The Sunday News
Micheal Mhlanga
Comrades, you should bear in mind that leadership is about character, power consolidation processes, empirical virtues and maxims coupled with ideological consistency. There lacks historical consistency in one who wants to be a leader, he fabricates his name, his genealogy and his academics, Acie! Zimbabwe needs a better youth, you are far from one. Consistency, integrity and trust should be the hallmark of a reputable politician; however, Acie has no ounce.
It is important to remember that integrity is a virtue expected of any leader, without it, chances of one being taken for a joke are high. I am again reminded of Chinua Achebe’s A man of the People where he says “Our people have said that a man of worth never gets up to unsay what he said yesterday . . . ”, we don’t forget what you said yesterday, we bank on memory.
As if his academic not-worthiness is not enough, after one of his numerous expulsions because of intolerable behaviour in Government, Acie grovels for the attention of His Excellency, which the ideologically stubborn leader starves him.
He goes on to form a party, (This is synonymous of mischievous, corrupt expelled Zanu-PF members who fail to toe the party line and when external discipline is applied, they form a party), they don’t want to be ashamed on their own. He insults the President and uses semantics to defend his imbecility, forgetting that semantics is an appropriation of speech privilege (I doubt he understands this since he is not a fundi as he claims). His goal post shifting clearly reflects how mortified he is, courtesy seeking and how much he is virulent. Rancorous people are only active when their pain is still fresh, wait until they get in touch with reality that they really messed up and have to repent, followers are left stark naked, with nowhere to go besides blaming themselves for following a reactionary again!
Last week’s inaugural submission became a political prophesy to most youthful activists. William failed to hold his rally in Bulawayo, a city that is a political harvest for any politician who adopts the Jesus model (proselytise those outside your hometown: they are more desperate for salvation). On the other hand, my colleague at the University Currently Known as Rhodes University (TUCKARU), Vhonani Petla summarised Mawarire’s indulgence as a mobile revolution whose struggle moves with the leader, if the leader is gone, the struggles leaves with him. That is how different the nationalists’ movements distinguish its excellences from these petty movements. #Mobilerevolutions
Perishable political initiatives
There was transference of responsibility in the formation of the 1957 Youth League in Zimbabwe from George Nyandoro, Robert Chikerema, Paul Mushonga up to the “almost legend’ Maurice Nyagumbo who played an important role in youth politics in Zimbabwe. To date, the Youth League stands as an amiable union of leaders whose primary vision is to safeguard the interest of tomorrow’s Zimbabwe. Despicable movements such as Zanu Ndonga, ZUM, NAGG and of recent MDC formations are a classic semblance of mobile movements. History has quickly forgotten about them. Likewise, Mawarire’s diasporan lectures have quickly escalated to that level. The most ridiculous thing he says at TUCKARU on Thursday 4 August is that the 6th of July shall be a holiday in Zimbabwe because it has bequeathed itself as a landmark in Zimbabwe’s revolutions. I was shocked to hear this because I am a staunch believer in that the 6th of July was a failure considering the #Thisflag’s intentions and strategy. Mawarire has quickly bestowed himself an emperor of a revolution that he believes is the first and most successful one to the point of acclaiming a holiday . . . hahahaha #Mawarire ulamawala.
The Lumumba great fallacy
Anyway, back to William, whom I have discovered that there is a horde of youth who believe that his real name is Acie Lumumba to the point that they insult me that I have fabricated the name William Mutumanje. What Lumumba said in the aftermath of his sacking as chairman of the Steering Committee on the Zimbabwe Youth Empowerment;
Strategy for Investment, and what he is saying now is a serious cause for concern to any sane Zimbabwean. Here is one man who professed an undying love for Zanu-PF and its leader, President Robert Mugabe, claiming that he had “every intention of working tirelessly for the party and to ensure we keep our promise to the people, and that is what I am focused on politically — supporting the President to fulfil his promises”. When he was fired by Minister Patrick Zhuwao, he swore that the only party he had ever known was Zanu-PF and he would continue supporting it (interview with Ruvheneko). “I am Zanu-PF, proudly so and stubbornly so. I love my President and I love my party,” he said in his first YouTube video on April 22. He buttressed the statements days later when he said: “I am not in the business of attacking my President. I am not leaving Zanu-PF. I am here to stay,” he said proudly.
“Let me explain why I still and will continue supporting the President. He was voted by the people. I support the President,” he added four days later. Now is this a dedicated party cadre who will stand by the President and the party through thick and thin? Two weeks later, he announced that he had terminated his marriage with the revolutionary party he had pledged “undying love” for, suddenly accusing it of being “too corrupt and out of touch with reality”. There is absolute certainty that Lumumba, a man who would rank very highly on the corruption index himself, is more concerned about losing his piece of the pie and the consequences thereafter than the integrity of the Minister nor his corrupt tendencies.
One wonders what had changed within the two weeks to warrant that repentance from being Zanu-PF through and through to seeing nothing good about the party. Did Lumumba, who along with television and radio presenter, Tichafa Matambanadzo, was accused of duping Star FM of US$70 000, suddenly become a saint notwithstanding his leaked sex tape? Barely three weeks later, he announced the birth of Viva Zimbabwe that he launched on June 30 where he verbally assaulted and took to the ropes, the President, the man he previously said he loved and respected because he was voted for by the people. Within a short space of time, he had said so many conflicting statements. He is a typical Zimex Mall goon. Zimbabwe cannot be led by such.
In one of his videos he promises to create one million jobs in 100 days, and empower 5 000 companies. How is that possible when he was part of a cabal that has been fired from Government for being corrupt, when he directs the
$40 000 meant for a Youth Conference to his Mercedes AMG Benz he drives now? He lied to the Zambian Government and even lies to himself. Who are we to believe a man who does not even believe what he says? I wonder if he doesn’t own the institution that awarded him his self-grandiose accolade. There is something in Lumumba’s person which irresistibly attracts drama to him. Controversy seems to have a grim affinity for the man.
Politics and sexuality
I know this submission will tickle others who will question my moral standards. Well, I am climbing a moral carmel at this juncture because my difference with Acie is that I am not a leader of a political party whose followers are intelligent Mathematicians from UZ, esteemed Political Science students from MSU and impressing Language students from Lupane State University. I did not lie to myself that my name is Michael Nkrumah and of course I do not have a sex tape. Some line of thought posits that his sex tape is not a big issue but what makes him is what binds us, he is purporting to be representing young minds in Zimbabwe’s political spaces. With a backdrop, that adverse liberalism is homogenous and that a youth in Mupandawana would endorse a sexual pervert like Acie through the ballot in 2018. Nhando!
The ripple effect associated with such behaviour castrates the esteem of people who looked up to you. They know that it’s consensual but they wonder why you film it. To what end? Narcism is not a preferred attribute of a leader, thus filming yourself in the fornication process is shear narcistic tendency we do not want #selfie presidents, I bet Lumumba would spend much of his time filming himself, this is a common feature between Mawarire and Lumumba; they love selfies, they love glorifying their actions, we don’t need your status updates comrades, Zimbabwe needs to decolonise itself from perpetual colonial hangovers that have been replenished, renovated and re-introduced in Africa by and a large.
Another common feature that has emerged in the two political juveniles is the love of conning people. On Thursday at a public lecture at TUCKARU, Mawarire and his anonymous henchman pulled a pentecostal stunt. They stood up a young girl and told her that they know her parents, they had been arrested on the 6th of July for protesting, but they have now been since released. Madoda! Really now? How on earth wouldn’t such a young intelligent lady not know that her parents were arrested and have been released? Infact she would best know about that than Mawarire. I immediately realised that rehearsed cripples and blind people whom these episcopal leaders employ to draw more congregants for offerings are now being applied in politics. How on earth do you plant a student to prophesy politics to her? You have simply rechanneled church desperate moves into politics. #narcismshouldfall
A leaf from the global political prefects
Even the countries where liberal mindsets are borrowed from denounce such bigotry and sexual perverseness. America still languishes because Bill Clinton had 17 claims of sexual escapades including the Lewansky relationship. These are the ripple effects that delegitimised Bill’s tenure and affected his family and his wife thereof. It’s the guilt of the electorate that looked up to him as a man of virtue, only to know about his irate sex life in public. Barack Obama invested a lot of his time defending his loathing love for marijuana proving how some liberal acts are not expected of a leader. We cannot be lackadaisical about nauseating sexual misconduct acted by an imbecile marauding as a champion of youth challenges. A person such as Acie does not know that recording a sexual encounter is a risk, but he goes on to have the lust to watch himself again and again doing it.
Such irresponsibility is not warranted for in a leader. What becomes heightened is how he brags about it and is unapologetic.
The intensity of a public figure’s behaviour has ravishing effects on the image of people he represents and the institution he founds. It is naïve to divorce his immediate past with what he rehearses to represent as the certainty of truth in his endeavours. Trend analysis shows that lying to such a magnitude is display of a pathology of not telling the truth. Society cannot be held at ransom by such a reactionary who has absurd inconsistencies and a string of being fired because of theft allegations. I do not mean to pry into his marriage but apparently his lobola money could have been a stolen $10 000 chunk, what do we call a woman married with stolen money? #Acierespectyourwife
In the wake of shifting progenies in Zimbabwe’s political environment, young people should be aware of Mutumanjes, they take advantage of intelligent young people who are susceptible to abuse and take them for a political mileage ride. They are the same people who squander youth finances and when finally sent packing with their tail between their legs, they shift the blame, insult elders, and create a following with the shame of being embarrassed alone.
That is why he thought he would have an Evan following at the Rotten Row Magistrates’ Courts only to find out that we are not as silly as he thinks. We do not want leaders who are conmen; Zimbabwe will not be led by one. Currently Zimbabwe does not need people outside to be telling it what to do, if you are with Zimbabweans, come to Zimbabwe join us, preaching in South African Universities to Zimbabwean students who are on presidential scholarship is ironic in itself, your homily to South Africans does not advance your lamentations, bring them back home if they are valid. The heroes that saved us without us cannot serve us with us.
Micheal Mhlanga is a research and strategic communication specialist and is currently serving Leaders for Africa Network (LAN) as the Programmes and Public Liaison Officer. He also administrates multiple youth public dialogue forums in Zimbabwe including the annual Reading Pan Africanism Symposium (REPS) and Back to Pan Africanism Conference. Feedback can be sent to [email protected]
