CCC MPs Snubbing Mnangagwa's SONA "Was Politically Palatable", Says Mutebuka
UK-based Zimbabwean legal and political commentator Brighton Mutebuka has criticised journalist Hopewell Chin’ono for his comments in response to CCC’s decision to boycott the official opening of the 10th Parliament and State of the Nation Address (SONA) by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Tuesday, 03 October.
Chin’ono said CCC Members of Parliament risk losing allowances and the party may lose State funding under the Political Parties (Finance) Act.
He also said CCC MPs “humiliated” Mnangagwa after he addressed only his ZANU PF parliamentarians in front of diplomats and warned that he will come after them in retribution.
Responding to Chin’ono on social media site X, Mutebuka said he was surprised that the award-winning journalist appeared to be advocating for CCC to accept the status quo “feebly” and submit to Mnangagwa knowing fully well that he won’t be appeased. Wrote Mutebuka:
Why Boycotting ED’s Official Opening Of Parliament Was Politically Palatable!
a. My brother, the starting premise is that [CCC], [Nelson Chamisa] and millions of non-affiliated Zimbos regard ED’s election & the government that he represents as illegitimate.
b. My understanding is that CCC MPs are in Parliament not because they want to but because they have to.
c. As a political entity that is fighting an entrenched dictatorship peacefully, there are only very few options they have to oppose the regime effectively without encountering physical harm or incarceration from the regime – one of which is peaceful protests.
d. Snubbing ED’s charade where he was flanked by his wife delivered a powerful rebuke within the context of political symbolism & challenging legitimacy.
e. Because of the nature of the event and how high profile it was, the snub naturally garnered huge attention & ensured that the running theme of illegitimacy continues to generate national & international headlines – thus staying on the front page & retaining prominence & relevancy.
f. There can be no doubt that such an approach resonates with the political constituency of [CCC] who are still nursing deep wounds from the sham election – while maintaining morale & signalling that the battle still rages on. Attendance would have been devastating, confusing & amounted to political suicide. They would have been open to charges of contradictions, hypocrisy, acquiescence & capitulation!
g. In instances such as these, where the scale of injustice is beyond comprehension, the importance of defiance cannot be overstated in the wider goal of disrupting, dismantling & defeating tyranny, which is never a short-term project. Political protests are a political imperative in such a context.
h. Defiance is a currency that is always worth it when challenging despotic regimes. It being the first official encounter between ED & [CCC] MPs, with that background of stolen elections, one can argue that it was the only rational choice & form of protest that was open to them.
i. In fact, there is cause to argue that it is revolting that they were thrust into that invidious situation & their political choice is even being questioned. Such questions are tantamount to an aberration.
j. If any ire or questions should be directed towards anyone at this moment in time, it should be ED & his despotic regime. In fact, there is a powerful moral & political argument to be had about permitting ED to grace such an occasion at all without repercussions given his casual & brazen disregard of democratic norms & ethos by SADC, Zimbabweans in their generality & [CCC] more specifically.
k. It is an error of judgment to think that ED could ever be pacified. This is clearly an unrelenting battle of attrition pursuant to zero-sum game politics which is focused on total decimation/annihilation of the opposition.
l. ED uses a plethora of tools to carry out his destructive agenda. He can deploy the gloved fist led by his hound dogs, kompromat, infiltration & the proverbial tortoise on a lamppost. He is the king of hybrid/asymmetrical warfare.
m. There is no objective basis for concluding that the absence of a protest would have yielded a different outcome. As things stand, ED is simply decimating the opposition movement by picking & choosing his targets surgically, almost akin to a bird of prey/raptor mercilessly plucking feathers from its victim prior to devouring it.
n. We are dealing with a continuum. ED simply won’t stop unless all his victims gather enough courage to challenge him in sufficient numbers & in a sustained manner.
p. I remain perturbed by what appears to be the stealth-like eagerness with which you seem to be pushing for a state of affairs that sees the opposition feebly giving in and accepting the situation as it is.
q. Such an approach would simply defer the current political gridlock to 2028 while rewarding brazen electoral theft.
r. I am taken aback by the specific examples you cite as being open to the regime to escalate the situation or as reprisals – such as docking allowances or visiting the Political Parties Finance Act. I am unable to rationalise why it was felt necessary to cite certain examples as opposed to general conclusions on the matter.
s. This is particularly so as it is something that [Jonathan Moyo] has done in the past (and I am sure you are aware of it). The regime never misses an opportunity to feast on such low-hanging fruits.
t. It is difficult to accept that you would have been that naive or reckless as to overlook such a risk given how desperate & vindictive the regime is.
u. As we have all seen today, true to form, the Min of Justice has been reported to be considering that very punitive sanction.
v. There is simply no scope for the opposition to worry about the trinkets that come from Parliament or party funding from the regime.
w. In such hostile political terrain, the biggest concern has to be political survival while continuing to make strides at chipping away at the regime’s legitimacy.
x. If there ever remained any lingering doubts that the opposition needed to up the ante in challenging ED, politically and diplomatically, they should now all evaporate.
z. The latest charade around Parliamentary recalls today suggests that ED is exploring doing away with Presidential term limits. This is not a response to yesterday’s events, it’s an acceleration of a pre-existing agenda of extending the reign of vene vatapa by all means necessary!
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