(HERALD) MDC-T leaders’ behaviour shameful

MDC-T leaders’ behaviour shameful

EVERY nation has founding values and ethos that all in leadership are expected to uphold and defend and these values constitute the bedrock of the nationhood the leadership pledges allegiance to when taking the oath of office.

Zimbabwe is no exception. Ours is a country that was born out of protracted liberation struggles culminating in the Second Chimurenga War (1966- 1979) that ushered in majority rule.

The expectation, therefore, is that all in leadership and anyone aspiring for high office will strive to uphold the values for which our forebears, living and fallen heroes committed themselves to for 90 years till the attainment of majority rule, independence and democracy on April 18, 1980.

Though MDC-T has some Rhodesian forces personnel in its ranks, and is led by a man who deserted a liberation war camp within hours, the party’s leadership must remember that they are free to form such a party today because of the democracy accruing from the liberation struggle.

The sacrifices of the men and women who risked life and limb to win us freedom made it possible for the MDC-T leadership to participate in issues of governance.

It is that democracy that enables even those who fought against majority rule to stand for elective office today let alone having the black component of the MDC-T rub shoulders with the Roy Bennetts and Eddie Crosses of this world who constituted a privileged class in Rhodesia.

To this end, the attitude of the MDC-T leadership towards the liberation struggle as manifested in their behaviour whenever the heroes of that struggle pass on deserves strong censure.

For instance, on two separate occasions this year alone, MDC-T leaders showed utter scorn for the struggle and its heroes.

When Vice President Joseph Msika passed on in August and as his body lay in state in Harare, MDC-T legislators gathered in Dangamvura for Giles Mutsekwa’s victory celebration.

The gathering would have passed of as an oversight were it not for the statements made there to the effect that the MDC-T should identify and honour its own heroes.

Utterances that implied that the holding of the victory celebration at the time of the demise of a venerated national hero was not coincidental, and may not have been about Mutsekwa’s victory in last year’s harmonised elections.

On Saturday, it was party leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s turn as Cde Misheck Chando was being interred at the National Heroes Acre. Tsvangirai was teeing off at Ruwa Country Club as other leaders gathered for the burial at the national shrine, oblivious to the fact that were it not for the sacrifices of the likes of Cde Chando, he would only have been allowed on the Ruwa green as a caddy.

To this end, we urge the MDC-T leadership to embrace national values, respect the legacy of the struggle so that they can be trusted to uphold its gains.

Even Article VIII of the GPA, Respect for National Institutions and Events, which the MDC-T leaders claim to uphold, counsels the same.