International Dread

Open Letter to @NelsonChamisa “If you do something once, it is a decision. If you do it twice, it becomes a habit. But when you do it more than three times, it becomes character.” Dear Nelson, I have known you for 31 years and have always — and still do — consider you a close friend and brother. Back then, there was no MDC opposition party to speak of, no @NehandaRadio, and none of the political prominence that surrounds us today. We were simply ordinary students at Harare Polytechnic trying to find our way in life. Over the years, you have done exceptionally well in rising through the ranks of leadership — from Youth Leader, to Spokesperson, Organising Secretary, ICT Minister during the GNU, Vice President, and eventually President of Zimbabwe’s main opposition movement. Throughout this journey, we developed a clear understanding of professional boundaries and mutual respect. I own and run a media platform that gives space to voices that may either criticise or praise you in equal measure. I have always appreciated the fact that you understood and respected this principle, and never sought to censor our work. In return, I have respected our friendship and never abused our proximity for personal or journalistic advantage. It is therefore deeply disheartening that, 48 hours after a defamatory article was published by Simba Chikanza on ZimEye falsely claiming that I recorded your conversation regarding Advocate Thabani Mpofu (@adv_fulcrum), you have chosen to remain silent and avoid setting the record straight. You are the only person who knows who was on the other side of that phone call. While you have every right to protect the identity of that individual, it is unfair to remain silent while false accusations are being levelled against a long-time friend and colleague. Unfortunately, your silence — as has happened in other matters which I will not get into here — creates a vacuum that people inevitably fill with assumptions and speculation. One cannot entirely blame those who may conclude that your silence suggests some level of complicity in the breeding of these claims. I have engaged you privately and encouraged you to do the right thing because, apart from the interviewer, you are the only other person capable of authenticating the recording and confirming that the person you were speaking to was clearly not me. Yet despite this, you have chosen not to correct the record. That is troubling — not just politically, but personally. Over the years, Simba Chikanza has made defamatory allegations against several people associated with your political space, including @advocatemahere, @PedzisaiRuhanya, Hopewell Chin'ono (@daddyhope), @JamesonTimba and many others. Allowing such falsehoods to continue unchecked has inevitably led many to question whether these attacks are random, or whether there is active encouragement behind the scenes regarding who should be targeted next. There are currently two separate audio controversies being discussed publicly. The first was the Daily News recording in which you were heard criticising your colleague Jameson Timba. The second recording (attached here for purposes of clarity) — the one now falsely linked to me — was not released by the Daily News. It was allegedly leaked by the very person whose identity you appear resolutely determined to protect. That naturally raises difficult questions about why you are prepared to protect that individual at the expense of long-standing friends and comrades. This situation mirrors closely that of another dear friend of mine, Luke Tamborinyoka @luke_tambo). He gave you years of dedication and service, often at great personal sacrifice, yet in 2023 you quietly imposed another candidate in Goromonzi West after Luke had emerged victorious in the much-criticised “Bereka Mwana” voting exercise. Luke narrated his painful experience in an open letter to Domboshava residents, circulated in polling-station-based WhatsApp groups in Domboshava, which we later published on the Nehanda Radio website in July 2023. One could conclude you have a perchant for sabotaging your own friends and comrades, even when they would not in any way have sought any benevolence from you. While your friends and comrades are left exposed, you appear comfortable briefing and confiding in a publisher whom many Zimbabweans consider deeply reckless and unstable. The day you eventually fall out with him, you may come to appreciate the importance of choosing and screening confidants carefully. Should he one day find himself before a court of law (given the many people he has defamed) he may be required to substantiate his allegations and there is every chance he will seek to protect himself by pointing in your direction. You have been warned repeatedly by many people about his conduct and disposition, yet it increasingly appears that you may have found utility in that recklessness because it can easily be weaponised politically against both friends and perceived opponents alike. I could easily have used this letter in anger to retaliate or reveal matters shared in confidence, but I have deliberately chosen not to do so because I still believe in conducting myself professionally and responsibly for the greater good. In 31 years, our phone calls must number in the thousands, and not a single one has ever been recorded by me — something you know better than anyone else. If you ultimately choose not to correct the record, so be it. I am more than capable of defending myself publicly and politically. I am not particularly concerned about what Simba Chikanza writes because, quite frankly, very few serious Zimbabweans consider him credible. My greater concern is your apparent unwillingness to tell the truth on a matter that should be straightforward. What irks me the most is that I never expected this from a friend, a comrade, and a Pastor. God is definitely not in this. Lance Guma Managing Editor Nehanda Radio