by Charles Motsi
A poor workman always blames his tools because to him, it is permanently some else’s fault that he has failed. The Movement for Democratic Change Alliance (MDC-A) leader, Nelson Chamisa, is such one “poor workman” who has become quite the expert in finger pointing as he himself is ‘Mr Perfect.’
To Chamisa every misfortune that has come his way has been influenced by ZANU PF; from him losing elections, losing his party’s traditional home and name, his failed calls for mass uprisings to desertions in his own party. However, he cannot hide behind his little finger forever and time has arrived to call a spade, a spade, the man has simply failed to lead.
These days Chamisa is constantly attacking the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) for being biased and not respecting human rights. This is a different tune to the one he was singing in 2017, after Operation Restore Legacy (ORL). During an interview with Ruvheneko Parirenyatwa, Chamisa called ORL “a miraculous transition that was a result of the army working with the people to bring about freedom.”
It was only after he lost the 2018 elections when he realised the army cannot be swayed to his destructive politics that he saw it fit to attack the army and calling it impartial. After losing the election he wanted to get some cheap political points by tarnishing the country’s image as he intended to ride the wave of his 2018 popularity to the next election and get some western sympathy and financing along the way. Pointing the finger at the army has not worked for him so far as SADC remains loyal to the Zimbabwean people and their army.
Chamisa’s problems mainly emanate from the way he ascended to the opposition throne. Only a fool would deny that he is popular in opposition circles and this was true even before the untimely demise of his mentor, Morgan Tsvangirai, but it was his own greed and massive ego that was his undoing. After the death of Tsvangirai Chamisa needed guidance on how to transform himself into a proper statesman, but his ego and a bunch of bootlickers deceived him into thinking he could go it alone.
Instead of embracing the leadership of Thokozani Khupe and tutelage of such veterans as Douglas Mwonzora and Elias Mudzuri, he went to war with his elders in the party choosing instead to side with his youthful friends at the expense of the party old guard. This blunder has led to a split in the party as the old guard has now claimed the name MDC and the party’s national Headquarters at Morgan Tsvangirai House (formerly Harvest House).
Now the youthful leader has been left in the cold and instead of accepting responsibility and learning from his past mistakes, he remains adamant as he has branded the old guard of his former party as sell-outs and traitors. The true traitor here is his ego that has failed him time and time again.
Chamisa’s other misgiving has been his lack of personal and professional/political growth. It is no secret that in his college days he was a firebrand and that is why he was one of the founding youth leaders of the MDC. However, he has been frozen in time as he refuses to grow from ‘AHOYI politics’ of his college days and become a true statesman who can lead a nation. His ‘kudira jecha’ rants are an exact example of his failure to transform; this policy of his is based on the crabs in a barrel theory that claims that if I cannot have it then no one can. That is just childish behaviour not fit for a leader.
For a leader to be trusted by those he intends to lead he must show some stability and unity in his own family first, before leading a nation, be a leader in your own family. For Chamisa he seems not have gotten the memo on this as he repetitively disrespects his own wife in public and seems not to be the modern man that he claims to be as he believes that the woman’s life is in the home and not to be seen or share the limelight of her better half.
Chamisa rudely interrupted his wife at an MDC rally telling her ‘zvakwana’ as she was still talking. This compounded by the fact that he offered his own sister as a prize to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, if he won the 2018 elections, shows his complete disregard for women in his own family. If he has such disregard for his own wife and sister how can ever be trusted by a nation full of mothers, daughters and sisters to lead this nation.
Instead of finger-pointing Chamisa and his ‘Chete Chete’ brigade need to accept reality that the fault is not in the tools, the weather or any such excuse, but in the workman himself, the leader has failed and it is time, he owns up to the bitter truth.
