Zimbabwe News Update
nehandaradio
5 min read
violet gonda (vg): hello, everyone. it’s good to be back with the programme hot seat. my name is violet gonda, and my first guest in this new series is zimbabwean politician and businessman temba mliswa, who’s here to give us his views on the just-ended zanu pf conference and, of course, the general political climate in the country. as a former member of zanu-pf, mr. mliswa will give us his perspectives and insider knowledge to help us get a more nuanced view of the political landscape in the country. welcome on the programme, mr. mliswa. temba mliswa(tm): thank you very much. let me just add one more title, which is permanent now. you’re right, former member of parliament, businessman, a traditional leader, now called sabhuku mliswa. i’m a village head, so i’m a traditional leader.
that’s my name for life until i die. vg: okay. makadini zvenyu sabhuku mliswa. let’s start with the credibility question. you are regarded as a serial flip-flopper by some of your critics. you have been an zanu pf member/mp, then an independent; and others have accused you of corruption – taking companies and commercial firms. so your initial thoughts on how you’re viewed by a significant number of the population in zimbabwe? tm:success breeds enemies. that’s what my father always said to me. so i think i’m very successful. i’m a successful businessman. and if indeed i’m corrupt, why have they not reported to the police, to the anti-corruption commission, which is there. to the prosecutor general’s office, to the attorney general’s office?
in terms of grabbing farms, it was a programme that the government initiated. that was the land reform programme which they initiated. most are beneficiaries and people still want to be beneficiaries of it…it was the reason why zimbabwe went to war so that their people could have land. could have wealth, so it’s a national programme which was open to everyone and i happened to benefit from it. because my father also went to the struggle. he was in zambia he was in zapu; worked with joshua nkomo, with many others and the point of liberating this land is a key asset in terms of economic emancipation. and i still challenge those who believe i’m corrupt or have done things wrongly to still go to the rightful officers who can deal with that.
because it’s sad if they say i’m corrupt and i don’t do things right. why do they then allow me to be a legislator? why do people still vote for me? why was i an independent member of parliament twice? and it’s historic in this country that after being expelled from zanu-pf, i stood independent. vg: but how do you respond to people who say the system controls these institutions that you have pointed out, like the anti-corruption commission and the police are selective in who they arrest? tm: i have been arrested over seventy times. seventy times! i don’t know if there’s anybody else, but i still was said to be part of the system. so how could i be arrested that many times before if i was part of the system? just a month ago, i was arrested again. i was incarcerated. i had to be out on bail.
so if i was part of the system and i benefited from the system, why would i be arrested over seventy times, acquitted over seventy times? the system must protect me because i’m part of it. we must reason at times. i’ve got children. i’ve got responsibilities.even morgan tsvangirai was never arrested that many times. even nelson chamisa. vg: then how do you view the role that you are playing now? because there are some quarters that say you are a treasure hunter, and have been paid to sanitise people like president emmerson mnangagwa? tm: you see, the problem is that no one has ever shown evidence on how much money has been paid. the figures they talk about that have been paid a million dollars by the president, i would love a million dollars. where is it? where is the proof?
the onus is on those who accuse me of being paid to show proof. to show proof that i’ve been paid. we cannot have a situation where we constantly speculate. despite what people said about me being a criminal, being this and that, how come people had confidence and still elected me to be a legislator? i’m the only person in seven years who was elected three times. in seven years, yet three times its fifteen years, so it means three terms. the only person in the history of this country, i was expelled from zanu-pf because i was outspoken. i stood as an independent in 2016, i won. i went in 2018 for the election. i won. in 2023 i went for the election. i lost. i conceded and i’m out of it. who in the country has ever done that? i stood in a rural constituency and won.
i stood in an urban constituency and won. this is history, which is there, which people don’t talk about. so indeed if i was not honest with the rural constituency, but how come the urban constituency, which is more enlightened, still supported me? vg: we are here today to talk about the succession issues in zanu pf – the rise of some key members like kuda tagwirei and the fate of vice president constantino chiwenga. can you begin by telling our audience what makes you an expert on this topic and why what you say should be believed?
