Outspoken ZANU PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa appeared isolated at the recent 44th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Harare on August 17, 2024.
According to NewsDay, while high-ranking officials mingled, exchanged pleasantries, and vied for recognition, Mutsvangwa stood out as a solitary figure amid a sea of handshakes and embraces.
At one point, he was spotted wandering outside the walls of Parliament, looking unusually quiet, with his posture reflecting an air of resignation.
Earlier this year, President Emmerson Mnangagwa dismissed Mutsvangwa from his role as minister of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs.
Reports indicate that just last week, on Defence Forces Day at Rufaro Stadium, Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga avoided shaking hands with him.
Political analyst Ruben Mbofana said Mutsvangwa’s unpredictable nature has contributed to his marginalisation by government officials. Said Mbofana:
Mutsvangwa is a very unpredictable, volatile and quite unstable person. During the Mugabe era, Mutsvangwa ended up being fired because of his volatile and divisive nature.
We have been seeing the same thing happening here again with the Mnangagwa administration. At first, Mnangagwa kept Mutsvangwa close to him but of late with all his comments, and reckless comments actually being made in the media, he was let go.
He is somebody who cannot be trusted. So at the end of the day you lose allies, you lose people who can actually trust you and become isolated.
Mutsvangwa’s rift with Chiwenga became public when he accused Chiwenga of being responsible for the arrest of his son, Neville, on charges of money laundering and illegal cash dealings.
He claimed that Neville’s arrest was the work of adversaries who were “trying to abuse the judiciary system, hoping that I can have an attitude against the state.”
More: Pindula News