By Temba Mliswa
Good morning to all here present, and those watching or listening online, thank you for your time in joining me this morning.
My fellow Zimbabweans and compatriots, I have been following the recent disquiet on social media, where my name has been maliciously tarred with and smeared by a host of litigious allegations.
An overwhelming sense of responsibility and duty as a leader, compels me to respond in order to dispel the negative connotations, wantonly made against innocent youth, women and men in my sphere of influence.
As a father, son, brother, and foremost, as an elected Member of Parliament, the onus is on me to protect the integrity of these people and to responsibility account to those whose interests I have tirelessly worked hard to promote and develop.
I do not purport to be perfect, that would be foolhardy, and certainly in my over twenty (20) years of living in the public eye and selflessly dedicating my all towards the cause for national development, I have inevitably stepped on many toes. I have made regrettable mistakes, I have also learnt some valuable lessons and I continue to learn. In all this I operate and conduct myself based on principle, principle being my guiding ethic in everything that I do.
In this regard, I hereby and unreservedly aver the following:
- I have the deepest respect for women. I grew up with women and girls around me, such that some of the most successful endeavours I have ever embarked upon, have been directly influenced by women, for this, I am grateful. I have further been blessed with a bevy of wonderful girls who I deeply adore. It is therefore unfathomable of me to ever imagine or even consider young and vulnerable girls in any romantic or sexual manner possible. It is a repulsive accusation and I cannot begin to imagine the hurt and mental trauma it has caused the young lady innocently dragged into this web of lies. A young lady with a bright future who I respect and actively support alongside many others who have been brought into my purview. A young lady who could be scarred for life following as a result of the emotional trauma caused by the defamatory accusation. I therefore
condemn and refute the allegation that I was ever or is in a relationship with YARD Commander, Eleanor Kaziboni, with the contempt it deserves and put it to the strictest proof thereof.
- I understand the irrationality of the accusations against my person as a cry for attention from a smitten former partner, however, the damning, sensational homosexual allegations on a heterosexual person in an intensely conservative society can only harm the innocent and irreparably destroy the reputation of a decent soul. My comradeship with Mr. Goodwell Zinyama is purely brotherly, in fact mukwasha vangu, as he is married to a MaSibanda. I therefore challenge anyone with evidence to the contrary to bring it forward. I am a public figure and thereby accept the flak of my poor judgment in romantic choices, but to soil the character of my friends and family on account of scorn, cannot be allowed to prevail with impunity. Zinyama has a wife, children and family to protect and it is immoral for him to become the target of unfounded malice. Again, I reiterate, that I refute the accusation and put the highly defamatory allegation of either Zinyama or myself being homosexual to the strictest proof thereof.
- As a public, national representative, one of my responsibilities is to monitor policy implementation and to influence the policy making processes. I have over time become deeply saddened and distraught by the proliferation of biased and unbalanced reporting by some Zimbabwean journalists. We have lost track of the true identity of a journalist as many have turned into activists whilst others rabidly pounce on any story and run it unverified all for the love of money and fame. The unprofessionalism demonstrated by the Elias Mambo led Zimmorning Post, is a sad demonstration that our authentic and robust journalism, whose standards were set by our famed senior journalists has gone to the dogs. It is a simple tenet of journalism ethos, to produce a balanced report, where all the key players in a story have their perspectives represented before a story is published. I therefore call on our media players to revert to the foundations of journalism that promoted responsible and balanced reporting at all times. Journalists like Elias Mambo and Farayi Machamire seem to be more of a national hazard and a threat to national security. Journalist of this mold are ruled by the love of money and fame at the expense of everything, including media ethos. I have since taken legal recourse in an attempt to remedy this indiscretion and lodged a formal complaint with the Voluntary Media Council of Zimbabwe.
- My relationships and associations with all political players, including the First Family are guided by my political standing. As an independent elected representative, I have the prerogative and freedom of association across all floors. I do this in the interests of national development above all else. Libellous allegations of plotting and attempted murder and sorcery against political players can only be described as malicious, scornful and incredulous. When scorn overrides maturity and decency, caution is thrown into the wind. However, such utterances cannot be made on a whim or a dangerous precedence may be set where those with scores to settle may mimic such unsavoury behaviour and flippantly make scandalous, false statements in a bid to get their own back. In this
regard, I have written to the Director General of the Central Intelligence Organisation requesting a full scale investigation to be instituted against Ms. Mutami and put her assertions of wishing to harm, bewitch or murder any member of the First Family, Presidium, Government Minister or indeed anybody, to the strictest proof thereof. If left to prevail, today it is me, tomorrow someone else and how then do we tell fact from fiction? Accusing one of witchcraft in itself is an offence.
- When I made the mention of Ms. Mutami being a project, I did not mean it as a slur, but was making a statement of fact. I have in my possession evidence indicating that Ms. Mutami had submitted all messages and voice notes between us to the Minister of State Security, Hon. Owen Mudha Ncube and others. This is the information that was used against me and crafted in a manner to discredit me in a deliberate and targeted smear campaign. I am aware of many of my detractors and of those who would not want to see me progress. In this light, therefore, I have compiled evidence to back up my assertions and they are herein contained, ready to be produced before a court of law and ensuing investigations. Names, messages, audios etc. Names of those who aided in the payment of duties to bring in the containers from Australia and were duped or aided in sales, names of those who facilitated the wavering of duty, names of those who had purchases ranging from shoes to underclothes from Dubai and who had arranged escort for Ms. Mutami upon her arrival in Harare, names of those who were being extorted from for unwittingly falling for bewitching charms of which there are a string. Names of those who are implicated in the shenanigans and their ulterior motive thereof. Unfortunately for them, the serial name dropping has worked both for and against my detractors and I will have my day in court. This plot speaks to the deep factional fighting still very much alive in Midlands and I am still clearly viewed as a threat. Lest we forget, Hon. July Moyo lost an election. It is common knowledge that he held a meeting with the Chiefs to plan his takeover and also tried to implicate Hon. Vice President Chiwenga of leading a faction in their Politburo meeting. As one who is openly and actively supportive of His Excellency, President E. D. Mnangagwa, Mudha and Moyo believed they could come together to turn the Presidium against me through their CIO operative. I may have fallen for the operative, but have been able to see through and expose the scheme.
- Anyone who knows and understands me, will know that I am a single father by choice, I am not married. I respect any contract that is entered into and marriage is a contract of sorts where one appends their signature to the document. I have observed the deceitful behaviour many conduct in their marriages and have decided that marriage is not for me. Whether one agrees or disagrees with my choices is a matter for another day. However, the fact that I am unmarried and for one to insinuate a formal introduction to my mother, is to disrespect my beloved mother, my value systems and my plan of life. The facts of the matter are that flowers were bought as a token for my mother in acknowledgment to “a woman who had nurtured such a kind-hearted person”, naturally and unwittingly, I obliged. I am flabbergasted at how this has been misconstrued, and have watched in disgust how photos of my mother have been posted in jest, deriding her and yet she is simply a humble, unassuming, elderly woman. A mother just like yours.
An elderly parent so proud to have her son’s achievements recognised that, as any other African mother would, returned the friendly gesture with a gift of her own being a live road runner chicken, which incidentally, she breeds from home. For your own information, this all happened after one formal meeting and within the space of approximately two (2) days, even a whirlwind romance cannot happen with such haste! It is certainly not in my modus operandi to date a woman, introduce her to my mother and establish a family all within three months!
- While I am an Independent House of Assembly representative, my sister, Hon. Minister, Mary Mliswa-Chikoka, is an active member of the ruling party, Zanu PF, a trusted Government Minister, loyally serving under the capable leadership of His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and Commander in Chief of the Defence Forces. Hon. Mary Mliswa-Chikoka is a high achiever, a woman of distinguished excellence who will not meddle in peripheral matters, especially during these unprecedented times. She is an intelligent, incorruptible young leader who stands on her own two feet and has a mind of her own. As her older brother I must admit, I often have a hard time pulling my weight in family settings let alone influencing her in a professional environment. I am proud of my sister’s, strength of character and level headedness and find it absurd that another woman would stoop so low as to indiscriminately attack another woman in such a manner as to insinuate that she is corrupt or that I influence her.
- Which brings me to another point, why would someone who claims to be a philanthropist and who is avid about empowering and supporting communities in one breath, do an about turn and deride and slander other women and the girl child in the next breath? I have heard remarks indicating that Ms. Mutami’s behaviour is indicative of one with a mental health issue, possibly bipolar, however, as I am not qualified in that field I will reserve my comment and leave it to those with that area of expertise. People on social media may see this as entertaining and be laughing at her today, but at the same time could be ignoring a genuine problem as this could be a cry for help. The social media streets are savage and in thinking one is destroying me, they could be damaging their own character and brand. So here I also encourage those with an insatiable desire for gossip and scandal to refrain from inadvertently aiding and abetting in someone’s demise. Since when did we become such a hard hearted nation of people; it is unbecoming and cyberbullying at its best.
- As for Killer Zivhu, well it is all in a name is it not? I am aware he visited Ms. Mutami at my residence and that he has been in cahoots with her to “release” so called damning stories against me which so far have proved to be nothing but hearsay. Remember, I too began by documenting good reports on the person in question…. I’ll leave that at that…
- On the pregnancy claims, I can’t comment much at present save to say that I took the necessary precautions, was made to believe Ms. Mutami was on birth control and
therefore await the DNA paternity results. I have never abdicated from my responsibilities and will not start now if indeed it turns out that I am the father.
Finally, I owe a debt of gratitude to those who have stood by me through all this and took time to know and understand me for who and what I am and not for the scandalous libel targeted at me.
I sincerely apologise to all those who have had their names unceremoniously and libelously dragged into this debacle.
I further apologise for causing undue stress and confusion to the constituents of Norton. I know you know me better and I reassert my commitment to you all to continue uplifting the community. I have never abdicated my role as a legislator and I thank you for your support.
Thank you too for all those on social media who have had the courage to look beyond the sensationalism and have sent and posted messages of encouragement and support, I appreciate you.
Daily I pray for a united and productive Zimbabwe, a Zimbabwe that accepts and meets everyone at their point of need. There is a lot at stake that requires maturity and tolerance, both men and women to pull together for the betterment of the country.
Above all, let the spirit of Ubuntu reign as we thank God for Blessing us with such a beautiful country, we have the resources, now let us make the right choices and come together for unity of purpose and prosperity.