Readmit Mliswa at own peril

Tafara Shumba Correspondent
History has taught us that political life outside zanu-pf is not sustainable. Those who have been around the block a few times can bear witness. Professor Jonathan Moyo has been there, done that.

Last year he advised fellow comrades who seemingly wanted to divorce themselves from zanu-pf, that it was cold out there. Prof Moyo gave the advice from a deep sense of reflection based on his experience.

“They should take it from me. It’s horrible and miserable. They should take it from those who have been down the path,” said Prof Moyo.

The First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe last month sounded the same warning during her rally in Rushinga.

“If you are not in zanu-pf, its cold out there. Have you ever seen anyone who survived after leaving zanu-pf? If you are clever, you quickly apologise and you will be forgiven,” said Amai Mugabe.

It is indeed cold out there. Having been out in the cold for just a while, Temba Mliswa is one renegade who already cannot stand the chill. Shivering from the cold while assuming his helpless overcoat, the controversial Mliswa knocked at the shake-shake building begging for readmission.

Temba could have heeded the First Lady’s advice.

However, the First Lady’s advice was targeted at the clever ones, of which Temba is not.

Of all the renegades expelled from zanu-pf, Temba is the most unpardonable. zanu-pf can readmit him at its own peril. Despite his futile attempts to disassociate himself from the Mujuru cabal, facts indicate that he was at the centre of the plot to unseat President Mugabe. He is the same Temba who is alleged to have been given the bold task of nominating Mai Mujuru at the last congress.

If he really wants to be forgiven, Temba must be sincere and repent. The only sin that is forgiven is the one that has been acknowledged. Temba told the Herald in a recent interview that the most forgiving man is President Mugabe. No amount of praise will cleanse Mliswa. He only needs to be sincere and remorseful.

He savaged the People First but that will not make him holy. It’s clear that Temba has a beef with the People First for its failure to defend him when he was suspended.

Of all the rebels who were fired and suspended, it was only Temba who attempted to challenge zanu-pf in a by-election. He thought he was more popular than the revolutionary party was. He wrongly thought it was his personal charisma that enchanted the Hurungwe electorate to vote him into parliament in 2013. It must serve as a lesson to everybody that nobody owns supporters.

His challenge was not a problem for it was his democratic right to do so. The problem came when he threw in a litany of allegations that invited unnecessary international backlash. He alleged that zanu-pfwas persecuting his supporters and subsequently stole the by-election.

Why Temba would now want to join a party that ‘’persecutes rivals and rigs elections’’? These are some of the issues that Temba must clarify before he even entertains a dream of holding an office even at cell level. As democratic and holy as he professes, it is not good for Temba to join zanu-pf with its ‘’tainted’’ reputation that he has been preaching to the world. No, Mr Smart man cannot be part of that party.

He was in the media posing as a political prophet. One of his prophetic hallucinations yet to be confirmed is the MDC-T’s electoral victory in the 2018 polls. Under the figment of that warped prophecy, Temba has been hobnobbing with Tsvangirai to an extent of being accorded high tables at MDC-T anniversary celebrations.

Surprisingly, the same Temba now wants to abandon the “government in waiting” for an “outgoing going government”. This man has a hidden agenda up his sleeves.

He must have been assigned by the MDC-T and its western handlers to try to destroy the revolutionary party from within.

Remember he is one of the dirty dozen who had a queer and surreptitious alliance with a CIA operative. Despite the exposure of the clandestine relation, Temba continued to dine with him. He is the person who wants to be readmitted into zanu-pf.

zanu-pf and the nation at large draw more benefits from the expulsion of Temba. He is one man who abused the good name of zanu-pf for his personal and selfish ends.

He is the man who put the good name of the party into disrepute through his corrupt tendencies and violent disposition. He is one of the rogue elements that worked at cross-purposes with the Government agenda of reviving the economy. He demanded bribes from potential and much sought after investors. It is too early to forget that Mliswa was in the limelight for extorting a businessperson, Conrad Billy Rautenbach.

Mliswa’s readmission will not add any value to zanu-pf. If zanu-pf wants to extend a hand of reconciliation, there are candidates that are more suitable, for they have displayed a modicum of remorse.

Zimbabweans would rather prefer an olive branch to be offered to such members than to Mliswa.