*Tsvangirai a hopeless leader – Mutambara*
* *
Posted: Wednesday, August 8, 2007

*By Bulawayo Bureau*
*
The Herald <http://www1.herald.co.zw/>

August 08, 2007*

PROFESSOR Arthur Mutambara, who heads a faction of the opposition MDC,
yesterday poured scorn on the leadership qualities of Mr Morgan Tsvangirai,
saying Zimbabwe does not deserve "another Chiluba".

Speaking in a television interview on the British Broadcasting Corporation's
Hardtalk programme, Prof Mutambara dismissed Mr Tsvangirai as a hopeless
leader, remarking that even though he may be viewed by some as "brave", the
truth is that he certainly lacks the "strategic vision" to transform
Zimbabwe into a globally competitive economy.

Likening Mr Tsvangirai to Mr Frederick Chiluba – a former bus conductor and
trade unionist who toppled President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia in the 1991
elections but was later tainted by accusations of corruption and economic
mismanagement – Prof Mutambara said "bravery is not enough ... you need an
economic vision".

"You may be brave, have guts, but what is needed is to have a vision ...
strategy and tactics," he said.

Prof Mutambara had been riled by insinuations by the BBC interviewer, Alan
Little, that he was a coward compared to Mr Tsvangirai, who was charged with
treason in 2002 and was on March 11 this year hurt in a clash with the
police in Harare. Mr Tsvangirai had gone to the police station after
learning of Prof Mutambara's arrest.

Political analysts said at that time Mr Tsvangirai feared that Prof
Mutambara would "steal the thunder from him" in the eyes of the Western
forces supporting the opposition party in the regime-change agenda in
Zimbabwe.

He allegedly confronted the police, resulting in an incident in which he was
injured.

In yesterday's interview, Prof Mutambara – who recently described his
arch-rival Mr Tsvangirai as "an intellectual midget" and "a weak and
indecisive leader" – fell short of saying that the Tsvangirai camp is full
of hypocrites who accuse Zanu-PF of being undemocratic yet they themselves
routinely flout the basic tenets of democracy.

He said opposition leaders must be truly democratic and desist from
violence, or else Zimbabwe would end up with "a false revolution" like what
he said happened in Zambia.

A fortnight ago, the robotics and mechatronics professor launched a scathing
attack on Mr Tsvangirai, a former mine

worker and trade unionist, caricaturing him as a leader who lacks a vision
and is "pursuing a perverted agenda".

This was after the Tsvangirai-led group had spurned a unity offer by
refusing to adopt a so-called coalition agreement that would see the two
groups fielding the perennial election loser, Mr Tsvangirai, as their sole
candidate in next year's presidential race.

Last week, Mr Tsvangirai did not take Prof Mutambara's salvo lying down but
returned fire by warning that he was "not the enemy".

During yesterday's interview, Prof Mutambara unsuccessfully tried to duck
questions on the attacks that have been levelled by his camp on Mr
Tsvangirai.

When cornered, he was left with no choice but to lash out at Mr Tsvangirai.

Clearly at pains to convey his anguish to his British and United States
audiences following the collapse of the so-called unity talks between the
two MDC factions, Prof Mutambara repeatedly complained that although his
camp was ready to adopt a "coalition agreement" on a "single-candidate
principle" for the March 2008 joint presidential and parliamentary
elections, the Tsvangirai camp had since refused to embrace the initiative.

The agreement, he explained, was scuttled by Mr Tsvangirai at the 11th hour.

He blasted the Tsvangirai camp for failing to appreciate the importance of
mobilising a united opposition to Zanu-PF, but quickly added that his
faction was ready to go it alone by fielding its own candidates at the
forthcoming polls.

Prof Mutambara told his BBC interviewer that it was wrong for people to
consider him a newcomer to opposition politics.

He was in opposition politics long before Mr Tsvangirai even considered
venturing into politics, he said.

He argued that, in fact, when he was arrested by police as a student leader
at the University of Zimbabwe in the late 1980s, his recollection of Mr
Morgan Tsvangirai was his (Mr Tsvangirai's) condemnation of the detention.
This clearly showed that he has been in the "struggle against Zanu-PF" for a
longer time than Mr Tsvangirai, he added.

The interviewer asked Prof Mutambara whether it was true that he was a Shona
figurehead at the helm of what is essentially a Ndebele faction.

Hard-pressed to strike a chord with sections of the Matabeleland population,
where a desperate scramble for votes between the MDC factions is anticipated
in the countdown to March 2008, Prof Mutambara criticised Mr Tsvangirai for
recently announcing during an overseas visit that his camp was willing to
consider a blanket pardon for alleged human rights violations.

"No blanket amnesty. No. We want restorative justice. What about the
victims?" said Prof Mutambara, in remarks apparently directed at Mr
Tsvangirai, who has touted the "amnesty" line.

When asked about his election plan, Prof Mutambara said his faction has a
twin-pronged strategy anchored on civil disobedience and the ongoing
Sadc-brokered dialogue between Zanu-PF and the MDC factions.

"We want free and fair elections," he added.

This is the second time within two weeks that Prof Mutambara has attacked
the leadership qualities of Mr Tsvangirai following the break-up of the
unity talks between the two factions.


*BBC: Arthur Mutambara<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/6935641.stm>
*
*Allan Little talks to Arthur Mutambara, the leader of one faction of
Zimbabwe's opposition Movement for Democratic Change. Why are the opposition
fighting each other?*

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