Mugabe has famously stated that the Zimbabwe crisis is an African problem that requires an African solution. Why is it not a Zimbabwean problem that requires a Zimbabwean solution?

We all know that Mugabe lost the first round of the Presidential election in March this year (although he would beg to differ), and we are all aware that Mugabe’s party, ZANU PF, lost their parliamentary majority in the House of Parliament - for the first time in 28 years.

Having hung onto the first round Presidential election results, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission - who had their assumed autonomy removed when the ballot papers were secretly moved to a place - as yet unknown outside of ZANU PF circles – announced the first round result, five weeks after the poll.

I believe that the ballot papers were re-engineered to make the numbers more palatable for ZANU PF, but it transpired that Mugabe had lost the election to Morgan Tsvangirai, but not by the required 50% plus one vote as detailed in the Electoral Act.

Thereafter, in the run up to the second round of the election, ZANU PF set about bullying the MDC members and supporters, robbing raping, pillaging and murdering - an estimated 130 lost their lives in this reign of terror.

Interestingly, ZANU PF still hold the line that the MDC perpetrated the violence and that their members were the target. ZANU PF fail, however, to explain why the overwhelming majority of dead and injured people are in the MDC ranks…

Tsvangirai pulled out of the election a week before the ballot and Mugabe won the Presidency…

Mugabe has, since then, stymied and delayed the appointing of a cabinet, and has thrown all manner of spanners into the deal, looking for any reason to not form government. Negotiations with the MDC - the winner of the election - with ZANU PF - the loser of the election - as to which party will control which ministry are ongoing and have proved to be without reward.

Mugabe has often stated that he is against the involvement of any other government or body in the affairs of Zimbabwe - whilst he happily deploys soldiers to the DRC to help quell the rebel uprising there, and sends CIO agents to Botswana to ‘prove’ that the MDC are training militia in that country.

I note with some concern that the required constitutional amendment to create the posts of Prime Minister and two Deputy Prime Ministers (for Morgan Tsvangirai, Arthur Mutambara and Thokozani Khupe, respectively) has only just been drafted - eight months after the election - and has been sent to former South African president, Thabo Mbeki, for approval.

What staggers me is that the ‘agreement’ signed by Robert Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai, Arthur Mutambara with mediator Mbeki, had been ‘doctored’ by seasoned ZANU PF brigand Patrick Chinamasa.

What assurance is there that the draft amendment sent to Mbeki, authored by ZANU PF, in acceptable seeing as they decided that the MDC was not important enough to have sight of the document before it was given to Mbeki?

The other thing to bear in mind is that Mbeki is a publicly confessed supporter of both Mugabe and ZANU PF…

There is no failsafe here, and it is therefore quite feasible that ZANU PF is attempting to have the constitutional amendment written in their own favour, to the detriment and loss of the MDC - the party voted into power by the people of Zimbabwe.

How come Mugabe’s party is happy to run to seek the assistance of a known external Mugabe-ite, omitting to involve the MDC in matters that concern them and the people of Zimbabwe?

Politics - Mugabe style…

Robb WJ Ellis
The Bearded Man