In less than a week, Zimbabwe will hold its 5th presidential election since independence from Britain in 1980. The election is expected to bring an end to the power sharing deal between President Mugabe’s ZANU PF party and opposition led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change.Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on Friday expressed deep concern over last minute changes to vote counting procedures and other potential electoral vote rigging by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC). But the real attention now in Zimbabwe is not from Prime minister or Mugabe but BABA JUKWA ! The ordinary citizens have been riveted, much to the consternation of the ruling party, by one anonymous Facebook and Twitter poster (pen names Baba Jukwa and @jukwanews24) who single handedly, has caused a storm within Mugabe’s party with daily exposés of internal secrets and underhanded shenanigans within the ruling party. Access to such information is unprecedented. The president’s party has dismissed anonymous poster; however the ordinary citizens are closely following this poster. Expectations are high with each side certain it will prevail.
A Mugabe victory: A Mugabe win would mean more of the same; rejection of results by the opposition and the west, a continuation of the antagonistic relationship with the West, possible halt to talk of lifting sanctions, more economic refugees into the diaspora, and the country’s continued downward spiral into an abyss and widening of the gap between the haves and have-nots. A Mugabe win would also serve to show that the opposition still lacks political maturity. While the past 5yrs of the coalition have shown the opposition’s ability to govern, it has also exposed certain weaknesses that could turn voters away. There has been a lot of in fighting leading to the splinter into two factions MDC –T and MDC- N. Revealed is the opposition’s propensity towards self-enrichment and enjoying the luxuries that come with power. This has caused disillusionment and apathy among voters as they see MDC is no different to ZANU PF.
Tsvangirai victory: A win by Tsvangirai would be welcomed by many worldwide and would open a new chapter into uncharted territory. It would finally break Mugabe’s 34 year power grip on Zimbabwe. It would bring relief to the millions suffering from economic hardship that has left the country an empty shell of the former self. A huge cause for concern is the possible rejection of the result by ZANU PF and the Zimbabwe Armed Forces. The Joint Operation Command has vowed not to serve Tsvangirai. The generals have made no bones about their disrespect and disdain for Tsvangirai because he lacks credentials from the Rhodesian bush war and they view him as the West’s puppet. It is a possibility that the security forces will assist ZANU PF in manipulating the results to force a run off which would result in the same power sharing scenario. A Tsvangirai win would also be a wakeup call to ZANU PF, and hopefully force the party to realize how it has failed the people it’s supposed to be serving and change its ways, stay active and provide a possible Tsvangirai government in check as opposition. While there has never been a history of military coups in Zimbabwe a real possibility would be the security forces overthrowing Tsvangirai to install a pro ZANU
The genie’s out the bottle, Mugabe has reportedly offered a six-figure sum for Babajukwa identity.
Regardless of the short-term political implications, Baba Jukwa represents the Zimbabwean people’s growing appetite for information and transparency, which will only be fuelled by increasing access to information technology. Perhaps more importantly, the page has provided many citizens with a taste of free speech, releasing a genie that will be impossible to put back in the bottle.
“Baba Jukwa has given us freedom of expression, which is something that is never heard of in Zimbabwe”, says Succeed Bhekizitha Dewa, a 31-year-old Zimbabwean living abroad. “He created a platform where we could discuss issues that really affect our country whilst updating us with on-the-ground with news of every dirty thing the ruling party is doing to our people.”
Jeffrey Smith, an advocacy officer at the Robert F Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights in Washington, DC, agrees. “To some degree, Baba Jukwa has encouraged ordinary Zimbabweans to be a bit bolder, to be less afraid, and to voice their displeasure with the repressive Zanu-PF regime”, he says
So what are the implications of a victory by either side?A Mugabe victory: A Mugabe win would mean more of the same; rejection of results by the opposition and the west, a continuation of the antagonistic relationship with the West, possible halt to talk of lifting sanctions, more economic refugees into the diaspora, and the country’s continued downward spiral into an abyss and widening of the gap between the haves and have-nots. A Mugabe win would also serve to show that the opposition still lacks political maturity. While the past 5yrs of the coalition have shown the opposition’s ability to govern, it has also exposed certain weaknesses that could turn voters away. There has been a lot of in fighting leading to the splinter into two factions MDC –T and MDC- N. Revealed is the opposition’s propensity towards self-enrichment and enjoying the luxuries that come with power. This has caused disillusionment and apathy among voters as they see MDC is no different to ZANU PF.
Tsvangirai victory: A win by Tsvangirai would be welcomed by many worldwide and would open a new chapter into uncharted territory. It would finally break Mugabe’s 34 year power grip on Zimbabwe. It would bring relief to the millions suffering from economic hardship that has left the country an empty shell of the former self. A huge cause for concern is the possible rejection of the result by ZANU PF and the Zimbabwe Armed Forces. The Joint Operation Command has vowed not to serve Tsvangirai. The generals have made no bones about their disrespect and disdain for Tsvangirai because he lacks credentials from the Rhodesian bush war and they view him as the West’s puppet. It is a possibility that the security forces will assist ZANU PF in manipulating the results to force a run off which would result in the same power sharing scenario. A Tsvangirai win would also be a wakeup call to ZANU PF, and hopefully force the party to realize how it has failed the people it’s supposed to be serving and change its ways, stay active and provide a possible Tsvangirai government in check as opposition. While there has never been a history of military coups in Zimbabwe a real possibility would be the security forces overthrowing Tsvangirai to install a pro ZANU
When Zimbabweans go to the polls next week to choose between veteran President Robert Mugabe and long-time rival Morgan Tsvangirai, it is young and rural voters who may decide the victor.Although there are doubts about whether the poll will be fair, there is little doubt that Zimbabweans want their voice to be heard.Some 747,928 new voters have registering ahead of the July 31 polls.According to the Election Resource Centre the race will be tight, with Morgan Tsvangirai's MDC and Mugabe's ZANU-PF expected to retain the support they saw in 2008.
Then Tsvangirai won 47% of the vote first round vote and Mugabe won 43%. Neither garnered the 50% of votes needed to be declared winner outright.
Many fear similar manipulation this time round, but young and rural Zimbabweans could set the parameters of the game."The winner will be whoever captures the new youth voters,
Turning to his rival, MDC-T president Morgan Tsvangirai, the prime minister, Mr Mugabe described him as a frog that jumps from one woman to another.
“Tsvangirai is like a frog which jumps from one woman to the other. He wanted to swallow all women like a python. He almost swallowed you during the 2008 harmonised elections and we should make him vomit,” he said. “When he joined the inclusive government, we consented to some of their demands, but said no to them taking over the defence ministry. To us the defence ministry is where our life is. That ministry should not be tampered with.
“Tsvangirai is a coward, more like my late Uncle Shoniwa’s dog, Sekahurema, which used to run away from game when we were hunting. It died without killing a single prey, and the same will happen to Tsvangirai,” he said.
Mr Mugabe said Zanu (PF) never rigged elections. “The MDC is saying we rig elections, but they know for a fact that they play second fiddle to us in elections. We are a mature people and we are not having elections for the first time. We have had good elections in the past and we will have them again this year.”Mugabe said despite economic challenges facing Zimbabwe, it still had a better education system than South Africa’s. “We beat South Africa in education. We have a 91% literacy rate and no country in Africa is above 90% save for us. South Africa is third, behind Equatorial Guinea, at an 86% literacy rate.
“As Zimbabweans, our desire was to create more jobs, but we were being hampered by the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change). We were telling them to release money to distressed companies, especially the $500m from the International Monetary Fund’s special drawing rights. (Finance Minister Tendai) Biti remained shifting the goalposts and we do not know where the money is right now.
“They don’t care about Zimbabweans’ sufferings because they have houses in South Africa where they fly every weekend to enjoy themselves, leaving you to suffer here in Zimbabwe,” Mr Mugabe said.
He condemned South Africa for upholding gay rights. “We are unlike South Africa, which upholds gay rights. We will deal with them here. Gay rights are not human rights. I am despised in some parts of the world because I said gays and lesbians are worse than pigs and dogs because these animals know their mates. We cannot allow our children to be worse than wild animals,” he said.
The blame of their migration is heaped on Mugabe. People say they are running away from Mugabe and I am now their passport to enter foreign lands like Britain and South Africa.
“Even Mrs (Janet) Banana (wife of the first president of Zimbabwe), when she went to the UK she said she was running away from Mugabe’s oppression, yet she wanted to settle with her children there. How evil am I to oppress an old lady like Mrs Banana?”
Mr Mugabe said despite economic challenges facing Zimbabwe, it still had a better education system than South Africa’s. “We beat South Africa in education. We have a 91% literacy rate and no country in Africa is above 90% save for us. South Africa is third, behind Equatorial Guinea, at an 86% literacy rate.
Mr Mugabe said he was ashamed of the high number of Zimbabwean citizens in South Africa as they were taking jobs from South Africans. South Africans were resorting to violence due to an influx of Zimbabweans, who took most of the jobs in hotels and other businesses, he said.
“We feel ashamed of the influx of Zimbabweans in South Africa. If you go to their hotels, there are Zimbabweans all over. The same applies to other businesses. Zimbabweans are literally running the South African economy. South Africans end up attacking Zimbabweans because there are just too many in that country,” Mr Mugabe said.
“The situation is made worse by the high number of border jumpers, especially those from Matabeleland South. In that region, it is a tradition that most men cross the Limpopo River to work in South Africa, where they will come back home once or twice a year. There are more women than men in Matabeleland because men are immigrant workers in South Africa, from where they come back with blankets and bicycles after their sojourn there.
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