Category: zimbabwe

Source: Zimbabwe’s richest man plans 15,000 new mobile money agents as citizens return from South Africa | Business Insider Africa

Zimbabwe’s richest man, Strive Masiyiwa, has directed his Econet group to create employment opportunities for citizens returning from South Africa, including plans to appoint 15,000 new EcoCash agents by Christmas.

Econet founder Strive Masiyiwa has directed the group to create opportunities for Zimbabweans returning from South Africa.

• Strive Masiyiwa has directed Econet to support Zimbabweans returning from South Africa.
• EcoCash plans to appoint 15,000 new agents by Christmas.
• Econet estimates that the expansion could support at least 30,000 jobs.
• Construction and agricultural projects could create thousands of additional opportunities.

Douglas Mboweni, chief executive officer of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, disclosed the plans in comments reported by Zimbabwe’s state-owned Herald newspaper on Monday.

Mr Mboweni said Econet’s management had held several meetings with Mr Masiyiwa to identify projects that could complement the Zimbabwean government’s efforts to support returnees.

The company is considering opportunities across mobile money, construction and agriculture.

The initiative comes as Zimbabwe tries to reintegrate more than 115,000 citizens who have returned from South Africa since late May amid tougher immigration enforcement and growing anti-immigrant pressure.

EcoCash targets 15,000 new agents

The largest part of Econet’s initiative involves EcoCash, its mobile money platform.

EcoCash plans to appoint 15,000 additional agents across Zimbabwe by Christmas.

Mr Mboweni said each agent could support at least two jobs, meaning the expansion could provide income opportunities for about 30,000 people.

“Each time we appoint a new agent, that results in at least two jobs,” he said.

The proposed figure does not mean that Econet will directly employ 30,000 people. EcoCash agents usually operate as independent businesses and earn commissions by providing deposits, withdrawals, transfers and other financial services.

However, the expansion could provide income for returnees while increasing the reach of EcoCash, particularly in communities with limited access to conventional bank branches.

It could also benefit Econet commercially by expanding EcoCash’s physical network and increasing the number of transactions processed through the platform.

EcoCash recorded a 21% increase in transaction volumes and a 210% rise in transaction values in the year ended February 2025, according to Econet’s integrated annual report.

The company attributed the growth to increased customer activity and wallet funding.

Construction could provide 2,000 temporary jobs

Econet is also considering accelerating construction at Econet Tech City, a move that could create about 2,000 jobs in the short term.

Mr Mboweni said the company was examining how it could speed up construction work to provide temporary employment.

EcoCash plans to appoint 15,000 additional agents across Zimbabwe by Christmas.

Econet did not disclose how much it would invest in the project or how long the proposed jobs would last.

Construction could provide relatively quick employment for returnees with relevant skills, although the positions would largely be temporary rather than permanent jobs.

The project comes after Econet completed a major restructuring of its Zimbabwean operations earlier this year.

Shareholders approved the voluntary delisting of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in February. The delisting process was completed in March, while its infrastructure subsidiary, Econet InfraCo, was subsequently listed on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange.

Econet InfraCo holds infrastructure assets including telecommunications towers, property and power facilities.

Agricultural expansion could create hundreds of jobs

Econet also plans to expand its agricultural technology operations, which produce fruit for export to China.

Mr Mboweni said the expansion could create hundreds of additional jobs, although the company did not provide a specific figure or implementation timetable.

Agriculture is one of the sectors being considered because it can absorb workers more quickly than industries requiring lengthy technical training.

Some of the agricultural positions may, however, be seasonal.

The combination of EcoCash agents, temporary construction work and agricultural projects could support more than 32,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities if Econet meets all its targets.

The total remains an estimate based on the company’s projections. Econet has not announced a combined employment target or said that all the opportunities will be reserved exclusively for returnees.

Zimbabwe confronts returnee challenge

More than 115,000 Zimbabweans returned from South Africa between late May and early August, according to Zimbabwean government figures reported by the Associated Press.

As of 18 July, 33,855 citizens had returned through government-supported arrangements, while an estimated 74,511 had travelled back independently. That brought the number of returnees at the time to more than 108,000.

The figure continued to rise in the following weeks.

The movement followed immigration raids, deportations and threats from anti-immigrant groups in South Africa.

South Africa has long attracted workers from Zimbabwe and other African countries because of its comparatively larger economy. However, high unemployment and pressure on public services have fuelled growing hostility towards foreign nationals.

Thousands of returnees previously worked in construction, agriculture, retail, domestic services and other parts of South Africa’s formal and informal economies.

Zimbabwe’s government has been registering them according to their qualifications and work experience. It has also promised vocational training, agricultural assistance and support for those seeking to establish small businesses.

More than 15,000 returnees had been registered for employment and business support by July, according to the government.

Mr Mboweni said Econet was engaging the authorities over some of its initiatives and urged other companies to identify opportunities for returning citizens.

The success of Econet’s plan will depend on how quickly the company appoints the agents and implements its construction and agricultural projects.

The post Zimbabwe’s richest man plans 15,000 new mobile money agents as citizens return from South Africa | Business Insider Africa appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Zimbabwe’s richest man plans 15,000 new mobile money agents as citizens return from South Africa | Business Insider Africa

Zimbabwe’s richest man, Strive Masiyiwa, has directed his Econet group to create employment opportunities for citizens returning from South Africa, including plans to appoint 15,000 new EcoCash agents by Christmas.

Econet founder Strive Masiyiwa has directed the group to create opportunities for Zimbabweans returning from South Africa.

• Strive Masiyiwa has directed Econet to support Zimbabweans returning from South Africa.
• EcoCash plans to appoint 15,000 new agents by Christmas.
• Econet estimates that the expansion could support at least 30,000 jobs.
• Construction and agricultural projects could create thousands of additional opportunities.

Douglas Mboweni, chief executive officer of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, disclosed the plans in comments reported by Zimbabwe’s state-owned Herald newspaper on Monday.

Mr Mboweni said Econet’s management had held several meetings with Mr Masiyiwa to identify projects that could complement the Zimbabwean government’s efforts to support returnees.

The company is considering opportunities across mobile money, construction and agriculture.

The initiative comes as Zimbabwe tries to reintegrate more than 115,000 citizens who have returned from South Africa since late May amid tougher immigration enforcement and growing anti-immigrant pressure.

EcoCash targets 15,000 new agents

The largest part of Econet’s initiative involves EcoCash, its mobile money platform.

EcoCash plans to appoint 15,000 additional agents across Zimbabwe by Christmas.

Mr Mboweni said each agent could support at least two jobs, meaning the expansion could provide income opportunities for about 30,000 people.

“Each time we appoint a new agent, that results in at least two jobs,” he said.

The proposed figure does not mean that Econet will directly employ 30,000 people. EcoCash agents usually operate as independent businesses and earn commissions by providing deposits, withdrawals, transfers and other financial services.

However, the expansion could provide income for returnees while increasing the reach of EcoCash, particularly in communities with limited access to conventional bank branches.

It could also benefit Econet commercially by expanding EcoCash’s physical network and increasing the number of transactions processed through the platform.

EcoCash recorded a 21% increase in transaction volumes and a 210% rise in transaction values in the year ended February 2025, according to Econet’s integrated annual report.

The company attributed the growth to increased customer activity and wallet funding.

Construction could provide 2,000 temporary jobs

Econet is also considering accelerating construction at Econet Tech City, a move that could create about 2,000 jobs in the short term.

Mr Mboweni said the company was examining how it could speed up construction work to provide temporary employment.

EcoCash plans to appoint 15,000 additional agents across Zimbabwe by Christmas.

Econet did not disclose how much it would invest in the project or how long the proposed jobs would last.

Construction could provide relatively quick employment for returnees with relevant skills, although the positions would largely be temporary rather than permanent jobs.

The project comes after Econet completed a major restructuring of its Zimbabwean operations earlier this year.

Shareholders approved the voluntary delisting of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe from the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange in February. The delisting process was completed in March, while its infrastructure subsidiary, Econet InfraCo, was subsequently listed on the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange.

Econet InfraCo holds infrastructure assets including telecommunications towers, property and power facilities.

Agricultural expansion could create hundreds of jobs

Econet also plans to expand its agricultural technology operations, which produce fruit for export to China.

Mr Mboweni said the expansion could create hundreds of additional jobs, although the company did not provide a specific figure or implementation timetable.

Agriculture is one of the sectors being considered because it can absorb workers more quickly than industries requiring lengthy technical training.

Some of the agricultural positions may, however, be seasonal.

The combination of EcoCash agents, temporary construction work and agricultural projects could support more than 32,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities if Econet meets all its targets.

The total remains an estimate based on the company’s projections. Econet has not announced a combined employment target or said that all the opportunities will be reserved exclusively for returnees.

Zimbabwe confronts returnee challenge

More than 115,000 Zimbabweans returned from South Africa between late May and early August, according to Zimbabwean government figures reported by the Associated Press.

As of 18 July, 33,855 citizens had returned through government-supported arrangements, while an estimated 74,511 had travelled back independently. That brought the number of returnees at the time to more than 108,000.

The figure continued to rise in the following weeks.

The movement followed immigration raids, deportations and threats from anti-immigrant groups in South Africa.

South Africa has long attracted workers from Zimbabwe and other African countries because of its comparatively larger economy. However, high unemployment and pressure on public services have fuelled growing hostility towards foreign nationals.

Thousands of returnees previously worked in construction, agriculture, retail, domestic services and other parts of South Africa’s formal and informal economies.

Zimbabwe’s government has been registering them according to their qualifications and work experience. It has also promised vocational training, agricultural assistance and support for those seeking to establish small businesses.

More than 15,000 returnees had been registered for employment and business support by July, according to the government.

Mr Mboweni said Econet was engaging the authorities over some of its initiatives and urged other companies to identify opportunities for returning citizens.

The success of Econet’s plan will depend on how quickly the company appoints the agents and implements its construction and agricultural projects.

The post Zimbabwe’s richest man plans 15,000 new mobile money agents as citizens return from South Africa | Business Insider Africa appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: The Tragedy Of Kariba Ferry KF 551 – Cathy Buckle

Dear Family and Friends,

With a very heavy heart I am writing to tell you of a terrible, terrible tragedy that has taken place in Zimbabwe.

On August 11^th on a windy day in rough water, the Kariba Ferry KF 551, which is over 40 years old and owned by the government, set sail from Kariba harbour for villages and fishing communities on the shoreline of the Lake. The Ferry is owned by RIDA, the government’s Rural Infrastructure Development Agency, formerly called DDF, and operates under the Office of the President and Cabinet.

Kariba is a huge lake on the border with Zambia. It is 223 to 280 kilometers long, up to 40 kilometers wide, and covers 5,580 square kilometers.  It is a prime tourist destination in Zimbabwe as well as home to many thousands of people who live in communities along the shoreline.

Reports indicated that a general safety warning had been issued by the Water and Inland Department’s Lake Captain, advising boats and ferries not to sail due to dangerous waves and strong winds on the 11^th August 2026.

Kariba Ferry KF 551, named Mbuya Nehanda, authorized to carry 90 passengers, left Kariba harbour on that windy morning. The Civil Protection Unit said that 114 adults, 5 crew members and an unspecified number of children were on board the Ferry. Children under four apparently were not ticketed and therefore not specifically logged on the manifest. Tragically the number of people who were on the Ferry was far, far higher than it should have been.

Crew Member Anymore Chambati, who did ticketing and safekeeping of money on the Ferry, said he had counted 153 people on board, including crew members. Mr Chambati described to ZBC the terrifying situation minutes before the Ferry capsized saying: “People were screaming as water started getting into the boat. Luggage was falling into the water and everyone was trying to find a way to survive. We could not locate the machine we use to drain water, it might have fallen off as well. “

Aside from the extreme overcrowding of the Ferry, there was also a large amount of luggage and commercial cargo, much of which a survivor said had been loaded on top of life jackets making them inaccessible to passengers when disaster struck. Why it was not mandatory for all passengers to be wearing life jackets before the boat left the harbour is unknown.

The Ferry started taking on water about 30 minutes after it had left Kariba and capsized about 16 kilometres from Kariba harbour, near Long Island. National Parks, police and boats from resorts on the Lake, along with individuals, other boat crews, tourists and private companies immediately assisted in the rescue mission, providing more life jackets, lifting people out of the water and taking them to safety. There were so many heroes on that tragic day. It could have been so much worse without them all.

Kariba Ferry KF 551 was authorized to carry 90 passengers but it was carrying at least 171 people on the 11^th August 2026, almost double its capacity. The Civil Protection Unit said 77 people were rescued and at the time of writing 94 bodies have been recovered. The search for others continues.

Voices are growing for a full, independent investigation into how this tragedy happened, if the Ferry was properly licenced, inspected and certified, whether passenger capacity limits and safety regulations were observed and if the operators, regulators and public officials had failed in their duties. Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said: “The bereaved families, the survivors, and the public have a right to know what happened.”   

Zimbabwe is heartbroken at this terrible, terrible tragedy; our thoughts, prayers and deepest condolences are with the families of all those who lost their lives. Please keep them in your thoughts and hearts at this unbearably painful time.

There is no charge for this Letter From Zimbabwe but if you would like to support my writing and donate, please visit my website.

Until next time, thanks for reading this Letter From Zimbabwe now in its 26th year, and my books about life in Zimbabwe, a country in waiting.

Ndini shamwari yenyu (I am your friend)

Love Cathy 19^th August 2026. Copyright © Cathy Buckle  https://cathybuckle.co.zw/ 

My new annual Photobook, “Zimbabwe’s Timeless Beauty The 2026 Collection” and my Beautiful Zimbabwe 2027 Calendar are both now available from https://cathybuckle.co.zw/  or  https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/cathybuckle2018

The post The Tragedy Of Kariba Ferry KF 551 appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Decomposing bodies, rising death toll after Zimbabwe ferry boat disaster – CAJ News Africa

from MARCUS MUSHONGA in Harare, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe Bureau
HARARE, (CAJ News) – THE death toll is rising rapidly, several victims remain missing and lifeless bodies are decomposing a week after Zimbabwe’s worst maritime disaster.

The tragedy is unfolding in Lake Kariba, the world’s largest artificial lake and reservoir by volume, after an overloaded, aged ferry boat capsized.

As of Sunday evening, the death toll had risen to 84, as reported by the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), after four bodies were recovered from the lake that afternoon.

Among those deceased are 18 children.

“The police confirm that search efforts are still under way in a bid to recover victims identified as missing,” Commissioner Paul Nyathi, ZRP spokesperson, stated.

Divers are battling darkness, cold water, and depths of over 90 metres to recover victims of the catastrophe in the area northeast of Zimbabwe, towards the border with Zambia.

This is one of the worst accidents suffered by the Southern African country post-independence and likely to exceed the death toll of 89 people in a bus crash in 1991, also in August, when 89 people perished as a bus carrying students and teachers in the eastern town of Nyanga, Manicaland province overturned.

The worst remains the 427 fatalities in the Wankie coal mine disaster in the then Rhodesia on June 6, 1972.

Kariba is 565 kilometres northeast of the town now known as Hwange and 356km northwest of the capital, Harare.

Politicians were in rural Kariba this past weekend to express solidarity with families of the victims, but controversy marred the visit.

Legislator Mutsa Murombedzi, member of the Health as well as Environment, Climate and Tourism Parliamentary Committees, painted a grim picture of the situation.

She lamented how the journey of transporting the deceased is a long, punishing road from Kariba urban to Mola, where most of the victims are from.

“Along the way, bodies of loved ones are decomposing after days in the water. Some may be forced to bury loved ones in urban Kariba,” the parliamentarian said.

She said families must be given every chance to bury their loved ones in their rural homes so that the wound of this tragedy was not deepened.

Murombedzi said failure to bury loved ones back at their homes stripped communities of cultural dignity, severed them from ancestral land and compounded grief with displacement.

“We call on the state to urgently provide helicopters so victims can be transported and laid to rest where they belong with respect, tradition and dignity,” she appealed.

Citizens and social media commentators were angry after government officials arrived at memorial services and inspections in luxury fleets and fancy clothes rather than addressing long-standing local pleas for proper transport infrastructure or enforcing safety compliance beforehand.

Government has further infuriated citizens after it reportedly offered a meagre US$100 in cash assistance to each individual affected by the Kariba disaster.

Rodwell Mtetwa, the Kariba District Development Coordinator and chairperson of the district’s Civil Protection Unit, announced the assistance this past weekend.

The payout is distributed to both survivors and the next of kin of the deceased victims.

Jacob Ngarivhume, leader of the smaller opposition Transform Zimbabwe, which is Christian-based, condemned the government’s handling of the compensation.

“While any assistance is welcome, US$100 against the millions being paid out to socialites, pastors and other well-connected individuals is a joke and an insult to grieving families,” he said.

He was referring to the ongoing spree by controversial businessman Wicknell Chivhayo, linked to the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), who since 2024 has donated luxury vehicles to opposition politicians, church leaders, musicians, state security, celebrities and community members sympathetic to the governing party.

Ngarivhume also criticised President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Chivhayo after images on Sunday circulated of the pair being jovial at a conference of the Masowe church, a prominent African-initiated, white-garment apostolic religious movement.

Mnangagwa later left for neighbouring South Africa to attend the ongoing Ordinary Summit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State and Government.

A spokesperson for Mnangagwa has been quoted as describing critics as “a cacophony of pseudo-experts with their unsolicited expertise.”

“Tragedies should unite us in compassion and responsibility rather than divide us through political blame and speculation,” he said.

Mnangagwa last week declared a state of disaster to accelerate the funding of ongoing recovery and rescue logistics, covering survivors’ hospital bills and funding temporary accommodation for families awaiting body identification at the local hospital.

Jameson Timba, former cabinet minister and member of the main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), also criticised the government’s stance.

He noted the Mbuya Nehanda ferry, named after a woman who led a major anti-colonial uprising in the 1800s, which suffered the disaster, had reportedly been quoted at US$40,000 for rehabilitation but the work was never done.

“That is less than the cost of a single Toyota Fortuner publicly given to an MP as a bribe for a CAB3 vote,” Timba said.

CAB3 is an acronym for the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No.3) Act, a major and controversial law passed by Parliament and signed into force by Mnangagwa in July to abolish direct popular public elections for the president and to extend the terms of office for the president, MPs and local authorities from five years to seven years.

Allegations of bribery, vote-buying and financial inducements rocked both the ruling party and the opposition after legislators allowed the passage of the legal instrument.

Timba believes a relatively modest investment could have rehabilitated a ferry relied upon by ordinary families in Mola, Chalala and surrounding communities.

“Instead, we are now mourning lives lost on Lake Kariba,” he said.

“Perhaps lives could have been saved if public safety and essential infrastructure had been prioritised over political patronage. We needed a rehabilitated ferry, not more Fortuners for politicians.”

Only last month, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport debated how inland water infrastructure was underfunded, receiving only 3 percent of the ministry’s budget, yet the waterways are lifelines for rural families, connecting them to schools, clinics and markets.

Based on survivor testimonies, eyewitness accounts and official reports, strong evidence indicates that the disaster was largely avoidable.

Besides the Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (RIDA)-operated vessel lacking service after operating since 1985, five years after independence, several critical factors point to human error and management failures that contributed to it capsizing.

While the ferry had a designated maximum capacity of 90 people, it has emerged that as many as 120 to 153 people — including children — crammed onto the vessel.

The youngest victims were aged one year and the eldest 61.

“The smallest coffins are the heaviest to carry,” Murombedzi said at the burial of a local councillor’s four-year-old child.

“Everywhere you turn in this community there is a funeral. Everywhere you turn you are meeting a hearse. The grief here is so heavy.”

From the councillor’s household, two other family members who were travelling with the child had not yet been found.

Heavy winds, which the captain ignored, cut short the 45km journey that was meant to last about five hours.

The ferry was the only direct and viable mode of transport connecting the isolated rural lakeside communities to urban Kariba.

Mola only received cellphone coverage earlier this year.

Lake Kariba, measuring over 223 kilometres long and up to 40 kilometres wide, was filled between 1958 and 1963.

The colonial government’s plan to construct the facility displaced more than 57 000 people.

– CAJ News

The post Decomposing bodies, rising death toll after Zimbabwe ferry boat disaster appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.

Source: Chamisa Warns Chin’ono: “I Have Tolerated Your Tomfoolery For Far Too Long” ⋆ Pindula News

Former Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa has accused journalist Hopewell Chin’ono of peddling lies and misinformation about him.

Posting on X, Chamisa said:

“Dear [Hopewell Chin’ono], a proper and balanced journalist is a truth-teller who reports facts, not fiction. Be a journalist, not a propagandist who peddles lies and misinformation to serve the interests of the oppressors. I have tolerated your tomfoolery for far too long. Enough is enough.”

The post was an apparent response to a lengthy critique by Chin’ono over Chamisa’s leadership model and his recent comments on infiltration within the opposition.

In the post that Chamisa was responding to, Chin’ono argued that the collapse of the CCC was a direct result of Chamisa’s decision to centralise power around himself and refuse to build democratic institutions.

“Nelson Chamisa founded CCC and made himself its president, but refused to establish a constitution, elected leadership or accountable party structures. The only other publicly recognised national officials were spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere, whom he fired on the eve of the election, national organiser Amos Chibaya and deputy spokesperson Gift Ostallos Siziba,” Chin’ono wrote.

“Everything else revolved around him. He selected candidates, controlled decision-making and resisted every call to build strong democratic institutions around the movement, his supporters defended those decisions.”

Earlier, Chamisa had said that when Sengezo Tshabangu hijacked the party, and he left “the CCC snake pit”, few people realised that President Emmerson Mnangagwa was allegedly planning to manipulate the Constitution and using every available means to illegally extend illegitimate term in office.

Chamisa also said he, and his colleagues, were starting all over again and will “ultimately win and defeat all evil.”

Chin’ono dismissed the infiltration narrative as intellectually dishonest.

“That is why this statement is so upsetting and intellectually dishonest. You cannot deliberately centralise an entire political movement around yourself, personally control who enters its inner circles, refuse institutional safeguards, and then speak as though ‘infiltrators’ mysteriously arrived through a door controlled by someone else,” he wrote.

“If CCC became a snake pit, who built the pit? If infiltrators occupied the movement, through whose leadership did they enter and rise?”

He argued that infiltration thrives where there are no rules, no transparent records, no elected structures and no accountability, adding: “That was CCC.”

“These were not accidental weaknesses. They were the direct consequences of Chamisa’s chosen leadership model. Many people warned that a movement built around one man instead of institutions was dangerously vulnerable, but they were insulted and dismissed as enemies, sellouts or people who were ‘too slow to see how strategic ambiguity worked.’”

Chin’ono said leadership requires accepting responsibility rather than distributing blame.

“Leadership is not merely about claiming foresight after disaster. It is about accepting responsibility for the decisions that made the disaster possible. Chamisa cannot claim sole authority when things appear to be going well, then distribute blame among ‘pretenders’ and ‘infiltrators’ when everything collapses.”

He added that Zimbabweans were being offered yet another “fresh start” without an honest explanation, apology or acceptance of responsibility.

“Starting again without confronting the leadership failures that destroyed the previous movement is not renewal. It is simply repeating the same mistake under a new name.”

“ZANU PF’s infiltration and abuse of state power must be condemned, but that cannot become an excuse for failed leadership. A serious leader protects a movement by building democratic institutions stronger than any individual,” he wrote.

Chin’ono also referenced the late academic Alex Magaisa, who he said had pleaded with Chamisa to establish a constitution and proper structures to prevent infiltration.

“The first step towards any genuine renewal must be to accept responsibility and apologise. Only then can there be an honest conversation about starting afresh,” he said.

After Chamisa’s warning, Chin’ono posted a second lengthy response, defending his right to critique public figures publicly and rejecting suggestions that he should approach Chamisa privately.

“When a journalist publishes a critique of a public figure, that is journalism at work. Journalism is not private counselling, and political accountability cannot be reduced to discreet conversations between politicians and journalists,” Chin’ono wrote.

He said Zimbabweans had grown up under dictatorship and often reproduced its authoritarian tendencies, having been exposed for decades to only one television station, ZBC, where political coverage was dominated by propaganda and praise-singing.

“Many people consequently came to regard praise-singing as normal journalism and criticism as hostility. It is not.”

“Some of us are not wired to reproduce the very culture we claim to be fighting. Replacing one political personality with another while retaining the same intolerance of criticism is not democratic change. It is merely changing the face of authoritarianism.”

Chin’ono challenged those who disagreed with him to confront the substance of his argument.

“Anyone who believes that my critique is unfair should confront its substance. They should identify the factual errors, dismantle the argument with evidence and explain why the conclusions are wrong. Insults, threats and accusations of betrayal cannot substitute for a reasoned response.”

“A politician who claims to believe in democracy must be prepared to face public scrutiny, especially from journalists. If Nelson Chamisa wants to be treated like every other national leader, then he must also be critiqued like every other national leader. Equality before scrutiny is part of democracy,” he added.

The post Chamisa Warns Chin’ono: “I Have Tolerated Your Tomfoolery For Far Too Long” appeared first on Zimbabwe Situation.