BiAS 7 – The Bible and Politics in Africa
Media, Information and Publicity minister decried the danger of politi-
cally polarized media if used in carrying hate messages regardless of
who owns them.^49 The foreign and independent media deliberately put
ZANU-PF and Mugabe in bad light at the same time proffering the good
image of MDC. On the other hand, the state owned media takes the
leading role in putting labelling opposition movements. In most cases,
opposition supporters become open targets of violence as they are lik-
ened to people possessed by the spirit of Judas Iscariot. The death of
Judas Iscariot after handing over Jesus is interpreted as justified as it
symbolized the payment for his sins. Mugabe’s speeches featured re-
peatedly in the broadcast media and the government press labeling the
MDC as a party of ‘sell outs’ who were not supposed to be ever allowed
to be political leaders of Zimbabwe. Even though at first, the MDC used
the non-violent electoral campaign; ZANU-PF and Mugabe resorted to
their tried and tested campaigns of violence, intimidation and propa-
ganda.
The coming of Professor Jonathan Moyo as Minister of Information
paved way for ZANU-PF political and propagandistic jingles that were
meant to persuade people to rally behind ZANU-PF and its leader
Robert Mugabe. Political posters and T-Shirts were printed out with
messages like ‘Zimbabwe is not for Sale; Sell Outs will Never Rule This
Country; Zimbabwe will Never be a Colony Again; Sell Outs Beware’.
Eliot Manyika (ZANU-PF political commissar)’s ‘Norah’ political song
clearly labels opposition parties especially the MDC as a ‘sell out’ party
and laments the need to help such people back to their minds by engag-
ing in ZANU-PF political re-orientation. In the song, Manyika regards
Mugabe as a strong man; even though there are some Zimbabweans
who have betrayed him as a result of the love for money and ignorance.
Manyika laments in that song that, such people needed to be shown the
way of ‘light and truth’ which is only found in ZANU-PF under Mug-
abe’s leadership.^50 It is important to note that, the label ‘sell-out’ is preva-
lent across political parties. It is timeously evoked to create an exclusion-
ary effect against certain individuals or groups so as to deliberately un-
dermine their credibility and legitimacy resulting in the stifling of useful
debate and the democratic participation of the ordinary people. This has
(^49) Proposed Media Reforms Illegal, The Herald, 29 April 2011
(^50) E Manyika, Norah, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Yixp4O29iY, accessed, 26 July
2010.