Muongorori: Mugabe's minions living in terror
I believe that the general paranoia among members of the Zanu (PF) regime and its armed forces is because they live with fear, if not outright terror twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year. This is bound to have an adverse effect upon their health and mental stability.
This fear starts at the very highest level. President Robert Mugabe lives in terror of a multitude of things. First and foremost, he fears assassination. He knows this happened to Laurent Kabila, the "fat toad" of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Around the world, many of his fellow dictators have been killed or brought to book, and the list continues to grow. He knows that he can trust no one, no one at all. It is said that he never sleeps in the same place two nights running.
The Zimbabwean
Next, he fears the people. The opening of parliament in 2000 gave him a very nasty shock when the crowd he thought were admirers instead ridiculed and taunted him and called his wife a whore in front of all the TV cameras. He has seen "people power" in action around the world and knows that, eventually, even the docile Zimbabweans will probably rise up against him.
He fears the United Nations and the international community. Almost everyone out there is speaking out against his brutality and incompetence. And now even the African Union has dared to criticise him publicly. He fears a pre-emptive strike by the United States because he has seen this happen to his few friends and allies. He also fears the US, the United Kingdom and the European Union because they are united in condemnation of him and his regime.
He is terrified of being deposed by one of his supposed lieutenants, and then being humiliated by having to stand trial for his actions, as has happened to Saddam Hussein and Slobodan Milosevic. He knows very well that he is hated by the people he has oppressed and brutalised over many years.
At the next level, his cronies in the politburo and cabinet live in fear for many of the same reasons as Mugabe. But added to that is the fear of their unpredictable leader, who will not hesitate to destroy them if he believes they have accumulated too much power. Now their fear has been increased because it is becoming increasingly apparent that he is not well mentally, which makes his actions even more unpredictable.
Below that we have the general level of chiefs, politicians and others. These, too, are afraid of the anger of the people. They are also terrified of losing all their looted wealth. Because they have helped destroy the rule of law, they know that what they have is solely at the whim of those above them; what was given can just as easily be taken away. They are also terrified of plots and the all-pervasive envy of their colleagues. That is the way patronage works in order to keep everyone involved toeing the line.
As we go down through the ranks, we find that the fear is all-encompassing. Many are not in prison solely because of the protection of patronage. Others too know that everything they have can be taken away, because it is not theirs legally anyway. That is the way the web of corruption and patronage spreads out from the poisonous spider at its centre.
What this achieves is to make Mugabe's supporters mere slaves to the regime. They do not actually own anything legally and their very freedom is at the whim of the person on the rung of the ladder above them. It is no wonder, therefore, that they hiss and spit at anyone and anything that would seem to threaten the status quo, because every minute of their lives is lived in fear, looking over their shoulders or terrified of the envy of their colleagues.
The anger and hatred they show every day towards all those who are not with them in their crimes is just the other face of the fear and terror they feel as the pressure against them mounts, slowly and inexorably, day by day.
A Harare correspondent: Zanu (PF) "broke"
Zanu (PF) is broke despite the billions it gets from the state coffers and its huge national network of commercial and industrial enterprises.
This article is part of an openDemocracy series of reports from the weekly newspaper The Zimbabwean:
Novel Chivukanyanga, "Those in government " (December 2003)
Andrew Meldrum, "Who won Zimbabwe's election?" (April 2005)
Wilf Mbanga, " The end of Mugabe?" (October 2005)
Netsai Mushonga, "Two nights in Harare's police cells" (December 2005)
Andrew Meldrum, "A glimmer of change in Zimbabwe" (December 2005)
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According to informed sources, the ruling party's finance guru, David Karimanzira, told a national fund-raising committee last week that he had resorted to writing letters to private company begging for donations. He is looking for some Z$300 billion following a massive downturn in the sale of party cards, as hard times hit even the party faithful.
This is not the first time the ruling party has fleeced Zimbabwe's business community to fund its activities. Mugabe's recent birthday bash saw civil servants and businesses in Mutare being strong-armed into donating billions of dollars to finance it.
"Let us invest in Zanu (PF) today in order for our heritage to achieve success as a great nation in future. We are kindly appealing for cash or kind Kindly make cash donations payable to Zanu (PF). The account number is 4125-031273003 ZimBank," says Karimanzira's letter.
Meanwhile, sources say he told the committee meeting that the party was committed to expanding its business investments and finding other means of generating revenue.
The Zanu (PF) commercial web has tentacles in just about every sector, from agriculture and mining to manufacturing, construction and tourism. But like everything else in the country, these companies are in serious financial trouble due to the chronic shortages of foreign exchange and fuel, compounded by corruption and mismanagement.
A few months ago, the party ordered a full enquiry into all its businesses, which were under the supervision of former party strongman Emmerson Mnangagwa. It is understood the accounts had gone for five years without being audited. Karimanzira confessed that the party's department of finance was "disheartened by the rate at which membership cards (once a major source of income) are selling since their launch on October 1, 2004."
In addition to all its companies, properties and a huge annual grant from government under the Political Parties Finance Act, Zanu (PF) benefits considerably from the abuse of state resources. This abuse includes using government vehicles, offices, equipment and civil servants to do party work.
