Zimbabwe beauty queen thanks Mugabe

By Fortune Tazvida

When God was dishing out brains he probably dozed off when it came to Samantha Tshuma the new Miss Tourism Zimbabwe 2010. Perhaps beauty and brains do not go hand in glove after all.

Tshuma probably high on her own supply of adrenalin celebrated winning the title by posting a message on social networking site Facebook thanking President Robert Mugabe.

“All you Zimbabweans, I would like to extend my love and thanks to my family, friends and our President R. G. Mugabe and all the government officials. Ngiyabonga (I thank you).”

“The journey was not a free way. A lot of hard work was involved. I would like to thank all the models for the stunning performances and the kindness we had in the camp,’ she said.

Why would a beauty queen thank Zimbabwe’s ruthless dictator after she has just won a meaningless crown meant to promote Zimbabwe as a tourist destination? Okay, you realized it, I have just answered my own question.

What did we expect anyway? Tshuma is taking over the Miss Tourism Zimbabwe title from Vanessa Sibanda, the daughter of Major General Philip Valerio Sibanda.

General Sibanda and his Joint Operations Command (JOC) goons coordinated the murder of over 250 opposition supporters in the run up to the June 2008 one man presidential run-off.

Perhaps these models are being recruited from within Zanu PF structures? Yes I know it sounds harsh but how are Zimbabweans meant to feel when we have people thrown into the limelight and who then go on to misuse their new found platforms to insult victims of violence and murder by praising the perpetrators.

In case Tshuma is retarded and needs help remembering, Nehanda Radio has put to together a few reminders of what Mugabe has done in 30 years of ruling Zimbabwe.

In the eighties his crack Five Brigade troops massacred over 20 000 people in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces who were perceived to be ZAPU supporters.

We had Operation Murambatsvina in which nearly a million people were displaced, livelihoods shattered and homes destroyed. Then Operation Mavhotera Papi in 2008 that killed hundreds and saw violence and intimidation meted out to thousands of people.

Journalist Jestina Mukoko, activists Gandi Mudzingwa, Luke Tamborinyoka, Ian Makone, Roy Bennett, Chris Dhlamini, Gertrude Hambira, Lovemore Madhuku and Pascal Gwezere are just some of the people who have been tortured by Mugabe’s regime.

So next time you decide to thank Robert Mugabe, Samantha Tshuma, please put a sock in your mouth.