Former Zimpapers worker Edmund Kudzayi who was fired from his job after he was accused of being Baba Jukwa, a faceless Facebook character that tormented Zanu PF ahead of 2013 elections, has claimed that the ruling party is untouchable for many years to come.
In his writing, he said all indicators are that President Robert Mugabe will win in 2018.
“If he does win, we will witness an implosion of the opposition soon after that election. After 18 years of failing to remove Mugabe, Morgan Tsvangirai (MDC-T leader) will either bow out or be pushed out. The choice will be his,” he wrote.
“The opposition will then face a vicious contest for the figurehead position. Nobody will emerge with enough clout to rally the opposition into one. Kingmakers will emerge from Matabeleland. As such, the opposition will approach 2023 fractured, without a face and without a message. The MDC was not given momentum by talk of human rights, or security sector reforms; it got its early fire from the sudden drop in living standards. That message has now been dulled by time. A new narrative is required.”
He wrote that post 2018 Mugabe will be grooming a successor, and he has to, constitutionally 2018 will be his last term.
“This individual might not have Mugabe’s star power but he will have the power of incumbency behind him and using the usual tactics he will win 2023. 2028 is when there could be another possibility,” he said.
“However, if Zanu PF somehow manages to reignite the economy it could very well rule for another 30 years and this would force the opposition message into human rights and other peripheral aspirations.”
