MAFUME AND THE NEW QUESTON IN OUR POLITICS

There is something happening in our politics right now and many people do not want to talk about it. A man like Jacob Mafume now stands in the centre of this moment. Some people like him, some people do not, but everyone who watches Zimbabwe carefully can see that he is not just a simple leader. What we choose to think about him is our own decision, but one thing is very clear. He may hold the key to something new in our politics. He may open a door that many people never believed could open in this country.

I spoke to Mafume a few times in my work as a journalist before I became an activist. From the time of the old MDC splits under Tsvangirai until today, he always looked like someone who believes in democracy. He does not like dictatorship. He does not like big man politics. He does not like one man controlling everything while everyone else keeps quiet. Maybe one day he will change and act like the same leaders he criticises, but for now he still looks sincere in the way he understands leadership. He is also a very sharp man who thinks fast. This is how he has survived for so many years and why he now sits in the position he holds.

If nothing changes, next year Mafume will become Harare’s longest serving mayor since the year 2000. Many mayors before him were removed, pushed out or destroyed by the Government. We all know how ZANU PF uses the law, the police and State power to crush anyone they fear. Many good leaders have been ruined because they refused to bow down. Somehow Mafume has survived all this pressure and all these attacks.

I had friendly talks with him recently and he told me about his new attitude. He says he is just trying to do the work he was chosen to do. He says the people of Harare want water in their taps. They want rubbish removed. They want sewer lines fixed. The deals he accepted for waste management and water systems came through Government, but they are real deals that help the residents. He had two choices. He could refuse the help and play political games, or he could work with the partners so that the city improves. He chose to cooperate, and he may continue to do this on future projects that come from the Government side.

There is a political story behind this choice. He told me the opposition always wanted to show the country that it can govern. Running councils was one way to prove this. So for him, working with Government ministries is the same as working with USAID or any Western organisation that brings support to Harare. He says he cannot refuse help just because it comes from ZANU PF. In his thinking, service must come before politics.

But many of his own councillors do not understand him. They want the old style of opposition politics where you fight everything and block everything. There are also people inside ZANU PF and outside ZANU PF who do not want Harare to function. They do not want a city that works well with central Government. So people find it easy to say Mafume is working with a ZANU PF faction.

This brings us to a big question. With Chamisa quiet and away from politics for now, could Mafume shape a new road for the nation? He leads the capital city and that role has power. Could he say openly that he wants to build a new political culture that puts people first? The problem is fear. In the opposition, anyone who is seen to move away from Chamisa is treated like an enemy. If Mafume chooses a new path, he risks attacks from Chamisa’s supporters. But here is the truth. His future no longer depends on Chamisa. And in this moment in history, he may become something very different, and the country may change because of it.