via People voted Zanu PF – Mafume – DailyNews Live 23 August 2014
HARARE – Tendai Biti’s renewal team has upheld Robert Mugabe’s presidential election victory again, but the veteran leader’s defeated rival Morgan Tsvangirai insists the poll was rigged, igniting fresh tensions .
The July 31, 2013 vote cleared the way for Zimbabwe’s 90-year-old president to retain the top job.
Biti’s renewal team spokesperson Jacob Mafume delivered a statement at the Gweru Press Club on Thursday accepting the poll verdict.
“People voted for Zanu PF,” Mafume told reporters.
“Many, including civil servants, were gullible to Zanu PF election promises. They were promised above poverty datum line salaries and teachers’ leaders were heard celebrating the news prematurely, as they dined with Zanu PF ministers only to be disappointed after the elections.
“There are many people who I met in queues openly telling me that they intended to vote for Zanu PF. They went on to vote for Zanu PF and told us that we were getting carried away with power in the inclusive government.”
Mafume’s message resonates with recent assertions by Biti that Zanu PF had a sexy electoral message that helped it win the general elections last year.
Biti in March told a policy dialogue held at the Sapes Trust in Harare that Zanu PF’s “bhora mugedhi” message resonated with the electorate. He came under fire for conceding defeat to Zanu PF.
Tsvangirai told a news conference yesterday at Harvest House, the MDC headquarters in central Harare, that “we all remember the grand theft of July 31 at which the people’s mandate was stolen”.
“But one-year on, without a hint of irony, we had a handful of people holding a purported national celebration at State House,” Tsvangirai said.
“Closeted away from the painful daily experiences of a people mired in a serious national crisis, our colleagues had the reckless and provocative courage to throw a party, even at a time when they are struggling to pay salaries of government workers.”
Biti, on the other hand, was one of the most vocal proponents of a poll-rerun and alleged in an August 3, 2013 opinion piece that Zanu PF had “stolen this election to the extent that they themselves are so embarrassed”.
Biti spent months championing the cause.
But at the policy dialogue held in Harare as Zanu PF spurned MDC calls for another coalition and amid intensifying intra-party clashes over leadership renewal, the lawyer claimed “we didn’t do well in 2013”.
“Zanu in the last election had a very simple message, bhora mugedhi,” Biti said. “Even a little woman in Chendambuya or Dotito knew one thing, bhora mugedhi. Perhaps we were too sophisticated, but what was our message because the message of change of 2000 is not the message for now.
“We were selling hopes and dreams when Zanu PF was selling practical realities. We (Zanu PF) are going to give you a farm, it’s there. We are going to give you $5 000 through (Saviour) Kasukuwere’s ministry.”
Zimbabwe’s longtime president Mugabe won 61 percent of the presidential vote on July 31, followed by Tsvangirai at 33 percent, securing the 90-year-old in power for 34 years and another five-year term in office.
Mafume on Thursday said now that the economy is not functioning and pre-election promises are yet to be met, “some people now claim the elections were rigged”.
“We know people voted for Zanu PF,” Mafume said.
“We should not make excuses for the electorate.”
He scoffed at demands by Tsvangirai, 62, for fresh elections, ostensibly because last year’s polls were rigged by Mugabe.
In a damning letter to the Troika Organ on Politics, Defence and Security of the 15-member Sadc, Tsvangirai said a compromise to produce a government that might save Zimbabwe from further financial calamity was proving elusive.
The MDC leader’s emissaries handed the letter to the regional leaders at the two-day summit in Victoria Falls last weekend, as hundreds of anti-government MDC protesters began a job march in the capital, raising fears of political instability.
“We should focus on the economy and play our role as the opposition by keeping the ruling Zanu PF on its toes,” Mafume said.
“We are the opposition and we will tell them where they go wrong. There is an overdose of elections in the country and this tends to affect efforts to revive the economy. The focus should now be on fixing the economy. People need to breathe.
“Zanu PF did whatever they did but the fact remains they won the elections. Let them govern for the benefit of everyone and work towards reviving the economy. Even if we hold elections, Zanu PF will win again.
“This is evident in the by-elections that have been held in the country so far. In any case, who will fund the elections? Certainly not the overburdened taxpayer.”
COMMENTS
“We should focus on the economy and play our role as the opposition by keeping the ruling Zanu PF on its toes,” Mafume said.
There is an economy in zims?????????????.
Biti, you complete idiot,
of course people voted for ZPF –
*Dead people
*Relocated people
*100 year old people
*Unknown people
*Twice registered people
*Revolving door people
*Nikuv people
The theft was ‘harmonized’,
now we have a pretender, a
usurper, in our State House!
Well done, bootlicker Biti!
I agree with you Parangeta. This revival team leadership are bootlickers of Zanu hence they have ever since been praising Zanu. One would have expected any opposition to focus attention on what would improve the lives of people in such a desperate and ruined economy, but alas! all you hear is hero worshipping and bootlicking Zanu! It is a shame really to see them expending their energies on praising Zanu for making people destitute. Proper lot of sell-outs. If at all they have the guts to fight for the people, why not stage their coupe on the person who continues to cling onto power at ninety.I have no doubt that they are an appendage of Zanu.
What a bunch of confused characters the combined former MDC-T leadership has proved to be. Wasted opportunities, betrayal of peoples hopes. The less said the better.
mapfume is just a stupid clown
A lot of people surely did vote for ZANU. Weather or not it was a majority is another story. To those who voted for ZANU I say “Eat what you have sown. I hope you choke”
Winners don’t hide the voters roll. Winners do not keep out anyone who wants to monitor the election. Popular parties don’t threaten to pull out of SADC just so that they avoid reforms. Popular parties dont make strange payments to some dodgy Israeli outfit (to the tune of USD 13 million inside six months without fully explaining this to the taxpayers and citizenry. Popular parties dont deny other parties access to the national broadcasting facilities. Popular parties do not deny other parties, including partners in government the freedom to mount rallies whenever they feel like. I could go on and on!
Well said
But what kind of people are these Renewal nonsense? The other time the leader mBiti says Zanu had a better election strategy and won? Yesterday their spokescreen Mafemo says Zanu won the election nice and square! and today Madrums (aka Mangoma says the election was stolen! Are these confused functionaries coming from one party or what? Now this needs divine intervention!!!!
People, help me, what is this mafume saying? Is he in opposition or is in zpf? Surely the struggle has been sold. We will not win it with money mongers like mafume, biti, ncube, mangoma, madhuku and davengwa purpoting to be in opposition yet they are dining with thieves during the night. They seem to be enjoying blood dimonds money. MRT shud rebrand the MDC-T to MDCZ at the people’s congress and relaunch the struggle at all possible costs. One point for sure is we can not win through zpf electrol systems.
Basically Biti and Mapfume are touts of mugabe and zpf. They, like Mutambara and Ncube have been comissioned to split the MDC T again and when you look into Bitis cavorting with Gono you realize that he and his renewal traitors are just another bunch of scammers who are trying to beak down the strongest opposition, but dont take your eyes off “Transform Zimbabwe”.
Yes Biti is running a project to destroy opposition as he positions himself by clearly telling us that the Gono, Jonathan Moyo, Welsh Ncube and Grace Mugabe way is coming. MDC-T should rebrand Chiowiniso said I agree
Reverend
Go to hell; we will never listen to tribalist Tswangirayi poodles. He is a nothing to some of us; no matter how much of a God he is to you people!!
There is enough room in RGM’s back side he has a endless stream of dimwits squeezing up there for what? Only the devil knows.Biti must have heard that the only way to serve up a nice dinner is lick this wrinkly back passage. We will know soon enough what Biti comes out with….A farm perhaps..or like Mbiti $100K FOR SERVICES RENDERED.
These MDC people, it was a disaster to have placed any hope in these guys. Biti is on record talking about ZUPCO buses carrying ‘ghosts’ into his consituence and all was on camera. Now he hates Tsvangirai more than ZPF and he endorses the election outcome. Well, we don’t need them or anyone to tell us that ZPF ddnt rig coz the action was in our constituencies and at polling stations. Most of the tricks used for the july 13 elections are now in play again for the run up elections to Congress 2014, maybe except for NIKUV
ZVakaoma. These MDC people, it was a disaster to have placed any hope in these guys. Biti is on record talking about ZUPCO buses carrying ‘ghosts’ into his consituence and all was on camera. Now he hates Tsvangirai more than ZPF and he endorses the election outcome. Well, we don’t need them or anyone to tell us that ZPF ddnt rig coz the action was in our constituencies and at polling stations. Most of the tricks used for the july 13 elections are now in play again for the run up elections to Congress 2014, maybe except for NIKUV
In the highly educated free and fair democratic western world there is a well-known common saying …. ‘ never trust any politician – especially if they are lawyers ‘
I have always known that this Mafume is the Achilles heel for this so called renewal team. If the election was not rigged then why has the voters roll not been released more than 12 months after the election.
Even the Zanu PF supporters know that the election was rigged and some of the Zanu PF candidates were surprised when they won because they knew they didn’t have enough support on the ground.
Also where did the support for Zanu PF come from in Matabeleland South unless Zanu PF rigged the election?
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the election was rigged and in some constituencies it was actually over rigged especially where the number of voters was way above the number of people who actually voted on polling day.
I think it’s becoming clearer now what this renewal team is all about – it’s all about dollars for themselves and doing anything as long it gets them funding from Zanu PF and like-minded groups.
Sad indeed on the calibre of some people who joined the Democratic movement. Most were opportunists in the form of professors and academics. They never wanted their suits soiled. They are the ones responible for watering down Tsvangirayi,s vision in his 1999 MDC inaugral speech “Mugabe go peacefully now or be removed violently by an uprising” He had well forseen that elections will never be run on a level playing field with mugabe in charge.
If this spirit had been maintained and developed, surely things would not be where they are now. I accuse people like welshman ncube,arthur mutambara and tendai biti of delaying the freedom of the people of Zimbabwe. Take welshman ncube for example, when the senate was being reintroduced by zanu. Tsvangirai refused to participate in the senatorial elections, saying they dont add any value to the country’s economy at all which was deteriorating – but the stupid proffessor labels Tsvangirayi a dictator, and tells us that what ever elections zanu comes up with, we should participate in them, even if its to vote for toilet cleaners. biti too,in what he thought was character assassination on Tsvangirayi, recently stated that “Zimbabwe is better off under the rule of mugabe” What an insult to the people of Zimbabwe biti
So such has been the flawed mentality of these professors and academics. We must be forgiven when we label them CIOs
Now we hear this mafume, in what I very much suspect is singing for his next meal from zanu, tells us his master’s party won fair and square, what madness.
When biti and his team broke away, people thought oh here is the man who will not treat mugabe with kid gloves. But it soon turned out that while we thought he was with us all this time, he was never. He was with them, putting spanners to stop the MDC engine working.
Biti and company Pty Ltd wants a shadow under ZANU Pf umbrella.
People, the Armed Struggle of the 1970s was not waged by professors. I know of very brave and good fighters who ddn’t have ‘O’ Levels and were many. I agree with some who say professors delay the process. They search for many reference books and make numerous consultations before implementing a resolution, thereby providing enough room for the diamond rich agents of hell to buy them off. The forthcoming people’s congress of the MDC-Zimbabwe shud elect brave leaders who will not wait for 2018 to free masses from these black oppressors. There are no untouchables. God first, we will win. Think of the biblical Joshua.
Rwendo, Gecko, Jackson chowiniso and many who a
Gecko, Rwendo, Chiwoniso, Jackson and many compatriots who are stunned by the opportunists in “opposition” Mafume represents many of them who are seeking money using our blood. It is becoming clearer and clearer that Biti and his gang do not have anything to offer. What is the point of leaving the main stream opposition only to spend months talking about Zanupf’s “victory” and Tswangirai’s weaknesses especially just repeating what Zanupf has been singing for years about him? One would have thought that these people would come up with new ideas and suggestions to move the struggle for democracy faster instead of always talking about Zanupf’s victory or Tswangirai’s shortcomings without giving any sound alternative.
I have been moving around and seeing poverty which makes one cry.Then someone tries to enrich himself by singing the ZANU song of eating alone.Let me remind you Mafumhe.I was in your area at Sipambi Shopping Centre.The last council elections, the ballot boxes came with ballot papers inside.There was a heated argument , MDC saying lets open and see.The soldiers told the poll agents you die for nothing.This happened in Mafumhe’s village and now he talks of free elections.Even in some parts like Guwa,a local Kraal heard admitted that the ballot boxes were full before casting, it took 3 hours for people to vote.
Its sad when people who are supposed to lead the nation , like Mafumhe, do not even know that the council elections in his village were rigged.You are out of touch with reality, then out of touch with your brains, and then out of touch with ZANU brutality.Once they are done with you, six feet you go.
If it wasn’t putting the Kraalheads in danger, I was going to give villages where Kraalheads admitted to the massive rigging.So oppositions, we must know that Harare is not Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe is not Harare.Lets start from the roots.Fact that village leaders acknowledge the rigging is a clear testimony that a clear and eye to eye strategy will make elections free
Whether the so-called “win” was fair or foul, is irrelevant; a mere academic exercise. The fact of the matter is that Tswangirayi “lost”, PERIOD – whatever the circumstances. This is why he is not the President today as we speak.
He lost because he was too drunk with “grass-roots support”; he lost because he failed to humble himself enough to bring all opposition voices on board, as he already saw himself well ensconced at State House even before the elections were held.
Tswangirayi is not just a dictator, he is also too arrogant to lead a new democratic order. He is also a tribalist of note, just like his gukurahundi father Mugabe. The Prime Minister position, no matter how useless it was made him to grow a very big head. He thought he could now assist gukurahundi Mugabe to violate SADC resolutions at will; forgeting that he will need SADC tommorrow.
The intellectual midget lacks strategy; is easily excitable and plainly a very backward primitive Shona gukurahundi from Buhera!!
In Zim, virtually every Shona has a history of gukurahundi ZANU PF asss licking. The exception could be those born in the 1990s – even those are few and far between.
So, any talk of Dabengwa this or Dabengwa that is plain nonsense. It is the Shona people who consolidated ZANU PF rule in Zimbabwe – this is a fact and there aint no contest on this fact!!
Yes Straight Shooter but it certainly does not help to waste our energy on Tswangirai. He controls nothing at the moment. Let us come up with an alternative programme that appeals to the electorate. Whatever scapgoats were used like that one of Dabengwa and other opposition personalities let there be a clear alternative programme instead of saying the opposition should help Zanupf to rule better as this Mafume says. I personally do not support Tswangirai but if I was an opposition spokesperson I certainly would not be attacking him at this moment. He is almost irrelevant to the on going farm invasions that have condemned scores of families to starvation as the case is with Conaly’s farm. Tswangirai is obviously irrelevent to the perpetuation of the deliberate economic melt down by Zanupf. He is not the culprit. Why sing songs of Zanupf about him NOW?
Bazur
Tswangirayi has to be attacked because he is and he has derailed the democracy project in Zimbabwe because of selfishness. He can not be allowed to go scot free. Tswangirayi is taking advantage of being the founding leader of opposition politics and the grass roots support to derail democracy, despite acknowledging he has messed up. A good democratic leader would have allowed others with fresh ideas to come forward and even helped sell them to his grass roots supporters, to facilitate democracy intsead of standing in the way.
true chiremba, winner(!) don’t hide the voters role etc….but we have to be realistic here and try and decipher what the reporter is WANTING to portray!!!MT is losing ground because he allowed this theft of the election, new strategies are needed now…and unity of opp parties for the common good is the first step…