Mujuru Tries to Occupy High Ground

via Mujuru Tries to Occupy High Ground | newzimbabweconstitution 26 October 2014 Alex T. Magaisa

For the simple reason that we are privileged to be witnesses to the making of history, we thought it necessary to record events and our analysis on this blog, as they happen. Perhaps one day, those who wish to know and understand what happened in this critical moment of history might find some use in these contributions. For me, it has become my way of diarising events in this landmark moment of our history, when the long-awaited transition from the era of the liberation leader is being played out before the public gallery.

Yesterday, Vice President Joice Mujuru gathered her troops in Dotito, a remote district of Mashonaland Central, which is her home province. The main purpose of the function was to celebrate her recent graduation after being conferred with a doctoral degree by the University of Zimbabwe. However, as it was her first public appearance since the sustained verbal offensive against her person and character by Grace Mugabe, the First Lady, the event had assumed a status far beyond that of a celebratory gathering.

Instead, it became political by virtue of circumstances. What would she say? Would she respond to the taunting that she has been receiving from Grace Mugabe? Who, among her political comrades in Zanu PF, would attend? What would they say? And what about the crowd – how many people would attend and what would they say? All these and more are political questions that weighed heavily on many people’s minds.

In the end, Mujuru’s response was measured and mature – and we suspect, much to the disappointment of her rivals. Her rivals have goaded and prodded her in order to secure a reckless response. They believe her mouth is her weakness – that she can so easily injure herself and her political ambitions by the words that she issues from her mouth. Such recklessness is bound to increase when one is affected by anger, indeed, when one is subjected to extreme provocation. And the comprehensive assault by Grace Mugabe was designed to provoke her into uttering something stupid. They began by speaking in tongues, with veiled attacks but when that produced no reaction, it must have frustrated her rivals.

Even when Grace slipped at her Bulawayo rally and newspapers correctly interpreted her statement as an attack on Mujuru, the spin-doctor, Jonathan Moyo, tried in a clumsy manner, to deflect the blow. Eventually, Grace Mugabe could not be restrained and a few days later she left everyone without a doubt that she was referring to Mujuru. And on Thursday last week, she finally mentioned Mujuru by name and called on her to resign immediately from the Vice Presidency or otherwise an unceremonious exit by way of the sack. Expectations were so high in her rivals’ camp that the state media, which they have successfully manipulated, has been baying for her blood and even wrote her epitaph before the Friday politburo meeting, believing that it would be the end of her. If there is frustration, it is on the part of Grace Mugabe, who on Thursday, pronounced her assault as the “Final Push”, which she also characterised as “the moment of truth”. So Mujuru survived the predicted apocalyptic moment and had her chance to respond on a public stage.

Mujuru could have chosen to launch a counter-attack of the same tone and quality as that issued against her by Grace Mugabe. She could have been equally indecorous, flippant and petty. But that would have been to descend to the level that Grace Mugabe and her minders want her to be. A bitter, nasty cat-fight between two women would leave one person severely bruised and that person would be Mujuru. She is the one with known presidential aspirations and stands closest to that goal. She is the one who is being fought. Soiling her reputation by dismissing her as petty and childish is what her rivals wanted. And they despatched Grace Mugabe to perform that role, leaving themselves without the muck. It’s like the businessman who sends his hwindi (tout) to fight off a rival. The rival would be foolhardy to respond by fighting the hwindi.

Mujuru subtly chose the path of humility over pride. “Ndinezvitadzo asi musandinyepere,” she is reported as having said in Shona, which translates to, “I’m not perfect, I err like everyone else, but do not create fabrications about me.” Accepting that one is fallible is a rare trait among Zimbabwean politicians. Accepting that one can do wrong is not known among our politicians. Admitting to one’s failings suggests to people that one is human. By that statement, Mujuru is trying to speak the language of ordinary men and women, to say to them that she, too, is ordinary. She is not putting herself on a high pedestal of perfection, as her tormentor has been trying to do in recent weeks.

Further, Mujuru seems to understand the drawing power of self-deprecation. “Ndinogona hangu ndisina kukunakira hangu pachiso haisi mhosva yangu asi Mwari wangu arikudenga anofara neni. Ndinogona hangu kunge ndisina chimiri chakakunakira asi Kristu arikufara nemhuno dzangu. Ndinongoti chiregayi kuzvonda wamawona farirayi zvaachakupayi”. Loosely translated, she was saying, “I may not be attractive to you in appearance but that is not my fault and my God who created me is happy with who I am. I may not have an appealing body structure, but Jesus is happy with who I am. All I say to you is, do not despise a person for who they are but be content with what they will deliver to you”.

Again, with these words, Mujuru is humbling herself and communicating that she is not infallible. It is also a subtle response to the unpleasant and snide remarks that Grace Mugabe made about her appearance at the Thursday war veterans rally when she mumbled into the microphone that Mujuru was having sleepless nights and losing weight as a result of her problems. “Varikuonda futi, ehe, varikuwonda” (She is losing weight due to her troubles). In a way, Mujuru is directing the debate away from the personal angle to one that revolves around issues and delivery. That is bound to attract more respect that snide comments about another woman’s appearance.

Another element of her response is that she sought to communicate to Mugabe and not to his wife who has been on her back. She tries in her statements to demonstrate her respect of Mugabe and to reassure him. In speaking to him, she invokes memories of the war – that she remembers her comrades who did not return from the front, those who lost limbs in the war and that therefore, she can never be a sell-out. This is a response to the allegations being constructed against her that she is a sell-out – a nasty charge in the politics of Zanu PF, based as they are, on the liberation narrative.

She is keen to reassure Mugabe that she is a faithful student and disciple of his politics and that she wants to promote unity and togetherness in the party. At the same time, she touches on an issue that probably troubles Mugabe the most – the security of his family. Even though it is his wife who is tormenting her, she carefully chooses not to respond with equal fire but instead asks Mugabe to trust her to unite the party and to ensure that his family is secure. “Ngavachitarisirewo zvinobva kwandiri ndivabanidzirewo mhuri yavo igare zvakanaka muruwadzano,” she says, reassuring Mugabe to trust her with the future of his personal and political family.

When she says, “Tisatukane tisarovane,” (let us not exchange harsh words or violence against each other), she is also speaking the language of peace, unity and tolerance – a language that Mugabe has used regularly in recent years. But it is clearly a response to the vitriol that she has received from Grace Mugabe. Where she might have been expected to respond with harsh words against Grace Mugabe, she chose instead to speak in conciliatory language. In doing so, she has again sought to occupy a high moral ground, because that is what the mature, motherly figure is expected to do. She is obviously very aware of what has been said of her and she probably knows too well what her opponents expect her to do, which would betray her weakness.

But, in the process, she also delivers a subtle warning about the consequences of what is happening. She does this by making reference to the 2018 elections and the consequences of dividing the party and voters through hate speech. She reminds her rivals that in order to succeed, the party needs all votes, including those of persons against whom hate speech is directed. She warns that it would be hard to woo such voters when election time arrives. In so doing, she subtly delivers a warning of the risk of dividing the party and voters and she does so without saying she is leaving the party or inclined to do so.

All in all, what do we learn from Mujuru’s speech yesterday? That she has chosen not to respond directly to Grace Mugabe’s deliberate provocation and instead, she has elected to occupy the moral high ground, as the humble, tolerant, more mature and motherly figure. She has chosen to speak directly to her boss, touching his greatest fears and trying to reassure her that she is loyal and that she can be trusted with his personal and political family, contrary to whatever he has been fed by her rivals. Critically, she has chosen not to descend into an arena where her rivals want her.

As a colleague wants said, if you are wearing your tailored suit and carrying your briefcase, the last thing you want is to respond to the baiting of a hwindi. Because if you do, there will be only one loser, even if you defeat him in a fight. You might win the fight but your suit might be in tatters, your papers strewn all over and reputation soiled. So far, Mujuru seems to have steered clear of the hwindi-style baiting. But then again, as the old saying goes, a day is a long time in politics. Let alone a week. We shall be monitoring this historic episode as the week progresses.

waMagaisa@yahoo.co.uk
a.t.magaisa@kent.ac.uk