On the morning of the wedding day, groom assaults bride

By Glen Mpani

Those close to the bride, aware of the abusive nature of the groom, plead with her to call the wedding off. She does not heed their advice. She has reached a point of no return. Guests have been invited. Money has been spent. The priest is ready to administer the rites.

Besides, the bride's pride is at stake .She has boasted to relatives and friends that she will be a respectably married woman. That sense of moral superiority is priceless. The groom, for all his abusive nature, is well resourced. Material comfort and security weigh heavily on the bride's mind hence her immunity to sound advice. The marriage will put years of poverty behind her. There is simply no alternative to the marriage. She will deal with whatever her abusive spouse throws at her.

The MDC is the bride in the political farce playing out in Zimbabwe. On the morning of the swearing in of cabinet ministers, Roy Bennett, a senior member of the MDC and deputy minister of agriculture nominee, was arrested. This despite, according to the MDC, guarantees given by the South African government of his safe return from asylum. The arrest took place while South Africa's President Kgalema Motlanthe and his predecessor Thabo Mbeki were in Harare for the swearing in ceremony.

The Prime Minister and MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai did not see Bennett's arrest as reason enough to pull out of the swearing in ceremony.

Perhaps he was right. After all Bennett is not the only one behind bars. Over 30 MDC members and civil society activists are in Robert Mugabe's dungeons. Tsvangirai made their release one condition of his entering an inclusive government. For the umpteenth time he caved in. He now enjoys the comforts of office while innocent people prepared to sacrifice for what they believed was a fight for justice, freedom and democracy languish in prison. Not to talk about those who paid the ultimate price. All Tsvangirai could do was visit them in prison after he was sworn in as Prime Minister. What more evidence is needed to prove how powerless Tsvangirai is in this so-called power-sharing government.

On the day Tsvangirai was sworn in as Prime Minister service chiefs who have repeatedly vowed never to salute him were conspicuous by their absence. In other words they do not recognize his premiership. Their commander-in chief, Mugabe, should have ordered them to attend but chose not to. This speaks volumes about his attitude to this so-called inclusive government.

It does not end there.

In total violation of the unity agreement farm invasions still go on unabated. Earlier, hours before his swearing in, Tsvangirai admitted that he had taken "a plunge into the unknown." Confronted with news of Bennett's arrest his response was pathetically feeble: " As you begin to trust walls will start falling down." This becomes a depressing mixture of naivety and denial.

What is to be done to rescue Zimbabwe from this elaborate hoax? First, it has to be accepted that the MDC, tired and seduced by the material comforts of office, are irreversibly committed to this so-called inclusive government. They are going nowhere. They have accepted their fate as co-opted junior partners. What can they do to salvage the situation in the wider interests of Zimbabweans? A starting point is to define the nature of this government. As things stand this government can actually last for five years.

A man who was not legitimately elected as President was given the right to rule for a full five – year term. Those who call it a transitional government are lying. A transitional government, ipso facto, has a clearly defined time span. This one has none. It does not call for elections after a stipulated period. It does not call for elections after the adoption of a new constitution. Mugabe retains the power to dissolve Parliament and call for new elections. Talk of consulting the MDC in the exercise of this power is laughable. It will be exercised in a manner politically expedient to Mugabe.

The MDC should, in partnership with civil society and its mass base, build consensus around holding internationally run elections after the adoption of a new constitution. It should also insist on the restoration of the rule of law in all its manifestations. Human rights must be observed. Zimbabweans must enjoy full civil and political liberties. All repressive laws must be repealed. Institutions of state such as the defence forces, police and judiciary must be depoliticized. The media must be unshackled with journalists allowed to work in a free environment.

Property rights must be restored and honoured. A new constitution which entrenches the above rights and more must be adopted after its acceptance by citizens in a referendum. Free and fair elections held under the strict international supervision must follow .

Politics got Zimbabwe into this mess. Only correct political remedies can rescue the situation. It is pointless talking about economic reconstruction without addressing the root cause of Zimbabwe's descent into a failed state.

That part of the international community able to financially assist Zimbabwe is right in insisting on a proven commitment to political reform, the restoration of the rule of law, and early international supervised elections before releasing funds. There should be no assistance given to this government other than humanitarian aid until all features of its fascist nature are removed. Targeted sanctions against Mugabe and his cronies must stay in place until the above conditions are met.

The abused bride will be on her own after wedding guests have gone to live with a brute of a husband. Similarly the MDC is on its own after its irreversible plunge into the unknown. Its leadership should not, like cry babies, run to SADC each time Mugabe flagrantly violates the agreement. After all it is the same SADC leaders who cajoled and bullied the MDC into accepting a Mugabe-led government in which, as Bright Matonga, one of the regime's spokesman said, Tsvangirai was a ceremonial prime minister.

For the sake of the people of Zimbabwe the MDC must do something to salvage them from this shambles.