Uninformed Social Media Activists Target Minister Mutsvangwa

21 AUG, 2020 - 15:08 

Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister Monica Mutsvangwa

Dr Masimba Mavaza

Social media has gone crazy, attacking Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Monica Mutsvangwa, for her response to the unprovoked letter by the Catholic Bishops in which they agitated for demonstrations to unseat the ruling Zanu PF.

Minister Mutsvangwa’s response has been wrongly interpreted by the usual anti-Zimbabwe activists and their supporters.

Who is Monica Mutsvangwa?

Minister Mutsvangwa is a fine Zimbabwean politician, Information minister, Senator and has been a Zanu PF member since she was 15.

She married to ambassador Christopher Mutsvangwa and is a mother of four. Being a mother shows her motherly instincts and love for family life.

Like all mothers, Minister Mutsvangwa loves peace. This explains why she was horrified by the pastoral letter.

Unlike claims by her critics, Minister Mutsvangwa is not dull. She holds a degree in marketing from the City University in New York in the US in 1990.

She also holds an MSc in Business Administration (Baruch College in US in 2005).

After Zimbabwe attained independence in 1980, Minister Mutsvangwa worked as a diplomat in Windhoek, Namibia; Brussels, Belgium and New York, the US.

In 2012, she was appointed Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Welfare.

Unwarranted personal attacks

Minister Mutsvangwa is presently receiving personal attacks on her person by people who pretend to love Zimbabwe.

In her response, Minister Mutsvangwa did not respond to the Catholic Bishops in her personal capacity, but representing Government.

She is not Government but part a part of it, and any attacks on her person are idiotic and vindictive.

A closer look at the response she presented to the pastoral letter shows that it was not laced with any tribal connotations, and it is a shame that there is a section of lazy tribalists who raise a tribal card each time they run out of facts.

It should be noted now that the Gukurahundi issue is never one-sided; it was beyond tribes, and it is therefore narrow-minded for anyone to connect any complaint about any person to a region or a tribe the person belongs to.

Those wishing bad for Zimbabwe always try to set Zimbabweans against each other, hence some of them saw tribalism in Minister Mutsvangwa’s response.

From the outset, the Bishops were wrong. We agree that the church has an important role to play in national governance as an advisor and guide.

It also prays for the nation and Government fully aware that governments are appointed by God himself. If the Bishops agree with that narrative, they should see their fault in the misguided letter.

If the Bishops were meant to counsel the Government and offer guidance, why didn’t they send a team to visit the President or Government at large and rebuke them, guide them and counsel them.

Why start by publishing their letter as if it was targeted at the public? Was it playing to the gallery? If it was playing to the gallery, it back fired badly.

As spiritual fathers, they should know how to communicate a rebuke. It was in their best interests to engage Government privately, then issue a statement after the meeting.

Why would an experienced church leadership counsel a Government publicly? This shows they were up to pleasing a third force. They were trying to prove to their handlers that they are working.

In all this talk about a crisis in Zimbabwe, one must understand the country is a multi-party democracy. There are many opposition parties and none of them has issued a statement saying there is a crisis in Zimbabwe.

Everyone knows Nelson Chamisa loves the Press and if there was a crisis, he would have called a Press conference by now. The fact that opposition parties are quiet means there is no crisis. So would the church be the only one seeing the crisis? Why does the church take the position of opposition parties? Why would the church find itself to have a God-given right to rebuke but does not want to be responded to?

The Bishops have many skeletons in their cupboards. In America and England, some of them have been exposed and imprisoned for sexually abusing young boys. Some bishops have children all over the place.

It is not a secret that “men of the cloth” have hidden interests in politics. In the past, Zimbabwe has had Bishop Abel Muzorewa and Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, who eventually ventured into politics.

Other “men of the cloth” have assumed various positions in politics in other countries, with the bulk of them starting off as people wanting to rebuke politicians.

I therefore challenge the Catholic Bishops to join the political fray, 2023 is around the corner.

It is shameful we still have people who are happy playing the tribal card. Minister Mutsvangwa is a nationalist and stands above tribalism.

As Zimbabweans, let’s unite despite political differences. We must not allow a Bishop to separate us. We are a God fearing country and our prayers must go straight to God without passing through a Bishop.

We must not be spiritually intimidated; God is for us all.

What then shall we say to these things. If God be for us, who will be against us? Romans 8:31. In Romans 8:37, Apostle Paul said in all these things, we are more than conquerors.

Dr Masimba Mavaza can be contacted through: Vazet2000@yahoo.co.uk