Under ED, Zim Worst Governed Country In SADC
Opinion by Rejoice Ngwenya
I was ‘born in church’ therefore alert to contradictions and counter-narratives associated with (mis)understood biblical interpretations of The Law. We ‘sin’ not by breaking God’s laws. Before you remonstrate, hear me out.
I’ve heard preachers proclaim sin is transgression of the law, so let me correct that. Technically, sin is ‘anything’ that acts in conflict with or contradicts God, but remember sin came much earlier than Moses’ Ten Commandments. The command “thou shall not eat of the fruit...” was no divine statute, but simple instruction. Not every ‘command’ qualifies as a ‘commandment’ or law. I’m therefore vindicated sin is disobedience.
The law or commandments merely show proverbial ‘standard deviation’ – for want of a better phrase – from God’s principle. This is why law adherence neither takes one to heaven nor fortifies one’s righteousness, why because no amount of law-keeping can make humans perfect enough in God’s eyes.
Pharisees literally kept the law to the dot, yet ‘divine justice’ perceived them as misguided, self-righteous exhibitionist hypocrites. Enter salvation by faith and grace etc, but a debate for another day.
Zimbabwe’s political leadership history is littered with lawyers, dating back to Herbert Chitepo via Edgar Zvobgo, Enoch Dubutshena through to leaders like Eric Matinenga, Tendai Biti, Robert Mugabe, David Coltart, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Obert Gutu, Welshman Ncube up to Nelson Chamisa, Job Sikhala, Lovemore Madhuku, Jacob Mafume, Douglas Mwonzora and of late Fadzayi Mahere. In other words, it would seem in Zimbabwe one ‘qualifies’ for political leadership of sorts if they have a semblance of legal expertise.
Toss into the fray people like Godfrey Chidyausiku, Paul Mangwana, Rita Makarau, Priscilla Chigumba and Luke Malaba, then you appreciate why Zimbabwe remains mummified in a fossil of permanent dysfunctionality. Whereas academic universities are provenance of both good and bad lawyers, the ‘political leadership carousel’ drops off only one type of baggage – ‘bad’ lawyers.
Let me be quick to point out that before you remonstrate (gosh, is there no other word!), my reference to ‘bad political lawyers’ is more of creative metaphorics than allusion to character, personality, or behaviour. You see why the Pharisees had problems with Jesus? They were quick to judge! If you carefully consider the coterie of political lawyers listed above, you can select men and women of principle and integrity, those who swing at the apex of the moral spirit level. However, those traits do not suffice for effectively running a political party, worse still a country.
Chitepo was no doubt an excellent lawyer, but his legacy now discredited by wretched modern-day Zanu.PF that (has) ruined our country. Zvobgo ‘invented’ toxic executive presidency that gifted Mugabe perpetual power while Mugabe himself displayed contempt for democracy and human rights. Lawyers Chidyausiku, Makarau and Mangwana inspired a national constitution that violated private property rights and desecrated ‘Chapter 12’ institutions while lawyers Mudenda, Chigumba and Malaba have colluded to decimate parliamentary democracy in Zimbabwe.
A judge who cohorts with corrupt politicians is a bad lawyer, obviously. If you scrutinise ‘lawyer’ Mnangagwa’s behaviour from November 2017 up to June 2024 you will appreciate why Zimbabwe ranks as the worst governed country in SADC.
Yet my chapter on the catastrophic tragedy of political lawyers would be incomplete without questioning these learned citizens’ capacity to challenge Zanu.PF’s crude authoritarian dictatorship. Matinenga correctly argues his tenure was ‘successful’ as he only served in the era of non-lawyer Morgan Tsvangirai. Lawyers who remained in opposition leadership - Coltart, Biti, Ncube, Mwonzora, Mahere, Sikhala, Gutu, Madhuku, Mafume and Chamisa need to explain why opposition politics is now languishing in Zimbabwe’s democracy landfills. Of course, being lawyers, each of them will advance ‘credible evidence’ why they are blameless.
Lawyer Chamisa is accused of strategic ambiguity that centralised power, portraying him as egocentric, insecure, spiteful and ‘victim’ of feigned Christian fundamentalism. Coltart will probably say “Look, I’m a social democrat with noble intentions and I tried my best to…”
Critics portray lawyer Ncube as an arrogant, divisive, power hungry, dogmatic ‘sellout’ who flirts with Zanu.PF. Others say Biti is a big-headed know-it-all bully who reeks with undeserved entitlement. Lawyer Mahere has been cast as an impulsive motor-mouthed bootlicker with no courage to confront Chamisa’s habitual authoritarian shenanigans.
Lawyer Madhuku is portrayed as an opportunist with no semblance of ideology while lawyer Sikhala is a loose cannon scrounging for attention and undeserved relevance. Gutu was condemned for ‘crossing the divide’ in hot pursuit of proverbial alluvial gold, while lawyer Mafume is placed in the class of articulate upstarts who punch well beyond their leadership weight.
Lawyer Mwonzora has courted anger for his cunning stealth manoeuvres that have turned activism against Zanu.PF into nine-digit ‘polipreneurship.’
Look, we all have our opinions on ‘political lawyers,’ but seen from an outsider’s multi-dimension angle, leadership styles of these learned people do not auger well with the democratic dispositions of our country. The whole lot of them – ruling party, opposition – are a major disappointment, bringing disrepute to this once noble profession. Just thinking of the Chigumba-Malaba-Mudenda axis of evil gives any democrat stomach cramps. Foreign analysts question Zimbabwe’s prevalence of ‘brilliant’ political lawyers, yet my country languishes in hapless self-pity. It is not for me to judge (in)competency of our political lawyers. It’s public knowledge. Just consider state of the vagabond ruling elite and recalcitrant opposition. Ask yourself what value this motley crew of political lawyers add to our democracy. Be gifted to see what I cannot see!
The question remains though: how many more such political lawyers can we tolerate before our country emerges from its polarised, retrogressive quagmire? Do lawyers make good politicians or it’s politics that turns good lawyers into Draculas?
Consider proximity of Chigumba, Mudenda, and Malaba to the centre of power. Has their legal expertise redeemed us or merely condemned us to Mnangagwa’s hopeless aphorisms, a lawyer who promised to turn our political fortunes for the good?
Meanwhile, opposition politics withers under the watch of Coltart, Biti, Ncube, Mwonzora, Mahere, Sikhala, Madhuku, Mafume, Gutu and Chamisa causing irreversible damage to our constitutional democracy. Today I merely pause questions. It’s up to you to answer.