One on one with Dr Victor Chimhutu- #Zimbabwe Yadzoka/Mayibuye iZimbabwe:

After bravely taking the anti-Mugabe campaign to Zanu pf traditional strong holds in the rural and remote areas of the country and to what they said ‘communities that are largely uniformed and misinformed under the the banner, #Zimbabwe Yadzoka, #Mayibuye iZimbabwe, Robert Tapfumaneyi (RT) spoke to the coodinator of the campaign Victor Chimhutu (VC) to hear more about the campaign.

The activities are done during the night at social gatherings such as funerals, memorial services and traditional gatherings and night vigil called Pungwes .

RT: You started a campaign aimed at mobilizing the rural people in the ‘Mugabe Must Go’, crusade, how has it been so far?

VC: The campaign is going very fine, we are getting amazing results considering that #Zimbabwe Yadzoka/Mayibuye iZimbabwe was launched this August.

However, as #Zimbabwe Yadzoka our aim is not merely that ‘Mugabe Must Go, that to us is just an immediate and short term goal.

What we are aiming for as a subaltern movement is to have a transformative impact on the political culture in this country.

We challenge the existing hegemonic power structures and elitism in all forms.

We want the people of Zimbabwe, the forgotten people to realize they are the voice of reason and that they are the power.

So #Zimbabwe Yadzoka is going for the whole rotten system even in structures we traditionally classify as progressive. Politicians of all types have failed the people of Zimbabwe.

RT: Rural areas are traditionally Zanu pf strongholds and most opposition political parties are afraid to go in or if they do the consequences have left bitter memories, where did you get the courage to take the ruling party head on?

VC: Its true they are some pockets which are considered to be Zanu pf strongholds, but underline considered, meaning it is now a pathetic fallacy, such strongholds no longer exit. Zanu pf leadership has betrayed the hard fought struggle and have in the process of enjoying power abandoned the basic principles of UBUNTU, ‘ I am because you are’.

What you see in the media today is an exchange from people in high offices of the land on who is more corrupt than the other.

This is not UBUNTU, so the party leadership has abandoned GUTSARUZHINJI.

The rural people are not a captive audience anymore they can see this too and hence why there is no longer a Zanu pf stronghold.

Therefore it is not about Zimbabwe Yadzoka having the courage; it is about #Zimbabwe Yadzoka heeding the call from the people.

I strongly believe the opposition leadership has not been decisive either because rural communities have been our Achilles heel ever since but they have always decided not to pay enough attention.

Why, do they care too much, they are benefiting from the system too and living large.

RT: As I asked earlier, supporting opposition parties in rural areas has some consequences for the locals, what measure have you put it place to assist those affected, such as legal assistant, medical services and shelter?

VC: #Zimbabwe Yadzoka is going in the rural areas as facilitators of the struggle, that is to say we recognize that the struggle belongs to the people and not us.

Therefore, when we go out there we don’t pretend to be soothsayers or wizards. We don’t go there either with answers, because #Zimbabwe Yadzoka is them, the PEOPLE. #Zimbabwe Yadzoka on its own do not have resources to provide all the assistance needed in term of unfortunate incidents of violence, we rely on other organizations that are doing a tremendous job in the people of Zimbabwe free legal and medical help.

Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) for examples is doing an amazing job.

In cases where we don’t get this free help readily, we rely on targeted fundraising initiatives, for example, through social media.

The response rate is generally low but we hope Zimbabweans home and abroad will chip in more and more.

RT: How has it (the campaign) been received by the rural people who I guess some of them are old and have been Zanu pf through and through?

VC: The reception #Zimbabwe Yadzoka is getting is humbling. The distances people are travelling to attend our gatherings are humbling.

We were in Mudzi this last week and some people travelled 15-20 kms. You ask yourself why someone would travel the whole day to attend a #Zimbabwe Yadzoka function.

The people who attend our functions are of all ages, it is amazing and humbling. What this does is to give us resolve that even if we don’t operate on a budget, what should we do? Abandon the people? Well that is not an option.

Our message and our name is inclusive and hopefully, it assures people that we have come thus far, our freedom is nigh. #Zimbabwe Yadzoka to the PEOPLE.

RT: We have seen lately that you have introduced music in your campaign, why?

VC: Music is an indispensable part of any struggle. Music gives hope and boost people’s morale. Additionally, it communicates our message to different people at their convenient time.

That is, you don’t have to come to attend #Zimbabwe Yadzoka gathering to understand our message, you can find it in our songs which I do contribute to significantly in terms of the message we need to communicate to the general populace.

Up to date we have recorded two albums targeting people of all ages, e.g., songs of freedom, mainly targets the millennials and those you at heart, while #Zimbabwe Yadzoka (Tinokunda) targets the more mature audience.

On our current album sang by Cde Madzore, track number 4: BOND HATIDI (aka. Musamanikidze povho zvaisingadi) is a song to listen to and captures what has gone wrong with our country.

In fact all our albums are getting good reviews and on demand. Our 3rd album, Songs of Freedom 2 will be out in 7 days or less.

RT: How is you music distributed?

VC: Basically we distribute our music freely. Through WhatsApp and other forms of social media. We also make CDs when we can and we distribute these to public transport operators.

However, we also up this music on internets stores so that those willing to contribute to the struggle can buy these albums or songs.

So you find our music on iTunes, Google Play, Amazon etc.

RT: We are some few months before the general elections what is your message to the rural people where your campaign has its roots?

VC: Our message is realistic and potentially proffers practical solutions to the quagmire we are in. We campaign for four main issues: (1) Mugabe must stepdown as soon as yesterday for the good of Zimbabwe, (2) There must be a GRAND COALITION for 2018 elections, and these talks have to going on now.

On this we demand main political parties to stop massaging their egos and see that the country is bleeding and is greater than them, because if they don’t , they are creating a serious leadership void which naturally will be filled by someone, so we don’t beg then as #Zimbabwe Yadzoka, we demand them to do this, (3) as we are going around rural Zimbabwe, we are educating people on the importance of registering to vote for such a GRAND COALITION in 2018.

Lastly but not least, we educate the rural people that it’s their right to defend their vote should it be stolen again in 2018.

We ask people to vote and guard their votes, to remain vigilant and to go for the ultimate sacrifice should the Zanu pf leadership be ill-informed to stole the plebiscite. They have stolen everything from us practically and 2018 is watershed year. We are dead already anyway.

RT: And lastly which areas have you failed to penetrate and why and which have been easiest and why?

VC: I cannot say we have failed to penetrate any place. As #Zimbabwe Yadzoka we are highly decentralized in terms of our structures and programming, we therefore use local knowledge to make our strategies contexts specific.

It is this unpredictability that we thrive on and very hard to counteract. As #Zimbabwe Yadzoka we do night vigils, open meetings, meeting in bushes, at funerals, church services etc. How do you find us and where do you find us, NOWHERE. And that is the beauty of #Zimbabwe Yadzoka.

We believe that any serious revolution has to be highly unconventional and unpredictable. It therefore, does not matter how we reach the PEOPLE as long as we reach them and then stay with them.

RT: Thank you very much for your time and we hope to talk again in the not so distance future to hear how the campaign is going if it’s still going on at all.

VC: You are welcome but as I mentioned earlier we will still be there because #Zimbabwe Yadzoka is not merely that ‘Mugabe Must Go’ that to us is just an immediate and short term goal what we are aiming for as a subaltern movement, to have a transformative impact on the political culture in this country.