Zim councils told to stock up on Mnangagwa’s ‘puff piece’ biography 

• Zimbabwe’s government has directed local authorities to buy President Mnangagwa’s biography, A Life of Sacrifice, for schools and communities.
• Critics view the move as an attempt to bolster Mnangagwa’s image amid efforts to extend his presidency.
• The book, written by Eddie Cross, highlights Mnangagwa’s role in the liberation struggle and has been translated into major Zimbabwean languages.

The Zimbabwean government has directed local authorities to buy paperback copies of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s biography for distribution in communities and schools countrywide.

John Basera, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works, instructed town clerks, secretaries and chief executive officers to buy the book.

“In this regard, you’re implored to make the necessary arrangements to procure this invaluable book for the benefit of your communities,” he said.

Titled A Life of Sacrifice (2021), the book was written by Mnangagwa’s then economic advisor, former opposition politician Eddie Cross.

The book highlights Mnangagwa’s role in the liberation struggle, his imprisonment, his contributions during the liberation war in the 1970s, and his time as a cabinet minister and president.

The book was translated into some of the main Zimbabwean languages: IsiNdebele, ChiShona and Tonga.

Basera said it retails at R278, but for bulk purchases of at least 100, the price is discounted to R246.

Critics argue that the forced purchases are an attempt to spruce up Mnangagwa’s public persona.

This is at a time when the governing party, Zanu-PF, in parliament tabled a controversial constitutional amendment that seeks to extend Mnangagwa’s stay in office, granting him sweeping powers but undermining democracy.

Political analyst Zama Mkhwanazi said:

“I think the timing to flood schools and public institutions with it has all to do with his political future,” said Zama Mkhwananzi, a political analyst.

Since coming to power through a coup in November 2017, Mnangagwa has had 10 roads renamed after him in 10 cities nationwide under Statutory Instrument 167 of 2020.

Last year, a traffic junction separating traffic to Harare, the capital city, was given a R1.4-billion facelift and named Trabablas, Mnangagwa’s nickname.