Free At Last As Mugabe Moves To Stage Manage Exit

The drip-feeding of election results by the ZEC (Zimbabwe Electoral Commission) mirrors torture methods Mugabe's goons uses against MDC activists. They make you seat on chair in the middle of a room with no furniture, they then suspend a pail bucket with single tiny hole in the middle of its bottom, they fill it with water and they let that water drop, onto your head one drop at a time ,drop by drop till the bucket is empty. At first you feel nothing until you head starts pounding and you feel like its going to explode. Thats what I have been feeling for the past three days as I anxiously wait for the release of the election results from ZEC. The waiting has fueled a lot of speculation which has been rife on the internet. You have heard the theories and the counter theories ranging from the the threat of coup to martial law no doubt the Zimbabwean elections have given people plenty to talk about.

While the confabulation goes on it cannot be denied MDC has won these elections, as you might have also noticed even with all the odds stacked against us from blatant intimidation, arbitrary arrests, unlawful imprisonment, state media bias, lack of resources not to mention systematic rigging that began in earnest in 2005 with Murambatsvina still MDC and the people of Zimbabwe have prevailed. Its no wonder Tendai Biti described it as short of a miracle, considering what the people of Zimbabwe were up against. The people of Zimbabwe, exercised their democratic right to vote for CHANGE, CHANGE that they can trust, to vote for the MDC and President Morgan Tsvangirai, to vote for life, food, education, jobs,dignity and democracy. The Zimbabwean people are now free at last, free from Mugabe's tyrannical regime which killed millions of people directly or indirectly through its policies and in the process ruined the one time bread basket of Africa into an economic basket case.

Many had come to label MDC a failure after Mugabe rigged every election since 2000 as he desperately clung to power. He used every trick in the dictator's handbook to thwart MDC and President Morgan Tsvangirai, he used the then well-paid army and the partisan police to crush an every possible uprising MDC might have conjured as a means of non-violent protests against his stealing of the the previous elections. But this watershed election proved too difficult to rig even though within the results that are being announced discrepancies are emerging.

You might still be skeptical about Zimbabwe being totally free from Mugabe, but take cue from today's Herald which has been the Zanu PF propaganda mouthpiece masquerading as a newspaper. Gone is the vitriol aimed against MDC and President Morgan Tsvangirai (yes President get used to it). How fast things change yesterday, the editorial ran a title similar to what Mugabe recently said during his vote-buying spree masked as a political campaign that Tsvangirai will never rule Zimbabwe you will find that the page has been deleted. You can still find it here on news now's top stories

Mugabe, The Herald, Chiwenga, Chihuri did not see this coming just like Ian Smith during his "in my lifetime" phase for only to see a black majority rule before his death. How history repeats itself as Mugabe proclaimed time after time that MDC will nevr rule Zimabwe what a climb down for the dictator. He usually banged the podium with his fist, foaming at the mouth whenever he spoke saying MDC Will Never Rule Zimbabwe for only MDC to rule before his death. MDC has been one step ahead of the dictator this time, the Zimbabwe's electoral law requires the contestants or their representative to sign after votes have been collated and counted and verified at the polling stations, the presiding officer then pastes the result as a bulletin outside the polling stations. MDC used this legal loophole to take photographs of the signing process and the results pasted outside the polling stations to tabulate their own results of the election. When the election closed at six on Saturday the ZEC already knew that Mugabe and Zanu PF had lost all the elections they informed JOC (Joint Operations Command nicknamed "JOKO" Shona for yoke) JOC consists of the army chief, police chief, intelligence chief and prisons chief the real power behind Mugabe. The JOC then took the news to Mugabe, who at first ordered the doctoring of the results, he was told that its near impossible as the election results were now public knowledge. At first the idea of declaring martial law was thrown around which was mooted by CIO chief who is no longer loyal to Mugabe, he told Mugabe point blank that there would be bloodshed as people were going to revolt against an martial law. Then Chiwenga suggested a rerun promising to crush MDC before the rerun election, which was now mooted by Mugabe who knew that despite the best rigging apparatus he would loose to President Tsvangirai in the second round. Now they all busy asking MDC for exit guarantees as they try to escape prosecution and stage manage their exit from the Zimbabwean politics.

Its hard to believe Mugabe is gone after 28 years of seemingly unshakeable grip on the country in which all all of his opponents have been falsely accused of treason, exiled or killed. Mugabe led Zimbabwe's political emancipation from the colonial settlers but turned out to be another African despot who has left the country with 90% unemployment, 400 000% inflation the highest in the world, the life expectancy has fallen to 35 for men and 34 for women, more than 3000 Zimbabweans die every week from AIDS and its related diseases, 45% of the country is malnourished, the Zimbabwean dollar is virtually worthless. The price of a loaf of bread on Saturday during elections was about 6.6 million Zimbabwe dollars on the official market but as much as 15 million on the black market. In October last year bread cost 100,000 Zimbabwean dollars, in 2003 around 1,000 Zimbabwean dollars and in 1998 five Zimbabwean dollars.

With all its ills, I am sure Zimbabwe will prosper again, well done Morgan Tsvangirai, well done MDC, thank you to the people of Zimbabwe that voted for genuine Change not leaders with an American Green card, goodbye Bob and yes Welcome New Zimbabwe. Free At Last!