Freeman Chari and the The Edgar Tekere “Two Boy” Phenomenon! [Long Read]

This week X (formerly Twitter) was abuzz with a spirited debate over the way forward for the opposition movement in Zimbabwe.

United States-based veteran activist Freeman Chari, who is also a Biomedical Scientist and Software Engineer, torched off a storm when he launched into an analysis of what he felt were the shortcomings of opposition leader Nelson Chamisa and his CCC party at the time.

Shortly after Chari launched his no-holds barred critique, UK based lawyer Brighton Mutebuka also gave a detailed response.

We publish both their contributions separately. Below is the response from Mutebuka.

By Brighton Mutebuka

So yesterday (01 December 2024), the situation eventually came to a head and Freeman Chari decided that it was time that he parted ways with the opposition movement after serving decades in the trenches.

It is clear that the cause of his disengagement is his frustration after he consistently felt that his counsel was either ignored or not valued by Nelson Chamisa.

In the lead up to that monumental development, Freeman had consistently publicly dished out tweets laden with fierce criticism of Chamisa’s leadership in general and more specifically centring on the stolen August 2023 Zimbabwean elections.

I waded into the matter, focusing more particularly on what I considered to be Freeman’s misdiagnosis of the political significance of his interaction with Prof Welshman Ncube over what he cited as a 72 hour period during the election period.

This is against the backdrop of Freeman and I having what I considered to be a deep, robust, respectful and long established relationship.

My intervention was respectful and issue driven – highlighting key factors which I deemed to be indicative of fundamental failings in Freeman’s assessment of the situation.

Freeman’s response was hard hitting, no holds barred and featured a dose of demeaning personal insults inconsistent with the kind of relationship that I thought we had.

This suggested that I had no agency and was in the business of boot licking Chamisa – effectively reducing the entirety of my contribution to that motive.

I later saw other Tweets from him referring to “running dogs” having been “sent” more in the context of hired political merchants having been deployed by Chamisa to carry out a hatchet job on him.

The Two Boy Connection

I consider Freeman to be a highly combustible character prone to shooting from the hip, just like the late nationalist and ZANU PF SG Edgar Tekere was.

Chari fearlessly guards his independence and appears to prefer the lone ranger or rebel with a cause approach to politics.

A gifted and innovative scientist who has been at the centre of a number of crucial opposition initiatives over the past few decades to unseat ZANU PF from power, he tends to speak without a filter, thereby offending many.

He appears unfazed by the consequences of his straight shooting approach to politics, which has resulted in him regularly falling out with some of his colleagues over the years – before returning to the fold – and going through it all over again.

The Current Chapter

In the current situation, Chari has appeared to struggle to interpret events around the stolen August 2023 election.

He appears to want to pin the entire blame for the consequences of that stolen election on Nelson Chamisa.

The fallout has stemmed from the fact that Chari has appeared to heap praise on figures such as Prof Welshman Ncube – primarily due to the latter’s outstanding Administrative efficiency in disbursing funds to candidates ahead of the election – in comparison to other opposition leaders.

When I tried to challenge Chari’s position, – respectfully it must be said, rather than tussling it out with me intellectually and civilly to try and persuade me, he was quick to dismiss my contribution as being motivated by sycophancy – without any attempt to engage with the actual objective points that had been raised on their own merits.

Thus, without any hint of irony, Chari was unable to embrace divergent views made in a comradely fashion – the very failing that he repeatedly chides Chamisa for.

It was also alarming & unfortunate that – rather than critically engaging with the actual contents of what had been raised, Chari exhibited a propensity of wanting to seek to achieve supremacy in the exchange by invoking or roping in past conversations which would have been made in confidential or intimate settings.

I did not sense any awareness of the existence of an overriding duty / responsibility to safeguard privileged information that would have been obtained in confidential settings – a hallmark of mature, principled leadership & sound judgment.

In further exchanges with others from the opposition movement – it was clear that Chari was obstinately clinging to the idea that only his judgment & viewpoint was supreme – that hammering home Chamisa’s culpability & unwillingness to work with others.

He was generously doling out insults to any contrary view, literally erasing agency in scenes inconsistent with a veteran of the democratic movement.

I later tried to engage him behind the scenes but, regrettably, I was unsuccessful in persuading him otherwise.

Conclusion

I consider yesterday to have been a dark day in the opposition movement as we literally saw a highly revered figure for many years essentially pressing the self-destruct button & rupturing his well earned & deserved reputation as a fearless & inspirational democrat.

What was tragic is that I was unable to see a conscious attempt at social regulation / damage limitation / kusiya pehukama.

The “running dogs” jibe is as inflammatory as it is highly damaging. It’s the type of language that is normally the preserve of cold, cruel & insensitive regime apologists normally deployed at opposition activists.

In the end, it appears to me that while Chari rightly feels entitled to criticise Chamisa & pass judgment over what he considers to be the latter’s weaknesses, Chari himself appears unable or unwilling to accept being subjected to the same scrutiny – thereby opening himself to charges of hypocrisy.

I am also of the view that Chari’s understanding / mastery of key past & current political events appears dubious at best & woeful at worst – especially events surrounding FAZ, Tshabangu’s role as ED’s proxy & his interaction with the ex PDP cabal, Welshman & others.

It is difficult to understand why Chari would be unwilling to re-evaluate the full gamut of his dealings with Ncube in the lead up to the stolen elections, particularly in light of what has emerged since.

After all, George Charamba’s boastful pre-election Tweet about an impending palace coup plot brewing in the opposition movement dovetails with the subsequent Tshabangu fronted insurgency, roping in Biti, Phulu and Doink via the “anga achapera ega” audio clip & several aborted Tshabangu published documents purporting to appoint Biti & Ncube – to joint leadership positions.

Even now, it is clear that Welshman Ncube is behaving like a captured or co-opted opposition leader, as he is offering zilch resistance to ED – while Doink, from the same faction, has joined the opposition hall of infamy via graduating from the ZANU PF school of indoctrination, the Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology – and recently upped the ante on the opposition hall of infamy spectrum via dishing out stratospheric levels of pro-ED bootlicking live on TV!

Given the above, Chari’s positive appraisal of Ncube, even within the limited context he highlighted, – was ill-judged & amounted to political suicide.

What made it worse is that, it was juxtaposed with withering criticism of Chamisa’s leadership & none in respect of Ncube & his crew, despite their chequered history & recent shameful shenanigans, suggesting the prevalence of bias / absence of parity / balance.

That opened Chari to charges of being consistently biased against Chamisa to the point of holding open hostility / contempt.

It is striking that a mere 72 hours worth of interaction with Ncube appears to have been so decisive in shaping Chari’s views on the subject to the point of being unwilling even to re-evaluate the situation in light of subsequent events.

Another point worth noting is that, when I tried to push Chari on the importance of avoiding the use of intemperate language, he appeared unable or unwilling to accept that this could be potentially damaging to important relationships & the ability to get your message through.

Summing it all up, I will defend Chari when it comes to charges of being compromised. Such charges should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve.

Chari is simply another Two Boy Tekere. He lacks diplomatic tact. He’s a volatile character & is prone to being explosive.

He is direct & speaks his mind without a filter & worrying about the potential impact & consequences of what he says on others.

Such an approach renders one unpredictable, ungovernable, potentially disruptive, upsets team spirit & harmony and is thus unsustainable in the long term.

I think he is an awesome Scientist but struggles with making sound political judgments at the highest level – but he is oblivious of this failing.

We now know that although he is prone to fiercely criticising others, he is himself unable or unwilling to take similar heat.

It is possible that his “rants” against Chamisa are the direct result of failing to convince Chamisa to take his advice.

It also possible that owing to his tendency to venture into public outposts / tirades – and disclosing sensitive or confidential conversations and intel, Chamisa would have long distrusted him – and despised the manner of delivery – perhaps with Chari barely able to disguise / contain his contempt when expressing / challenging Chamisa on issues he disagreed with him – thereby sealing the fate of the relationship!

There is also the possibility that Chari is perhaps unaware of the constraints that leadership entails – and that it’s possible that there is intel that he might not be privy to – which ultimately sometimes shapes decisions that Chamisa, like any other leader has to make – leaving a trail of disappointed cdes like Chari in his wake.

Whatever the basis of how we got here, this is a real tragedy to the broader opposition movement!

After all, Chari will always be one of us & a real patriot, regardless of the Piri Piri that he sometimes unleashes with reckless abandon!

I hope that in the fullness of time, he will reconsider some of the invective he has directed to so many who revered him, thereby haemorrhaging his reputation as a stalwart of the opposition movement cultivated over many years!

I wish him all the best in his future endeavours. Bon Voyage Chari!

Brighton Mutebuka is a UK based lawyer and political commentator