Hwende storms Chamisa-Brett debate, gets social media spank
Zimbabweans dismiss Chamisa as too docile amid Zanu PF excesses
By Staff Reporter
Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) politician and Harare MP Charlton Hwende has torched a social media storm after he admonished some locals for comparing “popular” opposition leader Nelson Chamisa to firebrand activist Brett Holley of the Varanda VeZimbabwe movement.
Brett has whipped up a strong anti-Zanu PF sentiment and further garnered a surprise mass following from locals on social media through robust criticism of Zanu PF misrule, coupled with firm calls for a popular revolution against President Emmerson Mnangagwa, whom he accuses of presiding over state corruption and clinging to power.
He has also called for the formation of a Zimbabwe government in exile ,saying that the Zanu PF-led authority has shut all the space for fair political contest in Zimbabwe.
On the other hand, Chamisa, no doubt Zimbabwe’s most popular post-independence opposition figure after Joshua Nkomo and Morgan Tsvangirai, has angered the opposition faithful after stepping back from active politics in recent years to confine his political activism to social media posts often accompanied by scripture.
A lot of Zimbabweans feel hard done by the 48-year-old politician’s apparent inertia after he failed to put up a strong campaign against the recent enactment of Constitutional Amendment Act Number 3, which gave Mnangagwa an unconstitutional extension to his term by two more years.
“Zimbabweans, you joke too much. How can a normal person even compare @nelsonchamisa with this guy Brett mu vet? Chamisa remains by far the most popular opposition leader in Zimbabwe today,” Hwende posted on X, inviting sentiments from the public.
Responding to Hwende, one handle, @thegenaralsaint, said, “Chamisa, popular as he is as a leading opposition figure, lacks positive situation-changing actions. He is too docile an opposition leader but will certainly be a good character as a ruling president. He is too much of a gentleman for the task at hand.”
Another comment from the handle @Nkosana66364129 said, “Chamisa thinks we are stupid. He can’t dumb us down anytime he likes and expect a warm welcome when he decides to come back.”
