Thread by @Laque_davis

1] @Welshman_Ncube:

Meeting with Chiefs

"..they speak of deprivation; general poverty; families going for weeks without access to a single dollar; frustrations over lack of access to seeds & fertilisers; enduring political manipulation. Its not a pleasing picture"

2] @Welshman_Ncube:

"We always communicate hope, that it is within our power to change the condition of our people & ourselves. That it is the essence of democracy that we don't need to take guns or fight anyone. All we need it to be committed to the democratic processes."

3] @Welshman_Ncube:

"No matter how difficult the processes are made out to be, we need to keep encouraging people and traditional leaders to encourage their people to register to vote & seek peaceful transition, that their vote will count one day and that we'll have change."

4] @Welshman_Ncube:

"may have taken this long, lives have been lost in the process, but there are inspiring examples in the region, to believe that change is possible. We've examples in Malawi & Zambia. Change is possible when people come together, in particular young people"

5] @Welshman_Ncube:

"if young pple come together like they did in Zambia, & take their future in2 their own hands, change is possible. can't be cheated forever, if you vote in numbers; protect your vote & ensure authorities listen when you vote in millions, in a particular way"

6] @Welshman_Ncube:

On ED's statement after the HH's inauguration

"That statement means someone is saying: if you think democracy can prevail here and that Zimbabweans have a right to vote for a government of their choice, you're fooling yourselves."

7] @Welshman_Ncube:

"..we've a nationalist group which has betrayed the aspirations & ideals of the liberation struggle which was about the freedom & livelihood of pple. They're basically saying they're holding us in bondage. We need to understand & fight this betrayal peaceful"

8] @Welshman_Ncube:

"The people overwhelming voted for this constitution & it had certain fundamental features: judicial independence; moving away from an imperial president; ensuring free & fair elections; creating independent institutions in particular electoral ones."

9] @Welshman_Ncube:

"It's distressing that so soon after that constitution's referendum & adoption, not only have we parked & ignored it, we've begun to claw back on it. In spite of all Mugabe's faults, one thing he never fully managed to do was to capture the judiciary.."

10] @Welshman_Ncube:

"Mugabe would try everything to capture the judiciary but it remained largely independent, to release people wrongly detained; acquit people falsely accused of crime; allow people out on bail. Regrettably this regime has succeeded in judicial capture."

11] @Welshman_Ncube:

"(Judicial capture) places all of us; our liberties, rights & independence in jeopardy. The moment you've a judiciary controlled almost 100% by the Executive, its as if you've taken a pen & erased liberty & freedom one by one (from the constitution)"

12] @Welshman_Ncube:

"...the guarantor of all liberties & everything we stand for, is the constitution & the courts of the country. The moment you can't distinguish between a Minister & a Judge; soldier & a Judge; party activist & a judge, it basically means nothing is safe."

13] @Welshman_Ncube:

"the irony of it (Judicial capture) is that its not just those of us in the Opposition, human right defenders & ordinary people who are not safe, but those in ZanuPF & soldiers themselves. At one point or another, the revolution will eat its own children."

14] @Welshman_Ncube:

"..as @mdczimbabwe we are mobilising people, going to communities. You've seen Pres @nelsonchamisa going to each rural province for interfaces. It's false to believe the rural voter is a Zanu supporter & is happy with the condition of the country & the pple"

15] @Welshman_Ncube:

"We're doing everything to remain embedded in communities, mobilising people, to tell them there's a better alternative Zim, if in all our millions, we vote for change and for Chamisa. If we vote overwhelmingly in one direction, an election is unstealable"

16] @Welshman_Ncube:

"It's worrying that so far we are not yet receiving the enthusiasm we expect from young people, but its our job & work to change it & we are working to change it. Secondly, there's a determined effort by the State to delay & prevent voter registration."

17] @Welshman_Ncube:

"We have a responsibility to ensure that notwithstanding all obstacles, we do all we can to ensure many people & youths regardless of whether they're in urban or rural areas register so that they take their future into their own hands."

18] @Welshman_Ncube:

"We don't want to tell people there's an alternative route we can take to change, other than voting, when we've not thought it out. Our position is that the only democratic & peaceful way notwithstanding all obstacles, is an election & the right to vote."

19] @Welshman_Ncube:

"doesn't matter if the environment is rigged, millions of pple determined to achieve change & protect their vote on the day of voting & day of counting can not be rigged. We've been rigged before because we haven't mobilised enough to overwhelm the rigging."

20] @Welshman_Ncube:

"Pple have been saying to Pres @nelsonchamisa, don't ever contemplate walking away from the election, trust & believe in us. The pple are very clear to us. The response is encouraging & promising. What matters is on voting day, every vote is made to count."

21] @Welshman_Ncube:

"We've normalized extreme corruption in this country. The looting has become extreme since the coup. I used to fly sometime with SK Moyo who used to joke about ZanuPF saying, 'Prof, lapha kuyadliwa', basically saying the corruption was now pervasive."

22] @Welshman_Ncube:

"I always say to Pres Chamisa, should you get to State House, your biggest problem isn't economic policies & all important things we need to do to fix the country. Your biggest challenge will be how to deal with corruption. Its so pervasive & entrenched."

23] @Welshman_Ncube:

"had a client whose farm was invaded by Chineese without a permit. He went to the police for help who came in their numbers simply to establish contact with the gold panners & Chineese. They are still there & the police come regularly to collect their share"

24] @Welshman_Ncube:

"If you have a leadership leading by example, incorruptible, takes no short cuts, punishes the corrupt, allows law to take its course, pple will realise this is a new dispensation, that we must go back to our values of humanity, respect, honesty & hardwork"

25] @Welshman_Ncube:

"As a student of constitutional history I knew instinctively that nothing good ever comes from a military coup. I was supposed to lead the march here (Bulawayo) & I refused to do that walk. Unconstitutional raptures basically set wrong precedences."

26] @Welshman_Ncube:

"1st day of processes leading to the coup, I was chairing a MDC-A meeting at MT's house. MT was there but not in the meeting as he was already unwell. As we were about to hold a presser,a call came in, MT sent his PA to say I was supposed to take the call.."

27] @Welshman_Ncube:

"Obviously some amongst us were in comms with them. The person introduced themselves as a Lt General something & says: 'whatever you do, do that press conference, if for one second you condemn what we are doing, we will be there & you won't like our boots."

28] @Welshman_Ncube:

"If the coup was an act of liberating us, it wouldn't have come with that threat. The threat told you nothing good was going to come out. I take no pleasure in saying I knew. I also secretly hoped that maybe, just maybe, we might have a break with the past."

29] @Welshman_Ncube:

On the Chamisa's MDC-T takeover:

"With the benefit of hindsight, people might say things could have been done differently & the outcomes might have been different in terms of the judicial processes which lead to the chaos we have now. I concede that, but.."

30] @Welshman_Ncube:

"..at that time, it would appear the MDC-T constitution gave the options that were exercised. It was being said, and there was a script of that constitution, that the MDC-T National Council had the authority & power to exercise the authority of Congress."

31] @Welshman_Ncube:

"It was argued at that time, that it was best for the Nat Council to exercise that authority of Congress in order to avoid having to go to Congress when an election was a few months away. A deliberate choice was made to evoke those constitutional provisions"

32] @Welshman_Ncube:

"The choice was made in good faith, for a good reason. It is wrong to blame NC to say you acted in a manner which was unconstitutional. The collective made those decisions citing constitutional provisions which appeared to legitimately grant that option"

33] @Welshman_Ncube:

"Now with hindsight, perhaps pple should've braced themselves for a Congress, however difficult, with potential of being divided by ZanuPF. Chamisa was still the most popular & would have won hands-down. But let's remember decisions were made in good faith"

34] @Welshman_Ncube:

"There was no deliberate opting out of the party const. Pple looked at the const & the political challenges & options. An option to avoid a Congress during an election season was taken, a specific const provision existed in express terms,& pple opted 4 that"