Morgan Tsvangirai a Brave and Decent Man

Save Tsvangirai is a decent man, like I have noted in the past. He has his weaknesses like all mortal human beings, but that is still not good enough to diminish the fact that he is a decent man. I actually think he is so decent he actually believes that everyone is like him, the reason he bailed out an out-of-sorts President Mugabe when the gates of Hell were about to be flung open in 2008. In politics, such commonsense is frowned upon as a weakness of character. To me, let me add, Tsvangirai trusts too many people because he is a decent man.

Everyone knows that he is not a coward when it comes to politics. Tsvangirai's bravery is comparable to that of the late Edgar Tekere. Both men were not overly fearful of Mugabe much unlike what we have seen with Emmerson D. Mnangagwa and Joice Mujuru. Where Mnangagwa and Mujuru fawned at the feet of Mugabe, Tsvangirai was brave enough to challenge Mugabe.

It took her ignominious expulsion from ZANU(PF) before Joice Mujuru mustered enough courage to stand up to Mugabe. It was quite telling that during the period when she was being humiliated in broad daylight she was still pleading for mercy before Mugabe, a man she peculiarly addressed as her father. Her tentative steps into the waters of opposition politics smacked of trepidation, too.

As for Mnangagwa, he is still at it, is he not?  He reportedly gave a yarn about spending nights guarding a sleeping Mugabe. The way it was reported, it sounded like he was saying a prayer for mercy in a position of the kind of humility required of a hopeless supplicant. His supporters want him to be president, an incredible transition for a former self-confessed bodyguard. They have never made any bones about it. To their credit, Mnangagwa's supporters, have been very militant and public about their aspirations. In their passionate agitation for their man, they have exhibited the kind of courage that Mnangagwa himself seems incapable of emulating. I mean, they have called Mrs Grace Mugabe such vile names like a harlot whereas Mnangagwa has been insulted by the same Mrs Mugabe to his face without even batting an eyebrow in protest.

No, my fellow Zimbabweans, Tsvangirai is braver than Mnangagwa. Say what you may about him, but Save is brave because he looked Mugabe in the eye and challenged him where our self-declared brave ones have wilted in absolute fright. Tsvangirai's bravery matches that of Edgar Tekere.

This kind of bravery transcends politics. After he found out he has cancer, Save decided to share the sad news with the people of Zimbabwe. This takes courage. We have had the spectacle of leaders who will not admit they have a toothache for fear they may be considered mortal by the masses. Here is a man, Tsvangirai, battling a terrible disease, but has the spine of steel to be very open with the people of Zimbabwe. That, my dear compatriots, is the mark of a man who is brave. Such transparency is the hallmark of a brave and decent human being.

Save, I wish you a quick recovery. May your ancestors and the forever-beneficent God be your weapons and shield as you battle with cancer.