Brighton Mutebuka

Vice President Constantino Chiwenga dramatically took direct aim at President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the firing range for the first time in their epic and high stakes succession battle.

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.

By Brighton Mutebuka Via his proxy, Sengezo Tshabangu, President Emmerson Mnangagwa (ED) has brazenly reconfigured Zimbabwe's Parliament pursuant to attaining a two-thirds majority which will in turn act as a prelude to removing Presidential term limits and open doors to a tilt at life presidency.  In the same vein, he has turned elections into a routine sham, thereby totally delegitimising them as a tool to facilitate a democratic and constitutional change of government. It is a watershed moment. There is no sane Zimbabwean who will continue to retain faith in the power of elections to express the democratic and sovereign will of the people to deliver change after this charade. There will be many who will lay the blame squarely on the shoulders of Zimbabwe's beleaguered opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa and his party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) for allowing this to happen but in essence, the reality is simply that they were literally outgunned and out manoeuvred by a desperately ruthless, determined and shameless opponent.

By Brighton “Dhambros” Mutebuka “Shura Regore Riye Mukoma, Dewa Mavhinga Kwanzi Afa!” Warning – This Tribute Requires Huge Reserves Of Mental Stamina! How fragile the gift of life is! How jarring bereavement is! Fie on it! A gentle giant, one of Hwirisha’s greatest sons ran out of time and was laid to rest last Saturday in the underbelly of Chikomba District to join his ancestors in answer to nature’s eerie, timeless, abiding and inescapable “tug” of death, culminating in the engulfment of his whole village and beyond in a melancholic festival of despair and mourning.

By Brighton Mutebuka Chamisa’s occupation of the MDC-A presidency is not just strictly a matter of law, its also a matter of politics. In other words, politically speaking, there is no doubt that ZEC, Parliament, voters, the Alliance Political Partners and International Actors accept and acknowledge this reality, yet David insists that this is effectively legal fiction.