Tinashe Makichi
HARARE – Special advisor to the President, Christopher Mutsvangwa has poured vitriol on Norton Constituency Member of Parliament Temba Mliswa accusing him of being a criminal and charlatan riding on an anti-corruption stance to win the electorate.
Mutsvangwa represents Zanu PF in the battle for the Norton Constituency House of Assembly seat against a number of candidates, including incumbent independent MP Mliswa.
Mutsvangwa’s remarks come after the re-emergence, on social media, of a 2012 video in which he storms out of a SAPES Trust debate.
Mutsvangwa alleges Mliswa’s hand is behind the re-emergence of the potentially damaging video.
Mutsvangwa in 2012 was among panelists Priscilla Misihairambwi of MDC and Ibbo Mandaza when he stormed out after a heated argument.
“Mliswa is using archival material to smear my image and make it look like it is current, based on abuse of social media. I was actually shocked that media outlets like Bulawayo 24 went on to do the story based on the 2012 video.
“If you remember, soon after the Zanu PF primary elections Mliswa has been gloating even though the election results had not been fully announced. He was gloating at the prospect that I would not be the candidate and there would be a weaker candidate in Zanu PF who was Mutendereki,” said Mutsvangwa.
“His worst nightmare is that the candidate he is facing now is me and the ground has shifted against him because when I became the candidate, MDC decided to field a candidate,” he added.
Mutsvangwa said the MDC vote, which had previously backed Mliswa, is now divided and not on his side after Thokozani Khupe’s MDC also decided to field a candidate in the constituency.
Mliswa, Mutsvangwa said, also benefited from the Zanu PF vote which was swayed in his favour by war veterans as part of factional fights.
Mutsvangwa said Mliswa now gets into the election without the crevice of the two major political blocks, Zanu PF and MDC, making his chances slim, hence his resorting to dirty tactics.
“You can see Mliswa is using social media to give an impression that he is making traction when he is actually doing nothing. The reason I am campaigning for Norton is that I want to arrest the likes of Temba (Mliswa) and nip them in the bud, because they are becoming too big for their shoes. This is the genesis and evolution of (former National Political Commissar Saviour) Kasukuwere.
“I am seeing that repeat of a character in Temba. I felt that I should come down to the National Assembly seat so that we do away with Temba before he becomes too bigheaded because he is inherently a fascist,” said Mutsvangwa.
“If we don’t arrest him now, we will later have the same problems we had with Kasukuwere and Jonathan Moyo. The best thing was to deal with him at the formative years.”
Mutsvangwa said he is not contesting the Constituency for power but to rescue the people of Norton from Mliswa.
He said dispensing of characters like Mliswa is very important to cleanse the country and achieve democracy.
“We don’t want young people again to become victims of Kasukuwere where the country was run by head boys in Cabinet because that was precisely the problem with the (Robert) Mugabe Cabinet.”
He said he feels a certain obligation for historical reasons to cleanse the political process of charlatans like Mliswa.
“Everyone in town knows that Temba is an extortionist and the British have criminal records, but he rides on an anti-corruption ticket when everyone knows he is the most corrupt person. Ask (Green Fuel proprietor) Billy Rautenbach, all the people including the white guy who lost his farm.
“I helped him when I was in China, for the Chinese to help him start Saltlakes and he spirited all the World Bank money and never repaid the debts. All these are a matter of records and now this is the man who wants to pose as the anti-corruption guru….no he is fake and a charlatan,”said Mutsvangwa.
Mutsvangwa said he doesn’t want Norton to be benighted by having Mliswa as an MP because he has nothing tangible to deliver.
Mliswa is former Zanu PF Mashonaland West provincial chairman and Hurungwe East legislator. Despite his dismissal from Zanu PF, Mliswa has publicly said he prefers President Emmerson Mnangagwa wins the election against other Presidential candidates.
