Thursday, January 11, 2018

Editorial Comment: Let Magnanimity Reign in Politics
January 8, 2018
Zimbabwe Herald

President Emmerson Mnangagwa greets MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai and wife Elizabeth Macheka at their home in Highlands, Harare.-(Picture by Tawanda Mudimu)

On Friday President Emmerson Mnangagwa visited ailing opposition leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai and the visit has elicited all manner of response.

We commend President Mnangagwa for his magnanimity and showing not only his softer side, but also political maturity in reaching out to Mr Tsvangirai who is not in the best of health, as shown in pictures that we carried in our paper and those that circulated on social media.

We cannot speak authoritatively for President Mnangagwa, but we can vouch that the visit was made in the spirit of ubuntu and indeed Christian values which encourage us to visit the sick, those in prison and in general those who are in unfortunate circumstances.

People are bound to make inferences, with the cynical saying President Mnangagwa wanted to make a spectacle of Mr Tsvangirai’s poor condition, towing cameras to show the latter weak and poorly.

It is worth recalling that less than two months ago the same President Mnangagwa invited Mr Tsvangirai and other opposition figures to his inauguration.

That was on November 24 when people from all walks of life thronged the giant National Sports Stadium to witness the historic transition from former President Mugabe.

President Mnangagwa is only building on that. He is showing that politics can be humane. He is showing that politics can be inclusive and that political opponents are not enemies that must be crushed and not be pitied or cared for.

President Mnangagwa is showing magnanimity which is so critical in Zimbabwean, and indeed African politics.

This is refreshing.

Mr Tsvangirai has been Zanu-PF’s nemesis for close to two decades, but that doesn’t mean that he is an enemy, as President Mnangagwa is showing.

He is entitled not only to benevolence and care, but also his benefits as former Prime Minister.

There are indications that benefits which accrued to him as Prime Minister under the Government of National Unity will be honoured. Mr Tsvangirai and his family deserve that. It’s beyond legal question.

Going back to the debate about Mr Tsvangirai’s health, we know that Mr Tsvangirai disclosed his health status — the affliction with colon cancer — two years ago.

It was a brave decision for which he should be applauded with the hope that he recovers and becomes a living testimony to fighting the deadly and costly condition — a non-communicable disease, among others, that are a growing concern in the world now recognised by the United Nations.

Mr Tsvangirai’s condition should not be a matter of politicking and we regret deeply the cheap politicking that came with the exposure of Mr Tsvangirai’s picture, stricken as he appeared. We will not celebrate Mr Tsvangirai’s ailment and wish him well.

On the larger scale, we urge Zimbabweans to put their energies in focussing on things that matter and higher ideals.

If Mr Tsvangirai were to leave the stage and rest on compassionate grounds, we hope that Zimbabweans learn to respect institutions, organisations and processes.

The country is bigger than Mr Tsvangirai.

Or President Mnangagwa, for that matter.

On the main, a condition that has struck one of our own, like Mr Tsvangirai, should teach us to be more humane and identify the ubuntu that binds together.

Which is the lesson from the visit to Mr Tsvangirai by President Mnangagwa.

It was fraught with symbolism and we must learn vital lessons from it.

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