Conspiracy theories ready

In my View, with Ian Gray

SOUTH Africans are used to conspiracies involving highly placed people; when there aren’t any on hand, we can always rely on Steve Tshwete to conjure up one.

Viewers must be wondering whether the Mugabe Assassination Plot, highlighted in a special Special Assignment on SABC3 this week, is genuine or just a not-so-brilliant propaganda move by Mad Bob and the gang to further hobble the opposition before next month’s presidential election.

A plot to remove Mugabe would be quite plausible; in fact, it’s surprising that no one has simply eliminated the lunatic already, or certainly attempted to.

But if his Central Intelligence Organisation – the secret police force he inherited from Ian Smith – did dream up this one involving opposition leader Morgan Tsvangarai and some totally discredited “fantasiser”, they certainly fouled up.

As Tsvangarai pointed out, why bother to assassinate Mugabe? He’s old, he’s insane and whatever happens in the election, he can’t last.

Even with the ongoing rock solid support of President Mbeki, Mugabe faces so many crises, one wonders why he would want to be president.

Of course, all the problems are of his own making in order to stay president, but why?

There is support for Mugabe from South Africa and Nigeria for removing the leader of the EU observer delegation and making it virtually impossible for the remaining observers to do their job on the grounds the man was there illegally. Mugabe knew he was coming, issued the visa, changed it to a tourist visa when he arrived and then claimed the man was observing “illegally” and expelled him.

In African terms that might look smart; in Western terms it’s bloody stupid of Mugabe.

But then the West has been shrugging its shoulders while all hell has broken loose in Zimbabwe, waiting in vain for South Africa and the SADCC countries to restrain Mad Bob.

Now Mugabe’s men are being selective about which media men and women can cover the elections; the good guys are being allowed to stay but the bad guys, and their employers, are not.

The obvious question to anyone watching all this on television nightly is: If he’s got nothing to hide, why bar any journalists?

However, it requires but one eye and half a brain to realise that Mugabe has no intention of letting his opponents cast their votes next month. The European Union knows this, the US knows this.

Commentators on TV networks in these blocs point out nightly the totally illegal processes taking place in Zimbabwe; experts in discussion programmes ask why no one is taking action.

And we continue with diplomacy so silent it’s inaudible above the state-sponsored rabble rousing in Harare.

And all the while, Zimbabweans are fed newspaper and TV stories that Britain wants its colony back, the few whites left in the country are conspiring to usurp the 11-million black majority and the country is facing mass starvation because white farmers didn’t plant crops on the land invaded by war veterans and assorted rabble, themselves incapable of, or unwilling to, work the land.

At this stage I’m not sure whether the SABC is to be allowed in to Zimbabwe or whether it is also banned. If it’s in let’s hope news crews will diligently provide coverage of the South African observers going about their observing unhindered – and honestly. Not like during the last election in Zimbabwe.