THE country’s opposition political parties have welcomed former Zambian Acting President Guy Scott’s candid claims Zimbabwe’s elections were fraught with violence sponsored by President Robert Mugabe.
Zambia’s Sunday Post newspaper weekend quoted Guy Scott as urging current Zambian President Edgar Lungu to shun Mugabe’s traits in efforts to secure re-election in August.
Scott, a Patriotic Front politician, recently ditched Lungu’s Patriotic Front to join that country’s opposition UNPD.
“I told President Lungu that if you want me back, allow all Sata’s (Michael, late Zambian leader) people to come back. I went all the way to western, north-western Copperbelt and I can’t just leave them. My other condition was that get rid of violence,” said Sata.
The one time Zambian interim leader after Sata’s death is now aligned to the copper producing country’s opposition leader, Hakainde Hichilema.
However, what captured the Zimbabwean media’s attention was Scott’s reference to Zambia turning into another Zimbabwe where Mugabe has lost elections but is still in power.
“We don’t want this country to be like Zimbabwe,” Scott said.
“Why should we voluntarily become like Zimbabwe, where the President can lose an election and 8 years later he is still there.”
Scott was referring to Zimbabwe’s widely disputed 2008 presidential race in which Mugabe fell behind to MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai in the first round but muscled his way back through a violent run-off poll which allegedly claimed some 300 opposition supporters.
Tsvangirai’s victory has been confirmed by Mugabe’s former allies, Didymus Mutasa, the country’s former security minister and Temba Mliswa who was Zanu PF Mashonaland West chairperson.
MDC-T spokesperson Obert Gutu on Monday commended Scott for his courage to say what Mugabe’s African peers have been avoiding to say.
“We would like to congratulate him for having the audacity to say out his mind,” Gutu told RadioVOP.
“We urge other politicians in the SADC region to call a spade a spade; everyone knows that Mugabe lost in 2008 but forced himself into power.”
Gutu, who insists Mugabe also lost the 2013 elections, urged other African leaders to follow suit.
“In 2013, he (Mugabe) used smart violence, in the form of ‘nikuving’ and gerrymandering the voters roll.
“As the MDC, we expect all politicians in the SADC region to come out in the open.”
Nikuv is a dodgy Israeli technological organisation allegedly hired by President Mugabe’s government to manipulate the voter’s roll in the veteran leader’s favour.
Mugabe, who denies any rigging, went on to post a thumping victory against his challengers.
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) spokesperson Jacob Mafume also praised Scott for vindicating the opposition.
“Guy Scott has hit the nail on the head. In opposition we have always maintained that Mugabe lost elections. It’s an indication of the weakness of not only Zimbabwe but SADC,” he said.
“He (Mugabe) got into power on a pyramid scheme of Zanu PF that is violent; the scheme is rapidly collapsing and very soon he will fall.”-RadioVOP
