The tragedy of Zimbabwe is the prevalence of political prostitution!

Tendai Ruben Mbofana

The betrayal of the Zimbabwean electorate is a script so frequently rewritten that its latest plot twists no longer evoke shock, only a weary, familiar disgust. 

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When social media feeds lit up with reports that Samantha Mureyani, a Citizen Coalition for Change proportional representation MP for Manicaland, had supported Constitutional Amendment (No. 3) Bill, CAB3, during debate in the National Assembly, the collective gasp from the nation was entirely absent. 

It should be jarring that an opposition legislator would actively support an amendment designed to extend the presidential term of office for a ruling party leader. 

Yet, in Zimbabwe, this is simply a Friday. 

Zimbabweans have become tragically accustomed to a profound, systemic shortage of sincere political leaders. 

We are a nation held hostage by an elite political class that views mandates not as a sacred trust, but as commodities to be traded in a marketplace of self-interest.

It is a psychological puzzle to wrap one’s head around how someone elected or appointed on an opposition ticket can turn around and back constitutional amendments that benefit their perceived opponent. 

What makes the audacity of CAB3 even worse is its flagrant disregard for the supreme law of the land; an amendment whose primary effect extends the length of time a sitting president occupies office legally and morally demands a national referendum. 

To bypass the people is to admit that the people’s voice is an obstacle to be avoided. 

But we all know what the foundational problem in Zimbabwe is. 

We are burdened with politicians who are fundamentally self-centered, individuals who care absolutely nothing for the welfare of the ordinary citizen and exclusively for their own political and financial survival.

This toxic lack of principle is not a disease exclusive to the opposition benches. 

Not at all. 

In fact, the very ruling party zealots making the loudest noise today in support of the president and CAB3 are the exact same characters who will change tune and castigate that very same president the minute the political tide shifts. 

We have seen this theater play out before, spectacularly so, in November 2017. 

Ordinary citizens watched in real-time as nine out of ten ZANU-PF provincial structures voted enthusiastically for the expulsion of then Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa. 

Yet, barely three weeks later, while President Robert Mugabe was confined to house arrest by the military, those exact same party loyalists excitedly gathered to impeach Mugabe and usher Mnangagwa back into the capital as the new leader. 

This is the definition of political prostitution. 

It is a world where loyalty is a luxury no politician can afford, and convenience is the only currency that matters.

In this environment, you can never trust what you see or hear. 

It has become entirely unremarkable to watch a vocal, hyper-partisan pro-government activist suddenly morph into the state’s fiercest, most vitriolic critic.

Not because of a sudden awakening of conscience, but simply because the regime failed to pay him the promised stipends for his digital or physical sycophancy. 

The tragedy, of course, is watching what happens when that same activist finally receives his back pay; the critique vanishes as quickly as it arrived, replaced once more by manufactured praise. 

On the flip side, we witness veteran opposition activists suddenly cheering the ruling establishment under the pathetic, intellectualized mantra of “pragmatism.” 

In reality, they are merely bitter individuals who feel betrayed by their own leadership and found solace in the material “gifts” dangled by the ruling elite.

The rot runs even deeper, touching the very apex of political organizations. 

It is no longer shocking to encounter an opposition party leader quietly agreeing to collaborate with the ruling party to dismantle his own organization from within, driven by a desperate love for proximity to power and a handsome payout from the state apparatus. 

Equally devastating is the spectacle of a popular, once-vocal opposition figure suddenly falling dead silent in the face of concerted, state-sponsored moves to dismember the country’s constitution. 

When they do speak, they rely on cryptic messages and meaningless metaphors on social media, leaving an oppressed population to decipher riddles while the supreme law is gutted. 

The silence speaks volumes; it usually means they, too, have been bought.

Where, then, are we going as a nation with a political class populated by such people? 

What shred of hope do we have as an oppressed people when those we trust to serve us, or those we expect to deliver us, are themselves completely untrustworthy and deeply compromised? 

The pursuit of a better life, economic stability, and shared prosperity becomes a mirage when the entire political spectrum lacks a basic moral compass and is concerned only with personal enrichment. 

There is absolutely no mystery as to why Zimbabwe seems to be going nowhere. 

We are trapped, stuck in a loop of subjugation and economic suffering that has persisted for two and a half decades, precisely because our leaders are chameleons who change color the second the environment suits their personal advancement. 

This lack of institutional and personal integrity is the real reason Zimbabweans will not taste genuine freedom anytime soon.

Progress is impossible when those at the forefront of the struggle are greedy, self-centered creatures. 

The brutal facts must be faced, no matter how unpalatable or exhausting they may be: we are entirely on our own. 

The politicians are not coming to save us because they are too busy saving themselves. 

True emancipation will only come when we, the oppressed, finally decide to stand on our own two feet and fight for our own future. 

We must bypass the political structures that have commodified our suffering and begin to mobilize ourselves directly within our own communities, entirely independent of political parties. 

Zimbabweans need to organize, build networks of solidarity, and speak out on the issues affecting their daily lives from exactly where they are. 

It is time to break the cycle of greed and selfishness that has kept this nation imprisoned. 

We must become our own liberators, and the sooner we accept this heavy responsibility, the sooner we will finally enjoy the actual fruits of our independence.

• Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. To directly receive his articles please join his WhatsApp Channel on: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaqprWCIyPtRnKpkHe08