In February this year, Kenya had a similar scenario after the December 27 disputed polls and three months of violence that left 1,000 people dead and scores displaced. President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, then head of opposition, set aside their pride and formed a unity government.

Zimbabwe seems to have followed the Kenyan path although some analysts think the settings are totally different. This reporter sought views of a Kenyan living in Lesotho, Koech Taiwa who feels that the situation in the two countries is different. He said: “Let’s get this right and straight away: there are no parallels between the Kenyan post-election developments and the Zimbabwean situation. The only common denominators are the post election crisis and their Anglophone ties.”

“Of course we shouldn’t forget the new African panacea in the name of “power-sharing” for the malady of the post election syndrome and its OIs (opportunistic infections) i.e. Violence, delayed in election results – Samuel Kivuitu, the Kenyan Electoral Commission Chairman would call it ‘cooked’, et al.),” he added.

Similarity

The Kenyan situation was a case of a road-worthy vehicle whose drivers were losing control, and all that was required was the application of brakes and correction of the steering. Zimbabwe on the other hand is an un-roadworthy vehicle whose drunken driver is holding on to the wheel; the engine urgently requires an overhaul to have it back on the road to economic recovery. It requires a lot more than a handshake and declaration of commitments from the principals.

Although details of the power sharing deal remain scanty, (DOWNLOAD FULL AGREEMENT) the speeches during the signing ceremony were more telling. Tsvangirai, while acceding that the MDC’s decision to join ranks with ZANU-PF was driven by hope rather than past wrongs, swiftly called for the need for accountability over past abuses. Mugabe was blunt - the land reforms he introduced are not reversible.

The West, notably the British, have pledged financial support in excess of £1billion as development aid, but not without conditionalities. They will have to gauge the change in the coming days. It would be interesting to get an insight into the minds of the ZANU-PF politburo on this count. It will be recalled that Mugabe and his cronies consider Morgan a British puppet. As, the saying goes: “he who pays the piper calls the tune.” Will the British arm-twist Tsvangirai considering that he leaked report on the deal indicates that MDC will be in control of the finance portfolio? Mugabe wasted no time in lambasting Britain and America. He claimed that they were responsible for the mess in Zimbabwe, and that the British should pay reparation for the land repossessed.

Tsvangirai adopted a more conciliatory approach. He noted that MDC had placed the country first and were keen on putting it on the road to recovery. It was not lost on any casual observer that Mugabe made little reference to the role played by Tsvangirai and the MDC. On the contrary, he chose to heap praise on the African Union and SADC states for their support. By adopting such alienating stand, he risks squandering the goodwill of the MDC supporters as well as the confidence of the development partners.

Kenya

Back to Kenya! During the signing ceremony, the principals - Kibaki and Odinga - were full of praise and accolades for each other and the international community. They spoke in detail of the sacrifices they had made, and the concessions for the sake of the Nation. They both came out as Statesmen. In the Zimbabwean case, Tsvangirai was more the statesman while Bob seemed to be holed in the tranches of history – he was making what appeared to be a post-independence speech. But the Zimbabweans were not to be fooled; they knew better - they cheered Morgan and they jeered Bob.

The ordinary Zimbabwean is not interested in who hold power. The citizens yearn for leadership that will curb the run-away inflation and restore the country into its productivity. There is no doubt that land reforms will remain critical, since the country was once the grain basket of Africa. How the new government will handle the issue will determine how soon the country gets out of the economic quagmire.

The wound of the recent violence and injustices visited on MDC supporters by the ZANU-PF operatives and the war veterans will not heal tomorrow. ZANU-PF unleashed state apparatus on the helpless MDC supporters. The scares have taken a symbolic meaning – Morgan in his speech alluded injuries he sustained at the hands of the police.

By agreeing to divide control of the ‘undisciplined’ forces, both principals must be conscious that they are walking a tightrope! The two camps will for some time treat with a lot of suspicion. MDC will control the police (the same police who beat up Morgan and whose chief commanders vowed never to take orders from the puppet) whereas ZANU-PF will be in charge of the army.

In Kenya, the army stayed clear of the political crisis, while the police played a seemingly impartial role in containing the violence that ensued. In Zimbabwe, the army took over the running of the affairs of the state as the election results were delayed.

Kenyans took to the streets to protest a stolen election, while in Zimbabwe the police took up truncheons against the citizens for voting the other way. The Kenya police had the duty to restore law and order, whereas their Zimbabwean counterparts turned into agents of lawlessness and disorder, unleashing violence and mayhem on innocent women and children.

Reconciliation

MDC and ZANU-FP will have now to seat and craft a government, whose primary responsibility will be to restore the confidence of these women and child in the uniformed forces. One may add, to restore disciple as well. Watching the two principals at the signing ceremony, it will not be hard to determine who needs a larger dose of ‘discipline-oquin”.

The other challenge will obviously be with the civil service. For the last 28 years, ZANU-PF has transformed the civil service into a party organ, in the same fashion that ZANU did before it was ousted from power in 2002. Rooting out corruption in the civil service, whose rank and file are lowly paid and have thrived on politics of patronage is no mean feat. It will require decisiveness and courage.

The next few days are very critical if the signed agreement is to be worth the paper it was signed on. The sharing of the cabinet portfolios will determine if this marriage of convenience will hold.