MUGABE AND TSVANGIRAI PLAN TO UNDERMINE DEMOCRACY

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By law, Morgan Tsvangirai has to have a portrait of Robert Mugabe in his office, where he is seen in the picture above during his press conference yesterday


Robert Mugabe and his new best friend, Morgan Tsvangirai, are planning on completely ignoring the people of Zimbabwe and implementing their own constitution, drafted in the smoky engine bay of a leisure boat on Lake Kariba.

Mugabe confirmed this last night in his interview with Tazeen Mandizvidza of the the ZBC.

He says a constitution will be put to a referendum in about 24 months, but adds that the constitution is already in place, saying "they" already have one. "They call it the Kariba Draft Constitution," he said, as if this has nothing to do with him at all. Which, in some ways, is true.

Tsvangirai, as has now become the norm since he joined government, is likely to just nod or, at the very worst, mumble some misgivings before diving right in there to swim with Mugabe. 

They have no intention of holding a Constitutional Conference and consultations with the people all over Zimbabwe for their input. I wonder what Welshman Ncube thinks about all this, seeing as he will now simply be a The Minister In Charge Of The Rubber Stamp.

Of course, Tsvangirai does not realise that he is playing the dictator's game here if he goes ahead and endorses this travesty.

First and foremost, that so-called Kariba Draft would be defeated at the referendum, no doubt. And that is exactly what Mugabe wants. He likes our current constitution just fine.

Which to me, removes this man immediately from the list of great statesman and visionaries. Presented with the opportunity to bequeath to Zimbabwe a progressive and utterly democratic constitution as the founding president, Mugabe would rather tweak the Lancaster House colonial relic.

You need not wonder why.

The current constitution was tailored specifically for Mugabe's personal needs and person. It even had clause that allowed Mugabe to "declare anything done lawfully to be unlawful and anything done unlawfully to be lawful." 

On impeachment, for instance, the constitution said that, should Mugabe be impeached by parliament he has something like 60 days in which, although impeached, he could still dissolve that very same parliament that has impeached him.

He then had to hold elections after that, of course, but we all know how that has turned out for Zimbabweans, and especially the MDC, over the years.

The late Eddison Zvobgo, architect of the current constitution as amended, said that the document was one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

The thing is, Mugabe and Tsvangirai can not get away with this. Like I said, the Kariba Draft stands no chance at the polls, because it is an unimaginative document, one that belongs to the era of the Kings and the Czars and not to a thrusting 21st Century country such as Zimbabwe should seek to become.

The people were not consulted or even asked for their opinion through one of those opinion polls politicans like to trot out during elections.

Obviously, Zimbabweans want a constitution that will reflect the quality of our citizens, our hopes, aspirations and ideals. It should be a constitution that lives in the modern day, where the law is above everybody.

But Mugabe and Tsvangirai and their negotiators seem to think that they can simply plonk it in front of us, effectively holding us hostage as they demand that we say "Yes or No."

They should just try it. Then they'll see.

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Comments

  1. AnonymousFebruary 27, 2009 at 12:33 PM

    What is going to happen is that, it is going to be the MDC itself selling that Kariba draft to the people. Advocate Matinenga will be on the forefront as the Minister responsible for constitutional affairs. It is not going to be seen as a Zanu PF document like what happened with the 2000 draft. So a "No vote" for the Kariba draft will be seen as a defeat for the MDC.We ain't seen nothing yet.

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