THE penny has finally dropped for Copperhead and his Cult that the only viable route out of Zimbabwe’s decades-long political and economic crises is dialogue.
To the surprise of many gullible Mazizi, the Cult’s acting spokesperson (who VAR rates higher than his cosseted boss) announced earlier this week that the Yellow Submarine was now all for dialogue, and had in fact started engaging regional leaders with the hope of persuading them to facilitate such needed talks with the secure in power Red Devils.
And yet for about three years, the Viper and his insufferable gatekeepers had foolishly pilloried the Daily News for consistently and correctly advancing the cause of inclusive national dialogue — while the Cult operated under the insane delusion that it was just a matter of time before the Almighty opened the gates of Dzimbahwe House for them.
And with this irrational Alice-in-Wonderland belief, political talks were seen by the Cult owner and his unthinking minions as completely unnecessary in the light of the Sect’s hoped-for imminent divine intervention.
Reality Hits Home
Boy, was the Cult wrong, not for the first time by the way. Finally, it has now dawned on all of them that not even the country’s foundering economy will provide them with an easy pathway to State House.
In the meantime, life continues to get harder for long-suffering ordinary Zimbabweans. And with Harare’s re-engagement bid stuttering, and relief on the sanctions front nowhere near as a result, there is zero incentive for the many hawks within the Red Devils to behave themselves as the 2023 polls looms large.
Indeed, this perfect storm of negative political and economic factors that is ravaging the country has recently seen a tougher approach to law enforcement than had been witnessed in the motherland since the popular military coup of late 2017 — which has resulted in the incarceration of many excitable members of the Canaries over the past few weeks.
And a word of advice to the Cult, just in case they are typically oblivious to the gathering clouds: things could get worse as next year’s polls get nearer.
Is It Too Late?
The reality, dear readers, is that there was indeed a time when the “soft as wool” captain of the Red Devils was said to be genuinely interested in political dialogue. Then, there were also very few dissenting voices on the matter within the ruling party.
After initially showing enthusiasm for the proposed political scheme of arrangement that would have resulted from the mooted talks, Copperhead and his unelected close lieutenants suddenly wanted more — ill-advisedly believing that they were stronger than they were, and that they could, in fact, take the whole cake instead of sharing it with the Red Devils.
It was a strategic error of monumental proportions. To be fair, VAR is aware that a few Yellow Submarine high-ups like Tea Bee Esquire did try to nudge Copperhead towards engagement with the Red Devils and their captain, but were disregarded as they didn’t have enough sway over the sole proprietor of the Cult.
Now, the mood within the Red Devils has darkened. And their appetite for talks ahead of the fast approaching 2023 elections is said to be almost zero at the moment. In fact, there is an emerging argument within their ranks that there is much to lose for them if they engage the Cult now — probably following the saying that “possession is nine-tenths of the law”.
Meanwhile, and ominously too, VAR is concerned that their approach to politics is slowly being re-booted to traditional factory settings of the pre-2017 era!
Worm Turns
In other matters, the Video Assistant Referee is happy to note that the worm is turning for sure, as one by one abusive cyber thugs — who include hacks-for-hire and two-bit academics — are increasingly getting a taste of their own bitter medicine both on Sosho and in real life.
After years of terrorising and abusing innocent people and corporates on social media for no good reason, the tables are turning fast, and the hunters are becoming the hunted.
As a result, many of these muppets are increasingly shunning social networks or turning down their online noise, as fed up Zimbabweans go after them with a vengeance.
Which all goes to prove that the citizens of this teapot country are not as docile and disinterested in issues around them as some think.
Until next week, Azishe!