By Sharon Muguwu
President Robert Mugabe’s remarks that Jamaican men are always high on weed and a lazy lot are haunting Zimbabwean model, Mutsa Mutare. The model is in Jamaica for the Miss Global International pageant, which is being held in that country’s capital, Kingston.
The pageant will be held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on Saturday October 22. Much of the spotlight is on Mutare ahead of other models, not because of stunning looks but because the smoke has not yet cleared over Mugabe’s remarks.
An article in the Jamaican Observer states the 22-year-old has been put in the limelight by Mugabe’s recent utterances. “Mutsa is likely to be one of the favourites for this year’s title, which is up for grabs on Saturday, October 22, at the Montego Bay Convention Centre.
“She is also expected to be the centre of attention for the next few days, as Jamaicans mull over Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s recent distasteful remarks about Jamaican men,” the article read.
In an article first published by the Daily News, Mugabe said most Jamaican colleges were filled with women because men would be busy smoking marijuana and singing. This was not taken kindly by Jamaicans with the country’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller saying the comments were “disrespectful and misguided”.
Opposition leader Andrew Holness said the Jamaican government must demand an apology from Mugabe.
It did not end there.
Newspaper columnists are out in full force. One particular columnist “The Soloist” from the Jamaican Gleaner hit back saying old age was affecting Mugabe’s thinking. “Someone must have omitted to tell Mugabe that people who live in glass houses ought not throw stones.
“On the other hand, perhaps now that he’s well into his 80s, he’s getting a little soft in the head and has forgotten all that and more.
“We do have many problems in Jamaica, most of us curse ourselves daily about them, but like the doting mother I mentioned above, we don’t appreciate anyone throwing it in our faces, be they from Antarctica, America or Africa. On a week-long-trip to Zimbabwe seven years ago, I observed the following. As I recall, the Zimbabweans I met all had body odour so strong, it would wilt a cactus flower”.
The Soloist attacked Mugabe’s governance record, saying the 88-year-old had run Zimbabwe to the ground.
“The Zimbabwe I visited had previously prosperous farms with barns subsequently piled high with rotting paprika and other produce because the friends of Mugabe who bought those farms following their seizure by his government, knew nothing about running a farm.
“I witnessed a convoy of some 20 black Mercedes-Benz armoured vehicles and two helicopters overhead, and was told by my guide that was how Mugabe had to travel in fear for his safety.
“The street on which he lived was closed to the public from 6pm to 6am daily, again to protect him from his own people. The Zimbabweans I met were afraid to speak to me in public because they would be visited, questioned, jailed and even beaten that night by secret agents of the state hiding and watching us as we talked.
“I could go on, but space does not permit. Mr Mugabe, take the mote from your own eyes before you look at other people’s faults. Or perhaps that’s wishful thinking on my part because if you do, you might ugly yourself to death when your face makes contact with a mirror!” Daily News
