Letter of the week
EDITOR — YEARS back, during a conversation with the late Dr Stanley Mudenge, then our Minister of Foreign Affairs, he said something that was very profound. It was that: If you see a tortoise sitting on top of a ‘durawall’ (security wall), don’t ask stupid questions like: ‘How did it climb up there?’ Instead, look for its owner.
Recollection of my conversation with Dr Mudenge has been triggered by the (ongoing political drama in the CCC). In a rambling, long-winded statement, while blaming everybody but himself for his failures and inadequacies, ‘Emperor’ Nelson Chamisa announced that he was quitting CCC, thus supposedly leaving behind all CCC assets, offices and furniture. He was leaving behind the EU grant that he illegally (in contravention of the Political Parties Finance Act) received to pay polling agents, which to this day have not yet been paid.
He was also leaving behind the US$500 000 or so raised, ostensibly, by his supporters to buy a bullet-proof car, which to this day remains non-existent and a pipedream. He was leaving behind the donations he received through Hopewell Chin’ono, Tendai Biti and David Coltart, which he must have put under the pillow (given that CCC had no bank account).
He was leaving behind all motor vehicles, motorbikes and bicycles, leaving behind everything, including CCC regalia and stationery and, finally, leaving behind a constitutionless, banking accountless and structureless, leaderless CCC for which he blames ZANU PF (In Chamisa’s weird mind, ZANU PF should have given CCC a constitution, opened a bank account for CCC, and created party structures for CCC).
In short, Chamisa is telling the world that single-handedly he is going to start a new political party or opposition formation from scratch with nothing — empty-handed! Anyone who believes this story must be stupid or a fool. In the words of Dr Mudenge, as the story unfolds, we will do well to preoccupy ourselves with investigating who Chamisa’s owners/handlers/funders are. Don’t be surprised if Chamisa is or becomes the richest unemployed man in Zimbabwe. Those who have eyes, let them ‘eye’, and those who have ears, let them ‘ear’. Nokuti hatigoni kurega kutaura zvatakaona nezvo takanzwa.
Patrick Chinamasa,
(ZANU PF Treasurer-General),
Harare.