Source: VPs’ divorce cases exposing ED’s administration – NewsDay Zimbabwe January 20, 2020
COGNISANT of the fact that the intriguing divorce matter involving Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga and his estranged wife Marry is still subjudice, given that the out of court settlement both parties have hinted at is yet to materialise, it would probably be within our legal rights and limits as the Fourth Estate to just speak truth to power as far as how the State should, henceforth handle sensitive matters that fundamentally affect the reputation of an entire government and its systems as well as the nation at large. The concern comes at a time President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s other deputy, Kembo Mohadi, is embroiled in yet another divorce case.
NewsDay Comment
Snippets of what transpired behind the scene in the life of Vice-President Chiwenga and his estranged wife is definitely juicy stuff for a blockbusting soap opera any Hollywood, Bollywood or Nollywood director would die to get hold of, but what this thrilling divorce case has critically done is to expose Mnangagwa’s government.
Long before Chiwenga and Marry became so estranged that they decided to take each other to court, the government system should have picked it up and for the sake of protecting the regime’s reputation and interests, the case would probably never have been brought to the public glare. It could probably have surfaced years from now with minimal damage to the government systems and operations. For the sake of national security, is it not prudent upon the country to have a democratic rule book that binds people occupying key government positions?
Should key government administrators, chiefly the President and his deputies, not be bound by a certain code of ethics and conduct that reins them in when profound matters that affect government reputation such as nasty divorces need to be handled? We currently have two divorce cases involving the country’s two second most powerful people and these issues are doing very little to shore up Mnangagwa’s administration.
Two divorce cases involving the country’s most powerful people at one go is unprecedented and calls for the country to have a code of ethics that guides all those occupying State power. This is definitely not the first time the world has witnessed powerful people seeking divorce, but the Zimbabwean case has not only exposed our leadership, but the entire nation’s poor morality.
In ages gone by, whenever people sought to go their separate ways, efforts would be made for the divorce to be amicable and whatever set the two apart would be their own secrets. But in our case everything, including the government’s poor and corrupt systems is now in the public domain. And this is quite unfortunate indeed.
COMMENTS
“Chefdom” is by far above the rule of in Zimbabwe, hence code of ethics on Leadership adherence is an abominable culture.
Not everything needs to be written in some book anyway. Otherwise we end up having piles & piles of books that no one will even be able to read & finish. Hence, end up not even knowing what is contained in those books. Some times common sense and principle matter most – rule book or no rule book. However, Zimbabwe is not short of rule books, anyway! It is only short of leaders who are willing to subject themselves to those rule books, which sometimes are even authored by themselves. For zimbabwe leaderships rules and laws don’t apply; written or not written. They are more than happy to apply & often mis-apply or over-zealously apply the rule books to other citizens while they flout those same rules and laws left, right and centre. So, one does not need to cry for any new rule books, rather cry for a descent leadership that does not consider itself to be above the law.