Manicaland-based musician Hosiah Chipanga said President Emmerson Mnangagwa is surrounded by crooks and liars who are misleading him all the time and blocking ordinary citizens from meeting him.
Chipanga told Zim Morning Post that when he was Defence Minister, Mnangagwa was down to earth and approachable but now too much bureaucracy has made him distant. Said Chipanga:
Do you know that before (Mnangagwa) became the President of Zimbabwe he was humble enough to invite and chat with me in his office when he was the Minister of Defense?
Our problem is not of our leaders but close jealous party members who are so close to him who will block people like me.
Our President is surrounded by selfish crooks who are fake praise singers, feeding him with poisonous lies every day protecting their selfish egos.
Why and how on earth can a harmless and poor musician like myself be denied access to meet my President?
There is too much bureaucracy. It is hard for some people to reach out to the top leadership. You will simply be denied the chance to do so.
Chipanga warned President Mnangagwa against being like the late former president Robert Mugabe who was overthrown in a popular military coup in November and died a bitter man in Singapore in 2019.
He said Mugabe was spoiled by his followers into becoming an unreachable dictator and his successor may find himself in the same predicament.