Olinda and Stunner: A classic case of bedroom barter trader

By Maynard Manyowa

Olinda Chapel Chideme is not an idiot, she is not a weakling either, nor is she a victim, or a naïve saint at the mercy of a conniving cunning wolf. By her own admission, she is a very hard working and successful woman, and a very astute business person.

Business is simple. To be successful in business you must be smart, inventive, innovative, but above all you must be brutal, calculative, manipulative and ruthless. Business is capitalism. To be a successful capitalist you should know how to capitalize on other people.

The idea that, despite all the advice she claims to have received, despite the drama ridden incidents she has given us front view access to, that she remains a pitiful victim in this bloody game of love, lust and Dion is absurd to say the very least.

Persons in business are among the most economical of individuals. Always on the lookout for fraudsters, trying to protect themselves. So how does a woman as smart and cunning as Olinda get duped into ‘financing a gigolo’ as she purports?

And this did not happen once. Nay. It happened several times, even after the first two live videos. One would be incredibly naïve and hopelessly unthinking to believe that this lady ‘died like Matemba, with her eyes open, more than five times and counting’…

The devil is in the details

If you listen closely, especially to the first two live videos she filmed, you will realise that she went to some lengths to stress that 1) her life does not revolve around social media, 2) that she does not pay attention to it, yet she went to make several other live videos, but instructively she blocked every single user who tried to give her advice that she did not want to hear. Those that criticized her were given the boot.

Bar that, in most of her videos, she would pause, waiting for the audience to grow, so that her voice can be heard. Like a masterful performer, she knew when to speak, when to stop, and when to shed the tear or two.

Clearly, the lady who is not seeking an audience as she claims, was trying to whip up a crowd, create a following of praise singers. She was the pied piper playing to the gallery. Something which is above the level of an innocent victim, but rather the mark of a cunning beast.

Big Brother: Fame is drug, and Olinda inhaled

It is quite clear that Olinda desires fame. She craves to be the cause celebre. In the aftermath of her outbursts, she made one live video, in which she filmed a black screen for nearly five minutes, before appearing in dramatic fashion just to say hello.

At some point in one of her videos, she even lamented how Stunner had not taken her to the club with him. Making it obvious that she really really wants to be seen in public with him, and enjoy some of that celebrity attention.

Even as she flew back to Zimbabwe, she was keen to tell her followers that she could not access her FB Live, but was enroute to Zimbabwe. Anyone say Big Brother, or Kardashians?

By now any clever reader can see how in Facebook Live, she has found an addictive avenue to express. Like Donald Trump, this is not about money, even if they insist it is, it is about power and fame.

It is what Olinda always wanted, and she has it now. It is why even after stating several times that Stunner is robbing her and the marriage is bad, she still sends him money, and still won’t let go of the man. He has something she wants, she needs, she craves. It is called fame, and now that she inhaled, she can’t let go.

Airhead feminists and naïve followers

But Olinda is not just capitalizing on Stunner. Nay. She is riding on the wave of Zimbabwe’s Feminist Activists; themselves a confused lot who will hop onto anything, for any reason – if it has male genitalia and is accused of cheating it need to be demonized.

The women who irrationally supported Olinda are bitter women who are trapped in vicious cycles of rejection. They are people who have been rejected, hurt, and spit at. In Stunner, they see an opportunity to settle score.

Stunner is the proverbial scapegoat, the unfortunate straw man. He is symbol of the painful past of several women.

There is a fine line between expression and insanity, and Olinda bolted past it a long time ago. It is imperative to state that sensible people agree with this.

As for the men, well, it is mostly boys who are either too young to think beyond their years, or hopelessly docile men who wish they had what Stunner had.

Bedroom Barter

The final issue to note, is that, Stunner is neither a thief nor a criminal. In a relationship people complement each other. We knew Stunner years before Pokello. We knew the man years before Olinda. It was after these ladies bedded the man, that we learnt of them. They became cause celebre because of Stunner, through Stunner.

It is false to say that Olinda got nothing in that relationship. A business person knows when to quit, and if it was truly a financially lopsided marriage, she would have left ages ago.

The fact that she remains means there is something for her. Having left two marriages already, it is clear she hangs on to this particular one because it is lucrative, if only in different commodities. That there is why this cookie is not crumbling.

It is clear Olinda is desperate for fame and attention. Stunner gave her a prized commodity she cherishes. He turned her from an unknown Ms Chapel, to a nationwide sensation, Mrs Chideme.

She used other commodities to secure this fame. It is a classic case of bedroom barter trade!

• Maynard Manyowa is a journalist, social commentator and political analyst. Article appears on Khuluma Afrika.