Mutasa: The sun sets in paradise too

By Rawlings Magede

When I was doing my ordinary level studies, my History teacher, One Mr Sharara always added some humour that enhanced our zeal and enthusiasm for history.

I remember it like it was yesterday how my friend and I would always look forward to his lessons. At times because of mischief, we would exceed history lesson by asking “unnecessary” questions that would take away time from other lessons.

Those were the days!

His lessons were always something to look forward to; they were so educative in the literal sense. His expansive narrative on African history, made me take pride in being fortunate to be born on this beautiful continent of Africa.

At one time I remember, he taught us about the Mfecane and how invincible Tshaka the Zulu was at the peak of his reign. These were exciting times, yes, times that would cause us to have all sorts of imaginations of how he looked like.

They were a lot of controversies in his reign too. When his mother Nandi died in October 1827, huge numbers were put to death during the mourning ceremonies because they showed “insufficient grief” and his armies were also sent out to neighbouring chiefdoms to force them to grieve the loss of his mother.

His fall as narrated by our teacher invoked feelings of celebration in us and I still harbour a lot of questions on how a ruthless king could oppress his own. His fall came about when he was betrayed by his own people. Taking advantage of the absence of his armies, on 22 September 1828, his bodyguard whom our teacher only identified as Mbopha and his half-brothers Dingane and Mhlangana stabbed Tshaka near his military barracks at Dukuza.

As his life ebbed away, he called to his brother Dingane:”hey brother! You kill me, thinking you will rule, but the swallows will do that”.

By the swallows he meant the white people, because they made their houses of mud, like the swallows. This was too much for his assailants and they leapt upon him, stabbing him. His last words were,”Are you stabbing me, kings of the earth? You will come to an end through killing one another.”

How the mighty fell! I liked his “prophecy” that they would all kill one another. Surely all barbaric acts do come to an end. It’s true. The sun actually sets in paradise. This is the same predicament that one former Secretary for Administration Didymus Mutasa finds himself in. The gruesome stories of torture and killings by Mutasa especially in Headlands, still reverberate till this day. His acts of evil have been documented for all to see. https://nehandaradio.com/zimbabwe-wall-of-shame/.

How his political career will turn out, remains a question best answered by those who fired him, but with the writing clear on the wall of a new “order” in ZANU PF,he might not make a biblical resurrection like Dzikamai Mavhaire,whose resurrection was short-lived.

Villain turns Victim?

One of the most unfortunate misdemeanours by our media is to apply lipstick on frogs. Whether they present Mutasa as a “champion” by using all forms of adulterated titles to describe him like “vibrant’ this or that, what is sorry is that no matter how they try to reinvent him, his evil past which has made a permanent imprint on people’s memories, always amplify the throes and cries of his victims who have given up on seeking justice.

He remains a villain, detested by the common man who suffered during his time at the helm where he sprinkled “gamatox” on anyone who dared challenge ZANU PF especially in the Headlands constituency.

And today Mutasa runs away from that era of ruin, sprightly pursued by a monument of utter failure to try and re-join what he terms the “original” ZANU PF. This original ZANU PF is the one under whose tutelage, he committed acts of “genocide’ against the innocent people in constituency. His assertion that he remains part of the original ZANU PF can invite scrutiny from his sympathisers that he might never like and withdraw sympathy.

The urge to be re-admitted into high office and sinecure is all there is to his “dubious” media interviews that he is giving willy-nilly these days.

Today he continues to distance, retreat and remain mum on some bad choices he made against a sceptical and interested public that would want to hear him reveal finer details of ZANU PF’S acts of gross human rights violations.

He continues to eschew this important subject and falter; retreating into a self-made cocoon where he continues to sing the tired swan song of how “illegitimate” the recent ZANU PF congress was. He does so with sickening bitterness.

Far from the monumental madness by him, his other mate in ruin, Rugare Gumbo continues to do the same.

They continue to masquerade as champions of democracy and injustice of ZANU PF but during long stints in ZANU PF, they used all machinery at their disposal to torture, maim and kill opposition supporters. From the state agents to youths, the list is endless.

Today they continue to eat up necessary space in the newspapers that can be used to talk about hunger and suffering taking place in rural communities. They are busy going to court for redress and the same courts that they used to oppress people are today fighting from a different corner.

While they continue to revel in cold comfort of their demise, they must never think that they will receive sympathy from the suffering Zimbabweans who continue to suffer because of poor governance by ZANU PF that they have affinity for.

Bad days outnumber good ones in politics!

While these two have been accused of being personalities of legendary pretences by biting the hand that fed them, what is true however, is that their political careers have eclipsed just in a moment. Its over! That’s the bottom line.

Rawlings Magede writes in his personal capacity and he is a rural political enthusiast who writes from Zimbabwe.