CONT Mhlanga’s article on legislator Gorden Moyo’s dinner party marks a sad development, sad in the sense that the whole celebrated Cont of Amakhosi fame has reduced himself or perhaps been reduced to nit-picking about a venue of a dinner party.
-Samukele HADEBE One would have thought such great minds with purportedly noble intentions for Zimbabweans in general and the citizens in Makokoba in particular, would engage in meaningful and robust debate and not this absurd diatribe thinly veiled as a protest against the supposedly poor choice of a dinner venue.
Since Mhlanga is not a fool, it is incomprehensible why on earth he thinks everyone else would be fooled by his opinion. Also, Mhlanga is not a political novice.
Remember that he was secretary-general of Zapu 2000 where Gorden Moyo was information and publicity secretary? As recent as 2008, he was elected councillor in Lupane and for dismal performance or absenteeism or even both, Mhlanga was relieved of that village level responsibility.
Let me not even burden readers on Mhlanga’s hotch-potch management of Zapu 2000 and his infamous absconding when not-so-favourable allegations were mushrooming.
It is this same good Mhlanga pontificating nauseatingly on what MDC-T members in Makokoba should want.
Had this not been an immediate post-election time, people would have been forgiven for thinking that Mhlanga has decided to stand for Makokoba constituency.
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As it would seem he has just realised that he was born and bred in Makokoba and not in the poor rural ward that he left.
Mhlanga’s piece is a mélange of jealousy, ridicule and brazen attacks on the person of Moyo disguised as a public concern. Since Mhlanga is no fool, he would not do that for no good reason.
At one point he sounds like the spokesperson of Makokoba, then without warning he shoots at MDC-T vice-president Thokozani Khupe and before one makes sense of that villainous attack, he has moved on to maul at Morgan Tsvangirai.
On a serious note: What motivates this rabid anger against Moyo by Mhlanga?
Is it sheer resentment and pithy deep frustration that makes Mhlanga contradict himself in the same article?
First he said Moyo was a mere provincial chairperson and next he said: “A provincial chairperson is a very important post and link in a political party?” Mhlanga is no fool.
Mhlanga talks authoritatively about how elections are won or lost on the basis of advisors to presidential candidates.
Could it be that Mhlanga knows something about the just-ended elections which the rest of us do not know? One would have thought there were many factors influencing outcomes of elections rather than just lieutenants to presidential candidates.
One wonders how he explains Tsvangirai’s victory in the first round of presidential elections in March 2008. Perhaps Mhlanga is still vaingloriously advancing his defence of what he himself referred to as “deadwood” in certain quarters.
That is simply indefensible brother Cont!
There is also a refrain literally mimicked by my good old friend Mhlanga.
We all know the purveyor of falsehood about Moyo in Bulawayo Agenda and in the MDC-T.
Surely why would our venerable Mhlanga allow himself at the sunset to play megaphone to merchants of malice?
Of course, on stage you can imitate anything, playwright Mhlanga, but in real life and politics you cannot continue under the veneer of a mask. Come out clean dear brother!
Going back to the venue of the dinner party, which anyway was never for the Makokoba constituency, it is disheartening to read how condescending and patronising Mhlanga is of fellow citizens in Makokoba.
Mhlanga could perhaps have confined his abuse to Moyo and not demean, deride and ridicule those citizens who exercised their freedom to choose Moyo to represent them.
Perhaps Mhlanga was irked by the singing and toyitoying during Moyo’s campaign.
But why that should be of concern to Mhlanga is baffling since even his own party did the same albeit with smaller crowds and hence the miserable showing in the constituency.
As Mhlanga would obviously know people he looks down upon as naïve are very much aware of the wretched attempts to sow discord.
All said, I should congratulate my friend Mhlanga for his baptism into seeing, hearing and speaking of nothing else, but revolution including references to Chairman Mao Tse Tung.
It would be clever though to retain some semblance of truth, for example, the claim that there was total victory for Zanu PF in Matabeleland South is untrue and pretentious as there are many councillors who do not belong to that party.
It is these seemingly petty but far-reaching falsehoods and perverted conclusions that are worrying about Mhlanga’s opinion piece. With all due respect, this is not typical of Mhlanga.
Well, Mhlanga is not a fool, and hence the million dollar question as to why he should play one.
