Hosia Mviringi.
African wisdom carries rich values often hidden in statements and idioms.
The saying kuvhunduka chatikwatara hunge uine katurikwa, is a priceless reflection which translates to “jumping at the sound of a falling objects is a privilege of those who have hung ornaments.”
It means there is a correlation between panic and guilt.
Below is an interesting tale of national betrayal by a few political miscreants and their fear of efforts to preserve the country`s image.
On March 2 2021, the Parliament of Zimbabwe was introduced to a motion of debate on the proposed law to protect national interest, image and reputation abroad.
It forms what has came to be known as the Patriotic Bill.
ZANU PF legislator for Mberengwa South, the late Hon Alum Mpofu, (May his soul rest in peace) introduced the Bill to Parliament.
“COGNISANT that Zimbabwe’s image and national reputation are critical factors in attracting foreign investment;
Concerned that the negative portrayal of the country’s image and reputation has an adverse and crippling impact on the country’s economic prospects especially on tourism, investment, and the welfare of the vulnerable such as youths, women and the disabled;
Encouraged that other jurisdictions, recognising the need to preserve their image and soft power in a competitive global village, have enacted laws that bar their citizens from engaging in unpatriotic activities and communication intended to denigrate the integrity of their homeland;
Buoyed by the fact that the overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans are focused on building the positive image of the country as a reforming, open, peaceful, and democratic country that is attractive to investment;
Now, therefore, call upon this august House to enact a law that:
a) recognises and celebrates efforts made by Zimbabwean citizens at home and abroad to promote the country’s positive image and brand; and
b) prohibits any Zimbabwean citizen from wilfully communicating messages intended to harm the image and reputation of the country on international platforms or engaging with foreign countries to communicate messages intended to harm the country’s positive image and/or to under its integrity and reputation,” said Hon. Mpofu when moving the motion.
Sticking true to their imperialistic mandate, MDC Alliance legislators came out guns blazing against the proposed bill.
One such legislator was Hon Daniel Molokeli, MDC Alliance representative for Hwange Central.
He was adamant that the law was irrelevant and not a priority at present.
Molokele argued that the country has more pressing issues to deal with, as if passage of the Bill will stop other laws from being passed.
Fear of the unknown and guilt conscience is driving resistance to the bill within the MDC Alliance echelons, even though overall, the bill is the best the country needs at present and into the future.
In an interview with this publication, Hon Molokele betrayed the fear that is running deep and wild within the opposition camp over the proposed bill.
The MDC Alliance do not seem to have any valid reasons why the bill should not be passed, besides ‘we have more pressing things’.
Instead, they fear that it will be used against them as they are proponents of the current punitive measures on the nation of Zimbabwe, who seem to thrive in a crisis.
Nelson Chamisa is on record, in a viral video on social media, bragging that he has gone around Western Capitals with the sole message to encourage tightening of Sanctions on the nation.
“Parliament should base its existence on the will of the people. It is a people’s Parliament.
Zimbabweans on the ground are surprised to hear that Parliament is debating such a bill. So, that kind of a bill is one of the most irrelevant bills parliament can discuss because right now bread and butter issues, unemployment and social-economic issues are the most topical issues in Zimbabwe”, he said.
It is pertinent to note that in all his submissions, Hon Molokele failed to give a single reason why it is bad to preserve the image and reputation of the country abroad.
He dismally failed to justify why the laws of the country should protect those that connive and collaborate with known enemies of the State.
More importantly, the MDC Legislator failed to justify why he, as a people’s representative has not taken time to educate his constituents on the ground on the virtues or lack thereof of the Patriotic Bill.
The biggest mistake that MDC legislators are making is that of viewing the proposed law on partisan lines.
The envisaged law is aimed at protecting the image and integrity of this Great Nation regardless of who is in power.
It’s for a generation, a legal instrument meant to ensure that greedy politicians of today do not decimate the country in the interest of their selfish needs.
Zimbabwe has endured an artificial reputation of a pariah state without functional systems, which is all due to a coordinated misinformation crusade by hired activists and leaders of opposition parties serving a foreign agenda.
The country has suffered the effects of a projected image which has been largely a false depiction by pre-paid activists such as Hopewell Chin’ono, pushing an adverse foreign policy agenda.
This law, if enacted, will continue to protect the country’s image and integrity even if the MDC comes to power. It should not be regarded as a witch hunt.
Prominent opposition personalities collaborated with the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to impose punitive sanctions on the country.
That is why they are scared to death and they quake in their pants at the slightest mention of the Patriotic Bill.
The guilty will always be scared.
Known personalities combined and collaborated with a foreign national, a Yugoslav by the name SRDJA POPOVIC, better known as SOREN, meaning God of War, and they held workshops in Zambia to train in tactics of sabotage and mutiny, whose works manifested on 1 August 2018 and on 14 January 2020 in a bloody and destructive spate of demonstrations that rocked the nation.
Popovic is the executive director of the Center for Applied Non-Violent Action and Strategies (CANVAS), an organisation that has been involved in the mobilisation of small groups of Zimbabweans to lead Zimbabweans in a mass uprising to remove ZANU PF from power, since 2003.
He is famed for bringing down the government of Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic.
All well-meaning Zimbabweans should support the Patriotic Bill due to its deterrent nature to such destructive tendencies.
It is still a wonder why a progressive and patriotic party would support such acts which inflict suffering on the nation, including on their supporters.
One should be a terrorist to celebrate such egregious acts.
In conclusion, Hon Mpofu posed the following question:
“What do we do when your members of the team, when they score goals when Knowledge Musona scores goals and Nakamba scores goals, it behooves all of us to stand up and celebrate. What should we do when team players or those people who are supposed to be team players stand up and score own goals, what in that circumstance should we do?”
A case in point is when one Warriors player and striker Wilfred Mugeyi missed a close range ball from point blank in an AFCON 2004 match against Egypt in Tunisia which every Patriotic Zimbabwean supporter expected the team to win.
Every Zimbabwean was very angry at the player such that the following morning his house was attacked. They considered Mugeyi to have sold out, even when it was a genuine mistake.
This case tells us that each one of the sixteen million Zimbabweans has a role to fully represent the nation and portray it in positive light always.
That is the essence of Patriotism, putting your country first, whatever it takes.
Naturally there should be no excuse for not doing your best when one is put in a position to defend the image of the nation. Thus conniving with foreigners to soil its image and hurt its interests internationally becomes treasonous.
That is common cause.
Seconding the motion, Hon Togarepi was more specific as to those the “Patriotic Act” should target and its proposed content:
“The imposition of sanctions by the United States, European Union, Canada, Australia et cetera was at the behest of our own people. The imposition of sanctions by these countries was as a result of lobbying by certain individuals. Some deliberately went to these countries to ask for the people of Zimbabwe to be killed by way of denying us access to health, in other words you are saying we should die. These are citizens of
Zimbabwe, what are we doing as a country to ensure that such people pay for exposing the people of Zimbabwe, we need to do something and it should be done now”, said Honourable Togarepi.
Hon. Togarepi went on to say;
“Civic organisations that in their activities deviate from their core business and start advancing activities that destabilise the people and nation of Zimbabwe … people come to this country, they tell us that they are social welfare organisations yet they have political agendas … if you have campaigned against Zimbabwe, the law should actually bar you from getting into any public office because you will have killed the people that you want to represent.”
“If you attack the leader of this country that has an effect when that leader goes out there to source business for this country. Nobody wants to do business with a leader who is called so many funny names by his own people.
So it is very important that the media, politicians, business people and all citizens of this country understand that they are people of Zimbabwe first before their political and business interests.
We are one and it is a law that we can put down today in this House on this land that will defend the interest of Zimbabwe”, concluded Hon Togarepi.
It remains within the interests of the country that its image and integrity is preserved and promoted by everyone.
It does not matter which political party is pushing the motion, but if it has to do with national interest, which naturally comes first, it deserves everyone’s support.
However, perhaps someone has to explain why the Patriotic Bill if passed into law will infringe on and disenfranchise citizen’s rights.
It’s regrettable that one opposition legislator who represents Hwange East Constituency, Honourable Daniel Molokele, failed to explain to his people why the Patriotic Bill will be bad for people of Zimbabwe and Hwange in particular.
What good is it for a citizen of this country to connive with foreigners to cause harm to the country and make fellow citizens suffer?
What good is it to keep digging a pit underneath your house, knowing pretty well that its foundations will be shaken?
Now we have Civic Society Activists led by one Rashid Mahiya of Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition, expending large sums of donor funds traversing regional Capitals to lobby against impending passage of the Patriotic Bill.
Their latest stop was in Namibia were they hope to galvanise Civic Society and government of Namibia to stand in solidarity and sound alarm against lawful passage of a domestic law in Zimbabwe. That’s pathetic to say the least.
How can you mobilise against a motion?
African foreign Civic society leaders and governments have no role to play in the Zimbabwean law making processes.
In any case, they are all aware of Zimbabwe’s stance as a sovereign nation that values non-interference in domestic affairs.
Democratic processes will be followed to the letter on this Bill as has been the case with the others.
Its homeland or death.
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