Even monsters smile, Mr. Tagwirei—Zimbabwe needs more than a ‘humble’ President!

In a country where the majority of citizens live in grinding poverty, where hospitals lack basic medicines, and where young people are fleeing the country in search of a better future, the last thing Zimbabweans want to hear is a sermon about how “down-to-earth and accessible” their president is.

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Yet, this is precisely what controversial businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei saw fit to proclaim, in what can only be described as a reckless and tone-deaf speech delivered in Harare.

Tagwirei, who has long been entangled in the murky web of elite enrichment and questionable government deals, heaped praise on President Emmerson Mnangagwa, portraying him as a modest, humble, and hardworking leader who lives simply and interacts openly with ordinary citizens.

In a bizarre twist of logic, Tagwirei even suggested that the president’s agricultural outputs—reportedly delivering thousands of tonnes of maize annually to the Grain Marketing Board—were evidence of his good leadership and personal virtue.

It is deeply disturbing that in a nation mired in economic collapse and societal despair, someone with Tagwirei’s clout would attempt to sanitize or excuse national suffering with such superficial praise.

The truth is, being “down-to-earth” is no guarantee of moral virtue or visionary leadership.

History is replete with individuals who were charming, accessible, even humble in private life—yet were among the most vile and destructive forces the world has ever seen.

Take Adolf Hitler, for instance.

Many who worked with him described him as personally modest, kind to his staff, and even shy.

Women swooned over him, and he was seen by some as gentle and charismatic.

Yet, this was the same man whose insatiable lust for power led to the slaughter of over six million Jews and a global war that claimed tens of millions of lives.

His “likability” among those close to him did not make him less of a monster.

Closer to modern times, the infamous American serial killer Ted Bundy was described as charming, charismatic, and intelligent.

His magnetic personality allowed him to lure young women to their deaths with terrifying ease.

Despite his external amiability, he was a cold-blooded killer who raped, tortured, and murdered at least 30 women.

His charm masked his evil, making him all the more dangerous.

So, Mr. Tagwirei, being down-to-earth or accessible is not a defence.

In fact, it can be a weapon—used by ruthless individuals to gain trust, appear relatable, and mask their destructive actions.

The question is not whether President Mnangagwa greets people on the street or lives in a “modest” house.

The real question is: what is he doing for the country?

Over 80% of Zimbabweans live below the poverty line.

Our economy has been reduced to ruins.

Our children attend underfunded schools, with teachers who are underpaid and demoralized.

The public healthcare system is a death trap where the poorest must bring their own bandages, painkillers, or risk being turned away.

Electricity blackouts have returned with a vengeance, robbing households and businesses of productivity and dignity.

Inflation continues to gnaw away at wages, making it impossible for families to afford the most basic of commodities.

In the face of this suffering, it is not only insulting but grotesque to expect citizens to find comfort in the president’s farming outputs or supposed modesty.

The irony of Tagwirei’s defense is even more glaring when we consider who he is.

A man sanctioned by both the United States and the United Kingdom, accused of exploiting his ties to the Zimbabwean political elite to gain access to lucrative state contracts and preferential treatment in accessing foreign currency.

The US’s sanctions describe him as a “notoriously corrupt Zimbabwean businessman” who has greatly benefitted under Mnangagwa’s leadership.

Tagwirei is the CEO of Sakunda Holdings, the company at the center of the US$3 billion Command Agriculture scandal, in which public funds were reportedly siphoned off with little to no accountability.

That scandal, which was championed by Mnangagwa and bankrolled by Sakunda, sparked a 2019 parliamentary inquiry after damning revelations by the Auditor-General.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Tagwirei would jump to the defence of the man whose presidency has made him obscenely wealthy.

His praise is not about national interest.

It is about personal preservation.

Mnangagwa’s continued grip on power is good for business—Tagwirei’s business.

This is not loyalty to a great leader.

It is loyalty to a patron who ensures access to the gravy train.

But what about the rest of us?

What have ordinary Zimbabweans gained from Mnangagwa’s presidency?

Since taking power in 2017, he has presided over economic freefall, worsening corruption, and increasing repression.

Journalists are jailed for exposing graft.

Activists are abducted, tortured, or intimidated.

Elections continue to be marred by violence, manipulation, and vote-rigging.

The security sector is deployed to quell dissent, and civil liberties are trampled with impunity.

Zimbabweans deserve better than mere crumbles from the table of opulence.

We cannot be expected to celebrate food handouts, borehole donations, or a few bags of fertilizer as if these are acts of divine benevolence.

These are not favours—they are the bare minimum of what any responsible government owes its people.

It is both demeaning and insulting for a leadership that presides over vast natural wealth and national resources to reduce citizens to perpetual beggars, dependent on sporadic charity while billions are siphoned through corruption and elite patronage.

True leadership empowers people to live with dignity, not to survive on scraps tossed from the banquet of the powerful.

Under President Mnangagwa’s supposedly “down-to-earth and accessible” leadership, Zimbabwe has tragically earned the disgraceful distinction of being the most corrupt country in the southern Africa region.

According to the 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, the nation scored a shameful 21 out of 100—further evidence of a deeply entrenched culture of impunity and unaccountability.

Far from reflecting servant leadership, this ranking exposes a regime that has enabled grand looting, patronage networks, and systemic rot while the majority of citizens wallow in poverty and deprivation.

Is this the legacy we are supposed to praise just because the man smiles at those around him and grows maize?

Zimbabweans are not looking for a president who is merely likable.

We are looking for leadership that delivers.

We are yearning for integrity in public office, transparency in governance, and economic policies that lift millions out of poverty—not just a few into obscene riches.

We need a leader who sees the presidency not as a throne to be protected, but as a responsibility to uplift the nation.

A leader who will build strong institutions, empower communities, fight corruption without fear or favour, and ensure equal opportunity for all.

Let us not be fooled by superficial qualities.

Even the devil can wear a pleasant face.

The real test of leadership is not whether you are approachable, but whether your policies and decisions bring relief and progress to the people you serve.

On that count, President Mnangagwa has failed miserably.

If being “down-to-earth and accessible” were enough, then perhaps Zimbabwe would be a paradise today.

But it isn’t.

And no amount of public relations spin from compromised billionaires like Tagwirei can change that.

The time for empty praises is over.

What Zimbabweans demand—and deserve—is a government that works, a president who delivers, and a nation where prosperity is shared, not hoarded by a corrupt few.

Anything less is not leadership.

It’s betrayal.

• Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +263715667700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/