewhere, I’m fighting somewhere, I’m issuing
a statement somewhere,” he reflected. “That has not been the case in the last
three, four years and that’s not good enough.”
Rather than
chase another party vehicle or rally under a new banner, Biti now advocates for
a non-partisan civic platform dedicated to defending the constitution.
“We need to
create a platform that is not political, that is not connected to any political
party. Just to defend the constitution,” he said, citing the example of the
National Constitutional Assembly, which once drove reform campaigns.
His remarks
expose the fatigue of a generation of opposition leaders who fought for decades
but now watch with dismay as political capital is traded for material gain.
Biti’s
withdrawal from the party-political arena, while filled with anger, also
signals a pivot: from fighting for power to fighting for the principles of
constitutionalism — a battle he insists is far from over.
Reporting by
Anesu Masamvu and Kudakwashe Chibvuri. ZiFM
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