Injury follows ignominy: Jonathan Moyo’s fatal pattern in a deadly game

By Maynard Manyowa

Professor Jonathan Moyo hogged the limelight for many reasons, none of which are good. It was on the Social Network platform, Twitter that he was hounded for theft, then stirred the ugly hornets’ nest of Tribalism – again.

He was caught stealing, resorted to his usual excuses, only to find himself taking old pills for a new disease.

In typical combative fashion, he attacked every Shona speaking person who asked questions regarding the expose on his criminal abuse of office, and fraudulent misappropriation of funds.

Ignominy followed injury, in that order, before repeating itself.

The effects of the exposes first reported through the Herald, and several other revelations by other media agencies are still rippling through the point headed Minister, and his flimsy attempt to avoid arrest. They will continue to do so.

These are principally, enormously compelling scandals, because of the ethical clarity of how inexcusable they are.

These are issues that anyone can couch in dogma or approach. This is so very clear about character. It is explicit and lustful. It is hideous and greedy. It is naughty and criminal.

No one can defend it, but that hasn’t stopped Moyo from twisting himself into knots trying to. A spin doctor, he has spent much of his life lying to save himself.

But such is the challenge with disease – eventually bodies develop resistance. Moyo might suffer from a disease of the character, but he has since rudely discovered his old pills (propaganda) have destroyed his liver. He can’t hide his sickness anymore.

Prominent political allies and traditional partners are fleeing in hordes.

The Herald’s Political Editor, Tichaona Zindoga, a traditional mouthpiece for the regime and its ill governance called him “a small person with a small mind”

Charismatic Zanu PF Member of Parliament, Justice Mayor Wadyajena demanded the Minister promptly pay back the money he “stole”.

Jonathan Moyo is bleeding profusely. But many of us know from keenly observing nature, that a wounded animal is a dangerous and destructive animal.

Backed in a corner, caught pants down, facing arrest, Moyo is lashing out like a man with nothing left to lose. On the face of it, he as nothing much to lose anymore, anyway.

A career thief, a crook, and a very bad man. He has reached the end of the road. He is going down.

But, if he is going down, he’s threatening to take the entire establishment with him – Mugabe included.

Moyo might still have a chance to turn things around. Evidence of corruption and theft by his peers, subordinates or juniors is rife. Factional politics are real and not imagined.

All this could be valuable in the hands of a competent thinker. But Moyo is not a competent thinker, he’s a maladroit savage spiraling out of control.

Ignominy and injury are set to continue, until either or both becomes terminal.

• Maynard Manyowa is a contributing editor of Khuluma Afrika – a center for analysis, commentary and investigative journalism.