“You would agree that the harmony in any country depends on acceptance and respect of the separation of powers between the executive, legislature and judiciary. The country works best when that separation of power is respected. In that context, I would have thought that you agree that the pronouncement of the highest court should be accepted and respect by everyone,” Chief Emeka Anyaoku told Nelson Chamisa and Zimbabweans at large on Monday 26 November 2018. 

“The point you made about dialogue, can take place and should take place but all within the context of the accepted Con-Court pronouncement!”

It is all very well for Chief Anyauko to be pontificating about harmony; the separation of powers between the executive, legislature and judiciary; etc. but to what end and purpose if none of these things are applicable in the real Zimbabwe we live in. Of all the people, he knows that Zimbabwe in not a democratic nation.  

As former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, the Chief knows that Zimbabwe had to hurriedly resign from that club in 2003 to avoid being booted out. Still, CHOGM issued a statement confirming the indefinite suspension of Zimbabwe following the member’s meeting in Nigeria, Chief Anyauko’s own country of birth! 

Ever since last November’s military coup to remove Mugabe from office President Mnangagwa has made overtures to have Zimbabwe readmitted back into the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth had its own election observer team headed former Ghana president John Dramani Mahama. Their report, like a string of other reports, condemned the elections as unfair and blatantly biased in favour of Zanu PF.

"The first was the heavy bias of the State print and broadcast media in favour of the governing party. The second was use of incumbency privileges in a manner that unduly disadvantaged opposition parties," former president Mahama told reporters. 

Commonwealth Secretariat has disbanded the team to spear head Zimbabwe’s readmission; this is a club of nation who accept and respect the rule of law, the freedoms and rights of the citizens including the right to free, fair and credible elections. They would not want to welcome back a vote rigging rogue state in their midst, especially one they had expelled for repeatedly failing to hold free elections and other human rights violations.

It is therefore shocking that someone like Chief Emeka Anyauko, who cares and understands the importance of such key democratic tenets as holding free, fair and credible elections; the separation of powers between the executive, legislature and judiciary; etc. should lecture MDC Alliance leaders and the people of Zimbabwe at large on the same. But fails to do the same to Mnangagwa and his junta; the people with the power and authority and whose heavy boot of oppression is on the neck of the nation, has been these last 38 years and counting!

Zimbabwe is not a healthy and functional democracy just as President Mnangagwa does not have mandate to government the country because he blatantly rigged the elections. So why all this charade of pretending Zimbabwe is a democracy when we all know it is not. Why do you want the world to endorse Mnangagwa as president when he is illegitimate?

Mnangagwa’s legitimacy will not come from Nelson Chamisa and his MDC Alliance friends’ public acceptance of his election victory but from the majority of ordinary Zimbabweans voting for him in a free, fair and credible elections. The 30 July 2018 elections were NOT free, fair and credible and therefore Mnangagwa is illegitimate and no amount of dirty horse-trading between MDC and Zanu PF can ever change that reality.

Chief Emeka Anyauko, it would have been better for this nation  if you had never set foot in Zimbabwe. The people of Zimbabwe welcomed you on the belief you are a man of honour and will speak truth to power. There is nothing more obnoxious than he who comes in the name of the poor, oppressed and downtrodden but only to betray them by betraying the truth!