Nineteenth Century American dramatist, Wilson Mizner, clearly understood the twists and turns that characterise life on this wretched earth when he said: “Be nice to people on your way up because you’ll meet them on your way down.”
His free advice is easy to ignore, especially when one is scaling dizzy heights in their chosen field.
Notwithstanding the rough and tumble in politics, not even political actors believe that one day in their lifetime things could turn so bad that they may spectacularly fall with a thud from their lofty perches.
And for someone like Sarah Mahoka— the ZANU-PF Women’s League national secretary for finance — it may be too late to remind her of Mizner’s quote, unless if it is merely to caution her to be a bit more circumspect in her future dealings with fellow humans, more so those who have taken up politics.
Mahoka could be paying a heavy price for her naivety.
Instead of playing a cautious and calculative political game in view of the strong winds blowing in ZANU-PF, she went for crude tackles that are now proving to be too costly for her.
Instead of going toe-to-toe with other political upstarts like her, Mahoka went for the political heavyweights when it was quite clear that she was ill-equipped to take them head-on.
Just like boxer Charles Manyuchi was to discover in Singapore last month when he lost his World Boxing Council Welterweight silver title in the first round to a rank outsider after playing to the gallery, Mahoka is currently on the political ropes, ready to be devoured by her nemesis.
She could be ruing herself for carelessly stepping on so many toes in the past year or so.
Mahoka did the unthinkable when she embarrassed Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa in front of a capacity crowd outside the ZANU-PF party’s national headquarters in Harare.
Without blinking an eye, she dared the “Crocodile”, as Mnangagwa is affectionately known, to spell out his presidential ambitions as far as the succession issue in ZANU-PF is concerned.
She went further to accuse the Vice President of being a lame duck.
It was a grave political miscalculation to fight a “Crocodile” half-way through crossing a flooded river.
The Hurungwe East legislator was only 14-years-old when Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain in 1980.
Mnangagwa had been one of the ex-guerrilla fighters who had distinguished themselves during the protracted liberation struggle and, on transiting to self-rule, he became part of President Robert Mugabe’s first Cabinet.
Despite over 50 years of experience in politics, Mnangagwa chose to ignore Mahoka’s gauntlet — perhaps knowing that every dog would eventually have its day.
Ever since she made that jibe, life has never been the same again for Mahoka.
She also once attempted to remove Mashonaland West provincial Women’s League chairperson, Angeline Muchemeyi, through a vote of no-confidence in a bid to fend off vultures that were circulating above her in her Hurungwe East constituency.
Unfortunately, her plans suffered a stillbirth when 28 out of 40 members signed a petition supporting Muchemeyi, leaving Mahoka with an egg on her face.
This worsened her situation, with Muchemeyi, accusing Mahoka of embezzling funds meant for the First Lady, Amai Grace Mugabe’s rallies; undermining the authority of Mnangagwa as well as abusing church funds in the province.
It was not long before the tables started to turn against Mahoka.
Around July last year, some disgruntled ZANU-PF cadres demonstrated against her on the sidelines of a meeting convened by the Women’s League at the ruling party’s offices in Chinhoyi, accusing the lawmaker of misleading and stealing from the First Lady.
Mnangagwa’s sympathisers came out in full force to twist the knife in as they had for long been itching for payback time.
War veterans have also come out in full force against her.
Recent demonstrations against Mahoka and Eunice Sandi-Moyo, the First Lady’s deputy in the Women’s League, were the clearest sign yet that the sun was about to set on her.
Among her transgressions, Mahoka faces allegations of undermining the First Lady, along with Sandi-Moyo, and abusing party funds.
Their cases will be tabled before the party’s highest decision-making body in-between congresses, the Politburo, which sat yesterday and again today.
Whatever the outcome, life may never be the same again for Mahoka.
Analysts believe Mahoka may have been used as a pawn in a political game before being sacrificed when her services were no longer needed.
“If you live by the sword in politics you will ultimately fall by the sword,” said University of Johannesburg research associate, Admire Mare.
“She exhibited bravery and masochistic tendencies, which won her both admirers and enemies. Mahoka was living on the political knife edge throughout her short-lived political career. Always ready to demonstrate her political strength by speaking her mind whenever she was given the microphone,” he added.
The Grade Two dropout rose overnight from being a political nonentity to become one of the most talked about figures in the country’s political circles.
Her entrance into politics came via a job opportunity courtesy of the late Hurungwe West lawmaker, Marko Madiro, who recruited Mahoka to work as an agro-dealer.
Her core duties entailed selling agricultural inputs to communal farmers and it was through her interaction with many farmers that her political skills were sharpened, paving the way for her election as Hurungwe East legislator in 2008.
Despite being a Member of Parliament, her political weight was never written in the same sentence with other Mashonaland West provincial heavyweights such as Ignatius Chombo, Edna Madzongwe, Patrick Zhuwao and Faber Chidarikire, among others.
Nonetheless, she always exhibited signs of being a problem child.
At one point she snapped after Mashonaland West Minister of State, Chidarikire, introduced Auxilia Mnangagwa, wife to the Vice President, as the acting First Lady.
She chastened Chidarikire for his utterances.
“No woman can be equated to our only anointed Amai Mugabe,” charged Mahoka, adding:
“She is an angel sent to this country to liberate all women and men. She is anointed by the spirit of Ambuya Nehanda.”
Mahoka was among the most vocal in the ZANU-PF Women’s League during the era of former vice-president Joice Mujuru’s expulsion from both ZANU-PF and government in 2014.
She was part of the First Lady’s entourage that toured the country at the time to ratchet up pressure against Mujuru and was famed for her gyratory dances at the rallies.
Famous for her razor sharp tongue, she was among a group of party members who spread messages of hate and scorn — often laced with unbridled and classless spite against the embattled Mujuru, who stood accused of plotting to unconstitutionally unseat President Robert Mugabe from power.
Mujuru together with more than 200 of her acolytes were subsequently booted out of ZANU-PF. She has since formed her own political outfit, the National People’s Party, which is, however, currently finding the going tough in opposition politics.
Analyst, Rashweat Mukundu, said Mahoka represents the sad and heinous side of politics where unassuming, yet ambitious individuals are dragged into political projects they are not even sure of their endings, while others voluntarily join fights in which they hope to gain some power and some economic gain at the expense of the national interest.
“Mahoka epitomises the worst of our political leadership, which pursues a narrow and personal agenda at the expense of public affairs. She personalised politics outside real issues and that strategy has turned to bite her as her political career is now threatened by non-issues and baseless allegations,” said Mukundu.
“The country’s political leaders are bent on making fools of themselves by spending energy on non essentials when the country is burning. Mahoka represents the court jesters who have been taken seriously”.
But can politicians ever listen.
English poet, Robert Southey, aptly summed it up by saying: “Curses are like young chickens, they always come home to roost.”
He was referring to a situation whereby one’s offensive words or actions at some point rebound to haunt them. Financial Gazette
