Defiant Mnangagwa shows critics the middle finger
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has in some way told his critics to ‘go to hell’ as he continues to create his fiefdom.
If he had the guts to openly say it out like his predecessor, the late Robert Mugabe, he would have done so but he doesn’t, and so instead he is speaking through actions – although they do say actions speak louder than words!
While the SADC community is still trying to engage with Harare on the disputed August 23 elections, the regime has shown no interest or regard to the concerns raised. Mnangagwa has declared that he resoundingly won and thus sees no reason why the opposition are making noise about his victory.
As if to rub salt to the ‘wounds’ of opposition and its supporters, Mnangagwa went on to spend a whopping US$1 million (P13.6 million) on his inauguration despite the crippling economic challenges the country faces.
While people were still coming to terms with this brazen behavior, the President conferred to his wife, Auxillia, an honorary doctorate for her contribution to charitable work in the country. You should have seen the wide smile on her face after the conferment, as if she had made a big achievement yet she didn’t deserve the doctorate at all.
On Monday, he pulled shocker number three when he named his new cabinet of dead wood, loyalists and family, in yet another act of defiance to show he has no care whatsoever about what people will say.
He brought back the second vice president, Kembo Mohadi, 74, who was relieved of his duties two years ago following a sex scandal.
Mnangagwa also retained most of his old members of cabinet who don’t inspire confidence at all but seem to be there for the benefits and the money.
To the dismay of many, he also named one of his sons, Kudakwashe Mnangagwa, and a nephew, Tongai Mnangagwa, as deputy ministers, with the former being the Deputy Minister of Finance.
So, we have three Mnangagwas in the upper echelons of power and the President sees nothing wrong with that, the same way he saw nothing amiss in appointing a couple in his cabinet.
Chris Mutswanga and his wife Monica, who are Mnangagwa’s praise singers, made it to the cabinet and are set to enjoy the perks that come with the job.
Knowing how the two love dining and wining abroad, I am sure they can’t wait to fly across the globe to celebrate their appointments, especially for Chris who is in cabinet for the first time.
But, like most people predict, all this will surely not end well, it will almost certainly end in tears; hopefully we will live to tell the tale.
