Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL30571558) has reported Zimbabwe opposition claiming victory following early elections results. That announcement is like Kenyan record being played in Harare. Zimbabwean opposition must have learned first hand from Kenya the FALLACY of waiting for official results.
The Kenyan script has been shipped to Zimbabwe and the actors are similar yet different. Police chief in Zimbabwe had acquired his briefing from our own Major Ali by banning any celebrations and protests. Even Zimbabwe government mouthpiece The Sunday Mail has outdone itself by insinuating that MDC's victory claim is akin to Tsvangirai declaring himself president which is a coup d'etat warranting the ultimate punishment.
Predictably Mugabe will do a Kibaki on Zimbabweans by claiming a landslide victory and speedy SUNSET swearing thereafter. The infant Kenyan history made less than 100 days ago is repeating itself in Harare at lightening speed. The hitherto bread basket on southern Africa is spiralling into a desperate bread case. One thing is for sure: MUGABE IS IN GOOD COMPANY. And as per the script comrade Bob is not leaving anything to chance. He has plenty of fellow dinosaur peers to consult and emulate. The days ahead are interesting for Zimbabwe, Africa and world at large.
UPDATE 1:
24 hours after the polls closed no result has been announced and observers warn of unrest arising from the ensuing anxiety. Meanwhile neighbouring countries including South Africa, Mozambique and Zambia are closing their borders and Zimbabwe citizens have started stocking foodstuffs while hundreds are deserting cities to SAFER AREAS. All these developments sound so near and with us at home yet so far. Even the Zimbabwean clone of Kivuitu has said the results may take SOME DAYS to be released.
UPDATE 2
Fearing unrest, Mugabe's government has deployed riot police and other security forces in Harare which is traditionally an opposition base. In previous election, results were announced after tallying at the districts but not any more this year. This has sparked founded speculations from opposition supporters that mischief (read TOP-UP) is afoot.
Taabu, let us not pre-judge and wait to see what happens. Personally, I admire President Mugabe's defiance of the west. Sadly, in today's world, you have to pay an incredibly big price for that, something which the Zimbabweans are paying. I don't think Mugabe will be Kibaki. And let us not take whatever the West tells us. If he is defeated, I think (and hope) that he will accept.
ReplyDeleteAnd may I ask Taabu, there are 2 oppositions, so which one claimed victory?
ReplyDeleteOh boy! Kibaki sure ruined his rep.
ReplyDeleteThe silver lining; wananchi taught Africans a lesson - democracy is priceless and must be pursued and defended at all costs.
Zimbabwe has a SERIOUS land problem to sort out in future.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the case, the country cannot move anywhere with Mugabe at the helm.
It is time for him to move over and let somebody else try to forge a different way forward.
I have just visited BBC Africa and it sure looks like the opposition has taken an early lead.
ReplyDeleteBut just as you say Taabu, Mugabe might pull a Kibaki. As Kenyans learnt, a theiving president is a theiving president and he will steal an election in the most obscene manner when desparate.
KUMEKUCHA TRY POSTING OUR COMMENTS ON THE EARLIER POSTS!!IF YOU ARE TIRED OF MODERATING ASK SOMEONE TO HELP YOU BECAUSE IT IS VERY DISAPPOINTING NOT BEING ABLE TO JOIN IN EARLIER DISCUSSIONS THEN YOU POST A NEW ONE AND OUR INPUT IS DISREGARDED -YOU ALSO SEEM TO HAVE FAVORITE PEOPLE ON HERE I HAVE NOTICED NO MATTER WHAT TIME THEIR POSTS ARE ALWAYS POSTED- IF YOU ARE INDEED THE TALKED ABOUT BLOG THEN START BEING FAIR TO ALL YOUR BLOGGERS!!!! IT IS NOT NICE TO BE OVER LOOKED EVERYTIME YOU POST A THREAD!!
ReplyDeleteYES I FORGOT TO MENTION YOUR FAVORITE BLOGGERS WHOSE POSTS NEVER MISS HERE ARE DEREK, PROUD KIKUYU WOMAN, CHRIS, KALAMARI.PHIL, TAABU.MREMBO AND SOMETIMES IT SEEMS THEY ACTUALLY JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER, I HAVE OTHER FRIENDS SIX OR SO WHO POST HERE BUT THEY SAY IT IS ALSO RARE THAT THY SEE THEIR COMMENTS POSTED ON YOUR BLOG??? WHY IS THAT?? ARE YOU MODERATING TO ONLY THE PEOPLE THAT YOU DEEM SUITABLE TO YOU?? AREN'T YOU THE SAME PERSON WHO ASKED FOR OUR HELP IN ORDER TO KEEP YOUR SITE GOING?? HOW CAN WE HELP YOU WHEN YOU DO NOT POST OUR THREADS?? PLEASE BE FAIR AND LET KENYANS EXCHANGE VIEWS FAIRLY!!WE HAVE NEVER WRITTEN ABUSIVE THREADS TO OFFEND ANYONE!!
ReplyDeleteHEY I FOUND THIS HILARIOUS ON HAVE YOUR SAY BBC ZIMBABWE:): ) ATI MONSTER 666 THAT IS GOING EXTREME EVEN KIBAKI WAS NOT CALLED THAT!!
ReplyDeleteAdded: Saturday, 29 March, 2008, 11:30 GMT 11:30 UK
I personally don't think the election will be fair! It's unfortunate that one GREEDY, SELFISH AND HEARTLESS individual will take is personal ambitions over his national interest! This is one of the most depressing moments in modern day politics and democracy.
It's time that this Hitler-like Monster allow the will of the people decide the fate of his country. He is killing his nation and people. The world needs to take some major actions to get the BEAST (666) out and save this country!
Charles, Liberian in the USA
I have a feeling if MDC wins mugabe will pull a biwot,accept the results and keep cool,I dout if he will want to take kibaki rout to risky
ReplyDeletei will not be unrealistic enough to expect that mugabe will hand over power willingly to makona or tsvangirai....the man has been stealing in previous elections and there will be no difference now, he's going to pull a kibaki for sure......the signs are already there......he has now locked out foreign poll observers, just like somebody we know and the journalists have had a hard time covering the polls. so what else can be expected?
ReplyDeletemuch as i like his ' hard headedness' towards the west (not being an arse kisser).....the man surely needs to go home!! he has caused untold misery to zimbabweans for the longest time!!.......for pete's sake the life expectancy for women in that country is 34 years and 37 for men!! they have an unemployment rate of 80%!!! and he still wants to tell them what in his new term? .....i pity those people.....mugabe has no idea how to run a country just like his buddy kibaki mwizi!!
someone mentioned before that for kibaki's remaining term he would try to 'repair his image'... and 'preserve his legacy'.....i guess this is impossible .....what! with terms like 'doing a kibaki' and 'going the kenyan way' .... thrown around all the time...that will never happen, hehehehe!!
Hate him or love him, what Mugabe has done is to elevate the emotive land issue to a level that even the opposition politicians will find very difficult to emicably resolve when they come to power. Amongst Zimbabweans I know, they all agree the land should be redistributed. The problem is how to do it fairly such that in the eyes of the largely white farmers, the elite rulers and the poor people agree it is fair.
ReplyDeleteKibaki effect.
ReplyDeleteThis is the science of topping up the votes and making the loser become the winner.
Mugabe will apply it, definitely.
Mrembo, what you fail to understand that Mugabe is NOT to blame for the country's economic woes. It is the sanction of the west. It is sad but it would seem that if you don't toe their line, you will have to suffer, and that is what is happening to Zimbabweans. It is the US and the British to blame.
ReplyDeleteI just read the BBC story and it sounds eerily familiar. For the sake of the Zimbabweans, I pray that their country doesn't go the Kenya way. Early warning signs are already there. That story sounds exactly like the Kenyan story on Dec 29.
ReplyDelete-Kemmy
Abass your reverence to standing for the west is undertandable. But look at what Mugabe does to his people in the name of being astute? Well the fear mongering about Whites could sell after independence and that is the era Mugabe is stuck in. You don't have to be black to be Lucifer. Ask any Zimbabwean and you will thread the connection of Moi's days to admonish the west anytime he wanted to RAPE Kenya.
ReplyDeleteKewli Abass are you sure Mugabe is not to blame for Zimbabwe's economiec woes? After whipping up land emotions and evicting whites only to have cronies and so-caled veterans take over? Zimbabwe was break basket with the same land it has except it is now a bread case. Whipping up emotions and measuring to long-winded slogans is differnt from true leadrship and I guess that was Mrembo's take.
Mugabe fought for independence and thinks the country owes him the presidency till death. He will therefore do anything to stay there however embarrassing. Can you imagine Kenyatta, Kamuzu Banda, Obote, Mobutu etc relinquishing their presidencies to others (lesser mortals) peacefully? That is why Mandela, Kaunda and Nyerere will remain icons of Africa in political maturity and true patriotism.
ReplyDeleteMugabe knows that as soon as he becomes raia wa kawaida, Britain will push the new president to institute numerous lawsuits against him, including human rights violations. On the other hand, Mugabe's "Lucy" is insisting that her man will not/can not lose the election ( I read somewhere that she once delayed a plane for 18 hours while shopping!!! Kwani alikua akinunua nini, na vingapi? Even the local Lucy has not been that bad)
I've just heard from BBC radio that Zimbabweans are already anxious about the delayed results, neigbouring countries are closing their borders, citizens have started stocking foodstuffs, and others have began moving to safer areas.......mmmmmh sound familiar, very familiar.
Kanyarkwat
Taabu, I beg to differ. Zimbabwe is a country with a very serious land problem. Perhaps worse than Kenya. Mugabe decided to deal with this problem. Whether it is right or wrong is debatable. To the rural and poor Zimbabweans, he has being an angel sent by God, to the rich and especially the whites, he is the devil of the 21st century. Either way, I believe the fact that he had the courage to deal with it is great. Expectedly, his country suffered. Zimbabewe and Kenya are different. Zimbabweans are suffering NOT because of Mugabe but because of US and Britain. And this is not like blaming US and UK for everything. It is clear that the poor people of Zimbabwe are suffering because of this illegal and immoral sanctions. Mugabe has being courageously defiant in the face of these illegal actions. To that end, he is an African hero to me. Go Bob!
ReplyDeleteTaabu, you need to understand the issue of land is a very important, sensitive and serious issue that affects the Zimbabweans life. Can you believe that the whites who made up LESS THAN 1% of the country's population had 70% of the country's commercially viable arable land because of the colour line arising from British colonialism? If you were Mugabe and you just had independence, and you are the president, how would you deal with this issue? You have 2 options: bury it in the sand, wish like there is nothing wrong and let the Zimbabweans suffer or deal with it but at a big price. Mugabe chose the latter.
ReplyDeletekumekucha? i would like your comments on both issues??? THE NEW WORLD ORDER (FREEMASONS) AND THE MUSLIM FACTOR VS AFRICA - LET SAY KENYA AND WHAT IS HAPPENING? ALL OVER AFRICA?? DON'T YOU THINK IT IS ACTUALLY BEYOUND TRIBAL WARFARE??? ARE WE REALLY LOOKING AT THE PROBLEMS OR THE CREATORS OF THIS PROBLEMS ARE WE ARE SO BLINDED THAT ANY EXCUSE WE EDUCATED KENYANS CAN GRASP IS WHAT WE USE TO DENY THE REALITIES AROUND US???
ReplyDeleteTHE ORDINARY KENYAN ON GROUND WITHOUT INTERNET E.T.C WILL NEVER READ OR KNOW WHY THINGS ARE HAPPENING BUT A GOOD NUMBERS OF OTHERS DO? IS IT THAT WE ARE SCARED??? TO CONFRONT THIS INFORMATION AND EVEN TO SHARE IT OUT???
WHY DID MUNGIKI WANT TO GO BACK TO THEIR ROOTS??? IS IT SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS INFORMATION?? AND I CAN'T SEEM TO FORGET KARUA'S FIGHT ON INTERNATIONAL MEDIA- IT WAS LIKE SOMETHING WAS PUSHING HER AND SHE IN FACT SEEMED VERY ANGRY IN HER ACCUSATIONS TO THE FOREIGN ENTITIES??
Anonymous Abass said...
ReplyDeleteTOTAL AGREEMENT WITH YOU!!- i just went through one of the new world order video's someone posted here and Mugabe seems to be their worst enemy in Africa and a few more leaders - if Zimbabwe was allowed to trade freely with other countries without suctions -i do not see the people suffering- this is control?? UN(new world order) so i hail him for making his stand- though not ruling for ever!!! this African leaders many of them are just pawns to the bigger picture of the new world order(people might think or take this institute as a joke- but it is real) I thank the blogger for refreshing my mind to this!!
abass
ReplyDeletewhereas i agree with what mugabe has done. the reality in life is that he needs to step aside
all those leaders that are revered, were at the forefront of struggles but one way or another, had to step aside
biblical we have John the baptist, preparing the way for Jesus
Moses, seeing canaan but not reaching it and instead (sorry my biblical knowledge i slimited, dont remember whether it was gideon or somebody else taking the mantle)
mahatma gandhi, malcom x, Martin luther king, nelson mandela, the mau mau in kenya, our famous 2nd and now aspiring third liberation reformists, theres like a gazillion living and past examples of people who have been at the forefront of struggles but only obtain token gratitude or direct benefit from the structures they fought so hard for.
on the other hand, those that participated in these struggles and proceeded to obtain power, have turned out to be the worst monsters in history as they consolidate and cling on to power and get totally drunk with its effects, hitler, idi amin, mugabe, kibaki, moi etc
kumekucha?? is it true that MDC WORN THE ELECTIONS???IN zIMBABWE?
ReplyDeleteIt's true that everyone has freedom to communicate, but that does not mean that you talk of even things you do not have command of.
ReplyDeleteDo any of you here know that 3 million zimbabweans are living in SA and almost the same number in Botswana. Another big chank is in Zambia almost permanently now.
Zimbabweans had a chance on saturday to vote and change or leave things the way they are. Some decided to vote some stayed out of the country.
Maybe many of them love Mugabe, may be many of them do not. Maybe Mugabe has been stealing votes , maybe it's all propaganda. Currently there are allegations that the voters register has been doctored. It's upon them Zimbabweans to take control of things in their country.
As Kenyans we have more important things to do for our country rather than try to predict what will become of ZIM.
I believe that having seen what happened in Kenya and if trully the people of ZIM want change, they will get it.
Let's not be the prophets of doom. Let the people decide. Even if Mugabe steals the vote, the people will kick him out anyway.
Kibaki has unknowingly provided an alternative word for rigging. Doing a Kibaki Lol.
ReplyDeleteTaabu allow me to get out of topic kidogo and back to Kenya. COTU boss Francis Atwoli, the one who offered to tear the current constitution into pieces some time back has now offered to mediate between Kibaki and Raila to end the stalemate. Says it will take him no more than 3 hours to get it done. Way to go Atwoli!!
Mugabe standing up to the West - sure.
ReplyDeleteHOWEVER, his MOTIVES for doing so are SUSPECT.
The only way I would support him would be if he didn't give the largest and prime chunks of confiscated land to his wife and cronies.
THE UNDENIABLE TRUTH; Africa will rid itself of its dictators one by one.
ReplyDelete1990s; multipartism and the struggle for accountability and transparency in govt.
2000-2010; getting the dinosaurs out and continued struggle for democracy.
-Several civil wars end or are ending e.g. Liberia, S. Leone, Congo. Cote d'Ivoire etc.
2020; Most African countries will have govts. that reflect the will of the people.
-The beginnings of real economic development.
Am I too optimistic? Perhaps - I love my continent and I want the best for it.
Mugabe says his conscience would not allow him to steal an election.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, his conscience has allowed him to sleep while Zimbabweans starve, are pushed into prostitution in South Africa and inflation soars to 100,000%.
That country needs a fresh face to try sorting out its problems land and otherwise.
Yes!!! Mugabe totally disorganised the land redistribution effort.
ReplyDeleteIf the man was serious about land reform, he would have designed real land transfer programs that did not favour the creme de la creme of Zimbabwean society.
ZEC; Zimbabwe's electoral commission was appointed by Mugabe.
ReplyDeleteECK; Appointed by Kibaki.
If African presidents are serious about democratic reforms, they will stop choosing the referees before they jump in the ring to face their oppoinents.
As for Kibaki once again; shame!!! Even Moi following IPPG reforms consulted with the opposition when makin ECK appointments.
Thanks Anon @ 12:17.
ReplyDeleteWhat Abbas (who I usually agree with) and his supporters are not saying is that the situation in Zimbabwe would not be as desparate as it is now if MUGABE HAD NOT BOTCHED LAND REFORMS.
THE WHITE MINORITY LAND OWNERS HAVE BEEN REPLACED BY ELITE MINORITY MUGABE SUPPORTERS WHO ARE HOPELESS TELEPHONE FARMERS!!!
A few token and marginal land pieces were of course given to a few wananchi.
It is time for Zimbabwe to get somebody else to try sorting out their problems.
To be honest, Africa's problems are tooooooooo complex and need proper addressing. But the main problems include the following: that you don't have leaders who care about the people. One of the problems also is aping everything the west does without thinking, ... now they are even talking about giving the prime minster a few hrs in Parliament like ... like they do in the UK... everything like they do in the UK... like the power-sharing in Germany, like ... stupid! Why can't we think of doing something better for us? True, the west has a lot of great things worth emulating but not the obsession we have with them. Also I think if ever Africa and other poor countries are to develop economically, they have to STOP being consumers and start becoming producers. And by that I don't mean producing maize or tea. I mean industries, like car manufacturing plants and other commercial products. Look at what is in our market today, virtually everything is 'made in China...' even the glasses you drink the water with, even the sufurias... this is one of the reasons why China is such an economically strong country and will only continue to be stronger as long as they continue to be such big manufacturers.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is that countries like Zimbabwe, Sudan and Somalia are a shame on the African continent.
ReplyDeleteZimbabweans need to try somebody else. The problems are real but the truth is that they are going nowhere with Mugabe.
Folks with due respect the mantra of having BALLS to stand to the west lost all its flavours ages ago. Our so called leaders will yap at anything far removed from patriotism only to RAPE their own subject. Jomo used to crow like a lion and as Kenyans smarted from colonial hungover, the old man embarked on an unrivalled looting spree. And we are still paying hundsomely for keeping and guarding a non-existent corpse at the heart of the city.
ReplyDeleteThen came Moi with all his hollow patriotic calls as he perfected sectarian politics. Kibaki has taken all the ills to higher levels first by creating decoys @6% and going east while the FLEECERS took flight. Mugabe is doing exactly all these rolled in one and he believes he is the best gift God ever gave to Zim and without him the country is destined to hell.
Well, if you can do it somebody else can do it better.
back to our local issues
ReplyDeleteRAO and pentagon should stop negotiations and withdraw from and collapse the coalition.
its a joke, PNU is not serious and wnat ODM inclusion fro tokenism and not for the purpose of running government affairs. like (sorry ladies profound apologies) a wealthy 75 year old man marrying a 21 year old beauty for ornamental qualities.
RAO should do the unthinkable and start returning all those purpoted state benefits and security detail etc and move on
pentagon should mobilise ODM support for political campaign starting now till 2012, to prepare for the "uhuru, saitoti, kalonzo, karua, kiraitu" voting block
Most Zimbaweans cannot afford to eat more than one meal a day.
ReplyDeleteA good president would never allow that to happen.
Ukishindwa na kazi, enda nyumbani.
The person who talked about new world order had a point which strangely did not receive support or further discussion. The new world order is a biblical prediction. It is actually the anti-Christ plotting towards becoming a world king. The idea is to make all countries INTERDEPENDENT so that none will live in an island. And he is using democracy to achieve his plan. If even China is slowly turning to democracy, then you know that it is working. Russia had Gorbachev to do the job. We are all pawns in this game and there is NOTHING we can do about it. In this plan of global village concept, Kenya is to contribute by being a tourist destination. That is why the world could not let it collapse after December 30th. Aren't you surprised that America has gradually agreed to wine and dine with Gaddafi? It is because of the oil. Saddam Hussein tried to refuse with his oil and you know what happened to him. South Africa contributes gold and diamonds to the global village. Botswana contributes beef. Zambia contributes copper etc etc. I currently don't know what Zimbabwe's contribution is, but even if it is nothing, it has to abide by the rules and tow the line. Even Israel is making its contribution by providing the seat for the anti-Christ (he will rule from Jerusalem). Reagan and Senior Bush openly talked about the new world order. Catholics and Muslims nowadays sit together. The Pope is gladly welcomed in ruthlessly Muslim countries. They are contributing the spiritual component to the NWO. The computer is the last and most potent invention that the anti-Christ is using to bring the world together. in 1980 I heard someone say on radio that by 2020, every African will have access to a phone and a radio. At that time this looked impossible. But now it is very likely. Very soon, you will be required to insert a micro-chip under the skin of your right hand or forehead. This will be the number of the beast-666. Every time you hear of smaller or tamper-proof or computerised documents like IDs, driving license, passport, cheques, currency notes etc just know that we are getting closer to the NWO climax. By the time you will be told to insert the micro-chip, it will just look like the next logical thing to do.
ReplyDeleteMugabe cannot resist the NWO. Even China will not. BE WARNED.
Caleb
But a Banana only cost $500,000.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean?
According to VOA, there are now a couple of provisional OFFICIAL results putting MDC ahead in govt. strongholds.
ReplyDeleteResults continue to trickle in amidst continued fears of rigging to stall opposition victory.
MAYBE THE OPPOSITION IN ZIMBABWE WILL DO A RUTO/RAILA.
ReplyDeleteKILL ZIMBABWEANS TO GET ATTENTION
@12.02
ReplyDeleteYou dont really mean Ruto/Raila, you mean Kibaki/Michuki/Karume/Mungiki, the murderers, the head choppers, the pennis cutters. Shame on you.
The crazy heads of Mugabe/Kibaki/Mobutu/Moi type will soon be swept away. Without Raila and Ruto, you would be still singing "Baba Moi, Nyayo Philosopy" and all that rubbish.
Chunga Bwana.
Anon 12:02, You are not serious. Are you, you just didn't mean what you said? slip of the fingers might just be the word!!!!!
ReplyDeleteIvy