The Sunday News
Mbongeni Msimanga, Sunday Leisure Correspondent
HE is the Member of the House of Assembly for Buhera West constituency in Manicaland Province and probably the most caricatured politician in Zimbabwe at the moment with some of the crudest jokes having been said about him, but he is not bothered.
Cde Joseph Chinotimba is one of the most talked about legislators in the country both on the streets and on social media.
Cde Chinoz as he is popularly known by many, has had a fair share of people making fun of him on social media and has mastered the art of getting people’s ribs cracking with laughter whenever he gets to the podium. Some have also made it their business to write jokes and put them on the popular but faceless Facebook page christened Masasi aCde Chinotimba.
Although so much fun has been poked at him, the legislator says all the jokes that circulate about him have not moved him and instead make him a man of the people.
It would be expected that the legislator would be bitter about what people say about him, but instead he has rubbed off all connotations said about him and in fact, appreciates what people say.
“I have seen all the jokes that people post about me and they do not move me in any way. In fact, they make me happy and it just shows that people actually love me for who I am,” he said.
The legislator is touted to be a comedian among the parliamentarians of Zimbabwe, with most of the clips circulating on the Internet portraying him to be “uneducated and rout”.
He has, however, faced the challenge of not being taken seriously by other parliamentarians even when he is presenting serious issues.
But this has not affected him in any way, in fact, Cde Chinoz is a hard worker and has contributed not only to his constituency but to the national development discourse.
“I know people love me in Zimbabwe. That is why there are so much (sic) jokes circulating on the internet and they constantly remind people of me. Besides, I am one of the most hard working MPs and I have also contributed vastly within and outside my constituency,” he said.
Cde Chinoz believes that people have made him to be a comedian and therefore, is now acting as such to please those that view him as one.
The comical MP was last year crowned ZimRights’ Human Rights Defender of the Year, shrugging off competition from so-called human rights defenders that included Jestina Mukoko, Rebecca Chisamba, Harare West MP Jessie Majome and lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa.
“I believe people have created me to be a comedian and I have also started acting that way as well because it is pleasing to people. So much has been said about me on those jokes but I was last year crowned the Human Rights Defender of the year and I shrugged off stiff competition from people within the MDC party,” he said.
The popular legislator is also a man of God and stressed that he preaches at his church as he occupies a high position within the Zion Christian Church.
He said he has 12 children, although he refused to reveal how many wives he has.
“As I am talking now, I am wearing my church garments and ready to go to preach the Word of God to people. I am a bishop at the Zion Christian Church and I always preach the Word of God. I cannot divulge how many wives I have, all I can say is that I have 12 children. When someone wants to marry, they are allowed to marry as they wish,” he said.
Chinoz said he was now a celebrity to reckon with and whenever he walked into town, people always ask to take pictures with him while others want his autograph.
He said it was time he started charging people to take pictures with him so that he could contribute to national development, as someone once donated 10 tonnes of cement for a photo-shoot with him.
“Everywhere I go I am in trouble! Everyone now wants to take a picture with me and I think I should start charging money for those pictures. Last time, someone donated 10 tonnes of cement when I had a photo-shoot with them,” he said.
Recently, Chinoz was named the brand ambassador of mobile provider G-Tel and with the hilarious jokes that circulate on social media, he believes the brand will go a long way in being marketed.
So far the legislator has taken steps in advancing his comic and theatrical acts as he recently did a short clip for G-Tel mobile phone and hopes that he will make great strides in this profession.
“I am also a brand ambassador for the G-Tel mobile phone and I believe that the brand will also go far in being marketed as well. I also did a short clip for them. I believe it is also the beginning of my acting and comedy career. I am not embarrassed about that too,” he said.
The legislator has also been known to be a darling to children and pledged to pay school fees for 24 children at Chinotimba School in Victoria Falls last year.
