By Budiriro Peter Moyo
Well actually when I met him (Tsvangira) at the YES/NO Referendum in
2000, then a student journalist, we voted at the same voting station in
Ashdown Park. He arrived in a Mazda twin cab with a few aides. I had
just voted YES for the constitution which I thought was going to give them
better ground for them to win and rule Zimbabwe, he came in, voted NO
and then came out. As he walked towards his car in a hurry as it seemed
he had been running away from media which had been tracking
him. I then stopped him with my dictaphone and asked what he thought of
the new constitution and what his position was. Immediately a swam of
international media arrived and asked him to wait so he could answer
during their recording. His answer which i repeated in an article in the
Daily News clearly summed up what kind of man and what kind of legacy
he was to leave. "Our stance is NO! We cannot be party to such a flawed
process," he answered. I then asked him if he had ever read the
constitution. His answer was muted, more rushing to attack personalities
than concentrate on the substance of the document and the difference
voting YES would have meant. of course he had a chance to make history -
a YES vote would have insured the death of Lancaster constitution - he
would have challenged Mugabe on pure neutral grounds of a new document
and he would have had a better chance of winning under the new
constitution, with elections just 3 months away. But then, they were all
for grand standing. He loved the international attention and it was
then I made my analysis, that if Tsvangirai was a brand, he could be a
Nokia - a brand that had it all, controlled all, took the market for
granted thinking there would never be anyone better, that it was an
anointed brand, no one would ever live a normal life without owning a
Nokia but then we all know what happened to Nokia. It is there but the
Finnish brand is all but finished. It had a good ride while it lasted
and with time had shrunk to become a shadow of it former self. Don't get
me wrong, it is still there, the Nokia, but that's just it. When I had a
chance to have a talk with Innocent Gonese during my incarceration in
Mutare, I asked the question why with all the chance to be part of the
history changers in 2000, they had decided to do some grand standing
with a NO vote, he said, it had been a political decision. They had not
wanted to be seen to be agreeing with Zanu PF and infact they had
opposed for the sake of it, hoping the YES vote would carry the day. And
I was like what a bunch of MORONS! WHAT A BUNCH OF BUFFOONS! They
literally stole Zimbabwe's future through their grand standing and with
every NO vote they campaigned for all those years back has served them
right and come back to haunt. The seat of power shall elude them to
their grave
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